Stop Gangas extinction, bring energy revolution

After a break of more than a year i could not stop myself from writing about the experience i had in varanasi when we spent a week there to raise awareness about the threat to ganga. every year on the 6th of december the world celebrates Global day of action on climate change to tell the world leaders that we are watching, This we decided to communicate about the threat to india's iconic river GANGA, About 400 million people look to the Ganga as a primary source of freshwater. No other river in the world supports such a large population's livelihood, Recent reports say that the himalayan glaciers are melting at an alrming pace andconsidering that in the dry season Ganga recieves 70% of its water from the glaciers if it continues the same the glaciers might completely dissapear by 2035 making ganga in to a seasonal river completely jeapardizing lives of almost 500 million people, even the thought of seeing this happen will give goosebumps to 11 out of 10 people.

So what is the solution?? the solution lies in the way the world consumes and produces energy, i say the world here because even if India starts harnessing 100% of its energy from renewables and stops coal completely will it stop the glacieal retreat? may be not, but if the world shifts its focus from coal and starts looking at renewable sources of energy it will certainly give a fresh life, to the environment. Today 67% of india's energy comes from burning coal and India is clearly looking at coal as the primary source to provide electricity for all by 2012, but if we go down this route we should be ready for a dry Ganga in the next few decades, more droughts, more floods, acute agrarian crisis, increase in vector borne diseases. when i asked Raju a boat man in varanasi about what does he think of the fear that Ganga might not be there in the next few decades. Raju said " ganga ji nahi rahengee toh hamaare janam lene ka koi uddeshya hee nahi hain, ganga ji hain toh varanasi hain" If ganga dissappears then there is no purpose of my being born, theres no varanasi without ganga.

On 5th December the solution to ganga's problem was seen floating on the river. The message was loud and clear, Its now or never "OORJA KRANTI LAAO, GANGA BACHAO"