Many watch cautiously as the Dubai financial crisis rolls out and the first after shocks begin to be felt all over the world. India  too has been cautious about the crisis. As one of the largest state firms of Dubai  indicated a debt repayment crisis, India has nothing much to say except for that the extent of the problem needs to be examined before any comments can be made.

There have been no visible after effects of the crisis on India yet. However, it is too soon to be making any sort of analysis. In fact, stalwarts in India feel that the real estate crises in Dubai will not have any effects on the Indian economy. India has already proved that its economy is robust enough to survive such setbacks even when they happen on a larger scale and take down giants like America.

Still, there are strong linkages between companies in India and Dubai. There might be some impact. However, the impact will only be on certain individuals and corporates and will not be felt by the entire country.

In 1998, the Honourable Supreme Court itself took the initiative for providing clean and breathable air to the Indian citizens. In its directive, it mandated the Delhi Government to convert all the commercial vehicles to CNG-based engines, at the same time lashing out at the Government’s inability to check pollution. In addition, first batch of 28 other polluted cities are mandated.

The benefits of a NGV (Natural Gas Vehicle) are varied. A CNG (Compressed Natural Gas) automobile effectively, reduces toxic soot pollution by 75-90% and reduces 25% of the smog-forming pollution, as compared to a diesel engine. In addition, it offers cost economy on two counts. Firstly, the rate of one kg of CNG in India is only one-third of the price of one litre of petrol. Secondly, it is more efficient fuel – the energy produced by one kg of CNG is equivalent to the energy produced by 1.4 litres of petrol or 1.2 litres of diesel.

Delhi is now known as the CNG capital of the world, with the largest fleet of CNG buses. However, the overall penetration of NGVs is only 2.3%, as India struggles with CNG availability and the lack of distribution network. For example, at least 43% of the daily CNG availability in Lucknow cannot be supplied, due to the lack of refuelling gas stations. The discovery of Natural Gas reserves in the Krishna-Godavari basin are expected to bridge these existing gaps. Similarly, with major state-owned and private players investing in the distribution lines, the situation is likely to improve.

There has been a lot of debate on Global Warming (GW) and pressure on Government to reduce carbon emission. But is it only the responsibility of the Government? What can each one do as responsible citizens of India to reduce G W? It’s within everyone‘s reach and you don’t have to be educated or working or spend money to do these things. In fact you can save money by following simple steps and in the process improve your health. Many nations have even involved children to participate in these programs to reduce GW and have taken a step further and included environment issues in their curriculum. So here goes the list:
1. Do your part to reduce waste by choosing reusable products instead of disposables
2. Car pooling or walking short distances to instead of taking your car.
3. Spending more time with family and outings instead of watching TV. You make your family happy, you save electricity and you don’t put on weight by being a couch potato.
4. Use less hair dryer, air conditioning and water heaters.
5. Replace regular light bulbs with compact fluorescent light (CFL) bulbs. It lasts 10 times longer and you save money.
6. Buy energy efficient products.
7. Save electricity and reduce global warming by turning off lights when you leave a room, remember to turn off your television, video player, stereo and computer when you’re not using them.
8. Plant a Tree
9. Conserve water
10. Avoid use of firecrackers.(Little late after Diwali but there is always a next time)
11. Teach children to save electricity and water.
12. Ask children to play outdoors or involve them in other activities instead of watching TV or computer games. Helps them in all round development and helps them fight childhood obesity.
13. Do free emissions check for your vehicle and make sure your car is running efficiently.
14. Cut down on your garbage—buy fewer packaged materials to prevent further global warming.
15. Use nontoxic cleaning products
16. Run your washing machine when you only have a full load.
17. Eat less meat and more organic foods in your diet.
18. Use a low-flow showerhead, which will lessen the hot water used but not drop your water pressure in the shower.
19. Decrease your air travel.
20. Wash clothes in cold water and line-dry whenever possible
21. Bring your own reusable canvas grocery bags when grocery shopping
22. Taking the stairs might not always be possible, but if it’s only a few floors try to ignore the elevator or escalator as often as you can.
23. Re-use your water bottle
24. Go for jogging or cycling instead of using trend mill
25. Do rain water harvest
26. Don’t throw rubbish every where use waste bins
27. Switch off the car engine if you are stuck in a traffic jam
28. Inflate your vehicle’s tires to the pressure recommended by the manufacture and make sure your wheels are properly aligned. Check your tire pressure once a month.
29. Carry a water bottle from home with you instead of buying mineral water. You don’t spend money on bottled water and you reduce plastic wastes.
30. Speak to at least one person and encourage them to join you. After all little drops make an ocean. Let’s preserve the Earth for our own good and for our children.

What is Global Warming? Global Warming (GW) is defined as the increase of the average temperature on Earth. As the Earth is getting hotter, disasters like hurricanes, droughts and floods are getting more frequent. It happens when greenhouse gases (carbon dioxide, water vapor, nitrous oxide, and methane) trap heat and light from the sun in the earth’s atmosphere, which increases the temperature. In India, the unstable monsoon is mainly attributed to GW. The effects of GW on India vary from the submergence of low-lying islands and coastal lands to the melting of glaciers. Indian climatic conditions have become increasingly volatile and these changes are projected to impact millions of lives. The United States wants developing countries like India to agree to control the emissions and to sign legally binding limits on carbon emissions. With the new United Nations climate treaty due to be discussed in Copenhagen in December, the pressure is mounting on India to agree to these policies.

Currently, India has stated that “this would hurt its economic growth and wants the industrialized world to curb its pollution as well as fund new technologies in the developing world by underlining that it has one of lowest emissions per capita in the world”. Many nations have started implementing policies to cut down carbon emissions. Though India has not agreed to legally binding limits it has committed itself to a mandatory fuel efficiency cap to begin in 2011, a change in its energy matrix whereby renewable sources will account for 20 per cent of India’s power usage by 2020 as well as announced an ambitious solar energy plan. If developed nations give adequate financial support and enabling technology to the developing world, there is a possibility that India might agree to the carbon emission measures.