On a green mission

In the hope of saving the earth while they still can, young members of the Indian Youth Climate Network, who are travelling around the country, spreading their green message, have reached Hyderabad.
The solution to almost every modern issue, from recession to global warming, lies in looking for alternate, renewable sources of energy, they say. These young green activists who began their road trip from Chennai will drive down all the way to Delhi, via 12 cities, in their eco-friendly electric cars, urging urban India to switch to a greener lifestyle.
Deepanjali Gupta the co-founder of ICYN, says, “India is busy dealing with issues like poverty, national security et al but the important issue of climate change is being ignored. Inspite of struggling with inflation and recession, we are not paying enough attention to alternative renewable energy resources, which are cheaper and will do us a lot of good in the future.”
A solar powered heating system may be expensive initially, but it works out cheaper in the long run, she points out. “There are many youngsters working with various NGOs to combat climate change. and through this road trip we are trying to bring them all together on a common platform,” says Gupta.
with global warming looming large, it is more necessary now to reduce emissions, increase efficiency, encourage alternative energy sources and conserve other resources. And this is the reason why the youngsters decided to travel across the country so that their cause catches more attention.
Kartikeya Singh, a rural energy researcher and member of ICYN says, “We want to showcase potential solutions and share our experiences with the people we meet. We have visited many universities and held workshops there. The participation of the youth has been encouraging. In the process, we have also learnt about the various eco-friendly projects that enterprising students have come up with. If they get a proper platform and support from government the scenario can change,” says Singh.
Caroline Howe, from Yale University, who is a part of this team is more than impressed with the large number of bright engineers in India. She feels, they can all work together and make a significant difference.
“The number of engineers graduating each year in India is more than the population of certain American cities. This is undoubtedly the land of climate solutions. So we are looking up to India to bring about a positive change,” says Howe.