KOLKATA, 14 NOV: Global warming is caused by methane and not carbon-di-oxide, said Mrs Maneka Gandhi, wildlife activist and BJP MP, today during the launch of the Rotary Club of Calcutta Mayfair’s initiative ~ Save our Sparrows (SOS) ~ at the Calcutta International School today. “We are trapped in a rubbish debate over carbon-di-oxide causing global warming and climate change as it suits us and the West. People will not stop using cars or electricity. And it will allow us to say that we did not have energy or the west has released more carbon-di-oxide etc,” Mrs Gandhi said.
After so many green marathon, green caps, green banners, and all the conferences worldwide, the year 2010 remained the warmest and carbon-di-oxide levels remained the same, she added.
Methane has a global warming potential value (GWP) of 25 (in 100 years timeframe estimate) comparatively to carbon di-oxide, which has the value of 1. Mrs Gandhi said that if people stop eating meat, a major cause of the greenhouse gas, methane would go away in four years.
“To stop eating meat is Nationalistic and pro-planet. It had nothing to do with cruelty and nationalism. If you want to save the world, stop eating meat,” she emphasised adding most of the Nobel Prize winners like Mr Al Gore and Mr RK Pachauri have advocated vegetarianism to lessen global warming.
Mrs Gandhi told the students of the school to take initiatives and involve others in environment-friendly projects. She also said: “Let us not get into the cell phone tower debate over disappearance of sparrows as it disempowers us. People need cell phones and towers are a very small part of the problem,” she added.
Save our Sparrow initiative aims to provide sparrows in Kolkata with food so that they have an incentive to procreate and increase their population.
The club has launched functional sparrow feeders that can provide more than 2,000 bird meals a year. The aim is to provide food for 25,000 sparrows in Kolkata in the first year. Each feeders costs Rs 100.
Soma Basu
Soma Basu
100% correct.
VEGGIE is the better performer to combat GLOBAL WARMING.