So I’m going green. I mean I’ve always been green, but that was more, you know...green on the inside. I didn’t actively do anything about it. Now I’m actually doing green things. Confused? Guess I ‘blue’ it. Better start from the beginning. I went to a kind of...different school. It was like a gurukul, out in the wilderness. Result being that most of my childhood was spent climbing trees and swimming in streams. We had no electricity, so we used kerosene lamps for light. We grew our own vegetables for food, and we did all the cooking and cleaning ourselves. It was great, the kind of experience many people never get in their lives and I think it’s held me in good stead. That’s what I meant when I said I have always been green on the inside. I loved nature, being outdoors and all that good stuff, but I never took an active part in preserving the environment. Passive, sure. I was always particular about not chucking trash on the street, stuff like that. (How many of you do? Be honest!).

I guess you have to reach a certain point in life before you actually start doing real stuff. I recently got involved with a foundation called Gaia Conservation, who are trying to make Bombay greener. I’ll tell you about them later, and how you can help out (if you’d like), but I also figured I should lead by example. I’m in the process of doing up my house right now, so I told my architect that I wanted to make the place as eco-friendly as possible without going nuts and installing sawdust toilets, and what-not. Don’t laugh, my uncle did that in his house, and I’m told insanity is hereditary!

Having avoided the worst, here’s what I’ve actually got so far: I’m using tiles which are a composite made from industrial waste (sounds charming, I know, but they’re really nice – promise), installing solar water heaters (you won’t believe how much electricity heaters use), and the highlight of the place; a green roof. In simple terms, a green roof involves planting grass on the roof of your building. The details, obviously, are more complicated so I’ll side-step those. You can always Google it, if you’re inclined. Here’s what it does. Besides adding plant life (always a good thing), it actually insulates the house below, keeping it cooler in the summer and warmer in the winter (gotta watch out for the Bombay winter, temperatures can drop to like 20 degrees centigrade). That translates to less AC usage. I’m also installing a water harvesting system underneath it, which would trap rainwater, filter it and funnel it into our water storage tanks.

Yes, I know you can’t run out and install a green roof for your house – very few people are in a position to do that. (I’m taking the off chance that someone out there reading this is an industrialist or a builder who’ll decide to start incorporating it in all their future buildings. Fingers crossed!) There are, however dozens of things you can do on a daily basis to help out. Often things which will cost you nothing, often not even effort. You just have to try and find out.

Simple example; buy an AWG. That stands for Air (or Atmospheric) Water Generator. It’s a machine about the size of a water cooler, which costs about as much as a water cooler, and makes drinking water out of the humidity in the air. You know how water droplets appear on a cold glass? Same thing. These machines can generate 20 to 100 litres of pure drinking water per day, and you’re recycling one of our most precious resources.

Not fun enough? How about having ice cream cones instead of cups? Bet you never thought about that! It’s ridiculously simple; instead of throwing away a little plastic cup and spoon, you’re eating the container. Tasty, AND eco-friendly! (Scientific studies have shown that ice cream eaten from a cone tastes better. Really.) Seriously people, there’s no end to the number of ways you can help save the environment. All I’m asking is that you care.

Subscribe to Verve Magazine or buy the Verve issue on stands now!