Dear friends, Thanks to the telecommunications sector, every new call and SMS is hurting our environment. Lakhs of massive mobile network towers in our country run on dirty diesel.
Airtel is the market leader and trend-setter of the Indian telecom industry. If we get them to switch to renewable energy, it will set an example for the others to follow. Customers are the mainstay of this industry. Airtel would notice if customers ask them to make their calls green by using clean energy to power company’s mobile towers. You should ask Airtel to switch to renewable energy. http://www.greenpeace.org/india/en/What-We-Do/Stop-Climate-Change/Green-Electronics/switch-off-diesel/airtel-switch-off-diesel/ Several current and potential Airtel subscribers, asking them to switch to renewable energy will help put pressure on them to act. Since the company is bound to provide good service to its subscribers, they will not be able to ignore this feedback. Like coal and nuclear, oil too is an unsustainable energy option. The Deepwater Horizon oil spill last year showed the dangers of our addiction to oil.[2] Studies conducted by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change have shown that renewable energy is capable of powering the world.[3] Airtel needs to realise this and quit dirty energy. Tell them now. http://www.greenpeace.org/india/en/What-We-Do/Stop-Climate-Change/Green-Electronics/switch-off-diesel/airtel-switch-off-diesel/ Thanks a billion! Abhishek Pratap Climate and Energy Campaigner Greenpeace India Sources: 1. Dirty Talking? Case for telecom to shift from diesel to renewable, Greenpeace India, May 19, 2011 http://www.greenpeace.org/india/Global/india/docs/cool-it/reports/telecom-report-may-2011.pdf [PDF] 2. BP Oil Spill: How Bad Is Damage to Gulf One Year Later? Time magazine, April 19, 2011 http://news.yahoo.com/s/time/20110419/hl_time/08599206603100 3. Renewable energy can power the world, says landmark IPCC study, Guardian, May 9, 2011 http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2011/may/09/ipcc-renewable-energy-power-worldrtimahilamanc...@gmail.com You are receiving this email because someone you know sent it to you from the Greenpeace site. Greenpeace retains no information about individuals contacted through its site, and will not send you further messages without your consent -- although your friends could, of course, send you another message. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- There are a few flaws in the Greenpeace argument , please reflect on what is written here : 1. It is the West that is primarily responsible for global warming & refuses to do little about it. USA & EU can very easily curb wasteful use of energy of all types . Buying smaller cars , using fewer , smaller and more efficient appliances , going vegetarian partly will reduce energy consumption by leaps & bound & do the rest of the world a lot of good too. In case of India , we as a country & especially the our poor desperately need to raise their living standards by engaging in productive economic activity which will mean an increased per capita energy consumption . Our poor desperately need access to reliable electric supply , domestic gas , pumped in clean water etc . , services that the West & we in cities like to take for granted & demand more of each day. 2. In the real green house culprit countries, the so called developed world, people enjoy the benefits of high energy consumption as a routine & are loathe to fore-go the privilege . Their homes & offices have heating & cooling to keep them comfortable all year round. The buses , trains & autos too have both heating & cooling . Have at least one car , refrigerator , oven , may be a bbq , a mixer or food processor , washing machine & dryer , dish washer , tv , music systems , cameras etc . as a norm . All this gadgetry based lifestyle consumes lots of energy & emits greehouse gases during manufacturing & use , & adds to pollution if not disposed of properly. 3. Diesel is not heavily subsidized in India , it still costs more than many other countries & fuel in India is priced among the highest anywhere which restricts its use and makes us very thrifty users . As result of some convoluted policies , diesel & petrol are both heavily taxed by center & the states , & and then subsidized to some extent , though the subsidy on diesel is more than petrol , but far less than on gas & kerosene. Almost 50~60% of the cost of diesel & petrol in India is taxes. Our per-capita energy consumption is among the lowest in the world. 4. Solar or wind energy is not at all economically efficient any where in the world yet . After giving all kinds of subsidies , incentives & tax reliefs Indian government is buying solar energy at Rs 10~15 rs per unit from solar farms , then bundles it with normal electricity , sells it to us the consumers . It is we who have to eventually bear the high cost of "green" solar . Means our electricity bill rises , we curse the government , argue that we now have less money for food , education or medicine as we are ordinary middle class with little disposable income . I guess our tax money could be used better than supporting the farce. 5. Additionally one needs lots expensive storage capacity to keep the solar / wind / gasohol driven power/electricity flow going if you wish to be totally green , else you need conventional energy capacity as back up to support the solar/ wind/ gasohol power whim . Both the storage batteries & conventional power generation back up capacities go waste when not needed, adding to the burden on the consumer . You will also need to replace the storage batteries every few years . The manufacturing of such back up & storage batteries consumes scarce resources & adds to the green house gases . One needs to study the industry cost structure , the government subsidy & incentives , the product life cycle costs , the alternatives & the side effects etc . to be sure of the clean green status you are according to solar , wind or gasohol are really deserved . Gasohol , another green alternative is not really cheap or plentiful, needs lots corn to make , if you grow too much corn there is less land for rice & wheat , so the prices of these commodities go up. Only Brazil has some spare land to experiment with gasohol. The rest of the world is not so lucky. 6. Airtel needs to be responsible like all of us , but if it alone has to bear costs that are irrational & unproductive , it is a bit unfair as has to compete with others who do not & finally any such costs have to be eventually borne by the Airtel's consumers and shareholders . Means we all finally get to pay the "green" bill not just Airtel . Just as the government recovers every dime of the cost of solar & wind energy from us that it makes us buy unknowingly . The poor who now have access to cheap communication because of efficient mobile service operators will suffer the most , as they will need to cut down on some essential expenditure like food , medicine or education to pay the "green" bills to keep the earth from warming up , or just opt to talk less . 7. The campaign is selective, it imposes costs on an economic enterprise that has very little to do with green house gases, the real problem that Greenpeace says it is out to cure . Why not go after GM , Ford GE, Whirlpool etc. the makers of gas guzzlers & huge appliances used in US homes ? Do Airtel's competitors anywhere in USA, EU , China , Africa use solar or any kind of green energy to power the towers if they have to ? Even if this weird Greenpeace initiative is confined to India , why leave BSNL , MTNL , Vodafone , RCOM & others who combined have 75% of the market , . Why put the most efficient operator at a disadvantage to others who are doing the very same thing ? 8. Airtel needs to be supplied high quality continuous electricity so that it does not need expensive diesel back up for the towers . All Indians too, especially the poor as priority need reliable power supplied to their homes , schools , hospitals , offices , shops, factories . We now have to buy expensive inverters & generators as back up, which has created a huge "back up industry" that adds to the green house phenomenon apart from being a colossal waste of our limited resources. . I refused to sign the petition & sent this letter to Greenpeace as it is arrogant , illogical & whimsical offers no solution at all to the problem at hand . "Greenpeace needs to be concerned about the poor , tribals , animals & environment in India & engage in activism that alleviates the misery here . In this specific it needs to do its home work too before jumping on to its next "activism" target & imposing thoughtless costs on Indians while the real greenhouse culprits elsewhere go scot-free. " Hopefully it is not a "for the cameras" publicity generating activism that it looks very much like . -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "humanrights movement" group. To post to this group, send email to humanrights-movement@googlegroups.com. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to humanrights-movement+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/humanrights-movement?hl=en.
