This world environment day, Mumbaiites will have dedicated tools in their hands to keep tabs on and control climate change. A team of inspired and dedicated youngsters have put up a website the city’s old and young can use easily.
On this World Environment Day, environmentally conscious Mumbaiites will have tools at the click of a mouse to help them keep tabs on, and control climate change. A bunch of young and dedicated professionals have put together a website to help tackle climate change. The tools help calculate carbon footprints and their impact on the city, and suggest changes for a sustainable lifestyle.
The website > www.mmr-ccrt.org.in was launched at Maharashtra Nature Park at Dharavi here on the eve of World Environment Day on Wednesday.
“The most important point is, there is no city-specific information on climate change in this part of the world. No tools really tell me what my actions mean for my city. We have painstakingly factored many elements to build up realistic tools. For example, at least 50 per cent people travel in trains in Mumbai, but there was no calculator which addressed this and told me the exact impact of train travel on climate change in Mumbai,” Shantanu Roy, Senior Vice President of Environmental Management Centre LLP (EMC) said.
EMC has designed 10 tools for Mumbai Metropolitan Region – Environment Improvement Society (MMR-EIS), which was established by the Government of Maharashtra’s MMRDA (Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority) in 1996. The environmental society aims at promoting improvement of environment in the Mumbai region.
“Our target groups are – policy makers, citizens, school and college students and business organisations. The MMR has sponsored the project to ensure that these tools are made available to everyone freely. It has taken us a year and a half to build these tools and put them up on the website,” Dr Prasad Modak, Executive President, EMC, told The Hindu .
The tools have been made interactive to engross the visitor and to interest her in delving further. They include climate change calendar, map of climate change related institutions in the Mumbai metropolitan region, online carbon footprint calculators for adults and kids, fact-sheets, presentations, posters, stickers, activity booklet, youth resource guide.
“The idea is to open up mechanics of climate change and make it simple and relevant to the lives of people living in the region,” Prasad Shetty, Secretary of MMR-EIS, said.
A school teacher who saw the features of the tools said the project will be extremely useful for children. “This is relevant for children. They will be able to do their environment projects with better understanding. The way the website has been designed, will also make it fun and interesting for the students,” Rachana Swar, a teacher at the city’s Shishivan school, told The Hindu .
Many interior designers, students, corporate houses, women’s groups participated enthusiastically in the launch, claiming it would be a critical aid in understanding the impact of climate change on the city.
