Chapter 1 Crime
This story is strenuous, but it has to be told
This truth is inconvenient
A saga of destruction
Inevitable the telling of tale
As it concerns mine, yours
and our future
The increasing global warming
We are all responsible for this change in climate
We are all complicit of this corruption on earth
some as characters
some as silent spectators
But
the time has arrived
to break the silence
We have entered an era when terrorism
has been overshadowed by another spectre, that has been chasing us
but we are neglecting it
may be because its in the background
However, when it makes an appearance
It brings with it a trail of destruction and devastation
Every passing year, this ghost is getting closer to us
but we are oblivious to it
This problem is that of global warming
From Global Warming
we cannot hide ourselves anymore.
Our atmosphere is getting more and more polluted.
Water Reserves
are getting depleted.
And the existing reservoirs
are getting conflated with pollutants.
If we dont open our eyes even now
than our future generations will not forgive us
My name is Haroon Junaidi
I am a Scotland based Engineer. In 2007
I completed my PhD in Renewable Energy
 
For almost a decade
I having been trying to spread awareness among people on Climate Change
In this regard
I have conducted workshops in Universities and Colleges
Conveyed message through my website
and also through my Youtube Channel
to gather people's attention
Also
for the alleviation of global warming
what steps are needed,  were also emphasised
There are two consequences of Global Warming
On one hand the global temperatures are rising
which is creating arid conditions and drought
in many areas. And on the second hand
even if it rains, it rains so heavy
that it becomes a cause for devastation
Karachi,  21st August, 2017
Within a span of a few hours
heavy rainfall occurs with thunderstorm. 50 mm rain leaves 17 people dead
8 days later in the same city,
a further 130 mm rainfall
Bringing the city activities to a halt
paralysing life and leaving 23 more dead
millions lost in damages
This event was not just a normal event
Citizens of Karachi will testify
that the thunderstorm like that of 21st August 2017
has never before been witnessed
The same was seen in Mumbai during this time
Although, there is no doubt that it was the negligence of
city's municipal services and even citizens are not blame free.
But, the point is
unusual events like these
are occurring frequently.
In fact, if we link similar events
than we can see a pattern.
Two years ago, in Karachi
hundreds died because of a heat wave.
If we expand our observation
than we will also notice constant drought conditions in Thar region
 
If we go back further
than we notice the 2010 Flood in Pakistan
that according to a survey, affected more than 20 million people.
Countless similar events are occurring
across the globe.
Crops are getting destroyed
Buildings are collapsing
Roads are being cut off.
In the current year
Four big floods have ravaged Bangladesh.
In which the flood of August 2017
has so far recorded
more than 1200 casualties.
This is a village in India
Where are farmer is showing despair
on the devastation of his crops.
Whole year's rainfall occurred in just 5 hours.
Just recently,  a storm that has been named
Hurricane Harvey
had  damages estimated between
10 Billion USD to 50 Billion USD
The biggest Irony of this Climate Change is
that countries that have the least resources
are going to be the one
to be hit the hardest by it
This image is of Tacloban,
Philippine
Where almost all of the city was razed
after the typhoon of 2015
Scientist have suggested that due to Global Warming
storms are getting
more intense.
More heat is causing more evaporation
Which increases the moisture content in the air
and when it eventually falls
it wreaks havoc.
Now the question is
that this new weather pattern
is  it natures own course
or is it because of human activity?
If we were to look through a historical perspective
than from the onset of Industrial revolution
we have burned thousands of tons of coal
that is now millions of tons.
In earlier times, industries used to be within the city.
During these times it was noticed that the smoke emerging
from factories started making people ill.
Buildings in the city darkened as they got covered with soot
We expelled the Industries
out of the cities but we kept burning coal
With the invention of cars, we started
burning oil too
With the coming of electricity era
we started burning gas to generate electricity
Today, just because of car smoke emissions in the city
respiratory diseases are common
In addition to this, smog in several cities
has a constant presence
Be it Dubai or Beijing
You can notice in the pictures of these cities
the blur due to smog
Just because of smog in Beijing
the average life expectancy has reduced by 5 years
In Pakistan, in the early part of 2017
the outskirts of Lahore got engulfed by smog
for two weeks that affected the citizens
a great deal
All this is the proof of human activity
that results in a visible change in climate
at a smaller scale.
Now think about the fuel
that we have been burning for centuries
releasing its smoke in the atmosphere
would that not cause anything?
In India, the plan has been devised for
400 large coal fired power plants
to be completed in the near future
On a daily basis, 90 million barrels of oil
is extracted, most of which
ends up as Carbon di Oxide after burning
and is absorbed by the atmosphere
This gas absorbs the rays of the sun
 
that would be reflected back to space
after hitting our planet
The more Carbon Di Oxide in the atmosphere
the warmer it is
The portion of Climate change that is
attributed to human activity
scientists term it Anthropocentric Climate Change
We would have to think
Is this not a manifestation  of corruption on earth
that has engulfed all humanity
You are looking at a chart
You can see that after the Industrial Age
How quickly the level of Carbon Di Oxide
Climbed up
One big reason for this
is the increase in our consumption of  energy
In the 1980's
an average American household had 3 electronic items
today the average is 25
Even in our country, we have
more cell phones than people
To run these electronic devices
the electricity that is generated
is through the burning of oil or gas
or coal
If we keep going on the same trajectory
than even before the turn of the century
that average temperature of our planet would raise by
more than 2 degrees
This will result in melting of the ice shelves
at the North and South poles. Oceans will rise
Many cities will get submerged
At if we pay attention, we will notice that many are already getting submerged
Many Island nations have demanded
that average global temperature rise
should be arrested at 1.5 degrees
and for this limits should be imposed on global fuel consumption
Among these Islands is the Island nation of Maldives
A country that is at the forefront among the countries
that will be most affected by climate change
Scientist have described that if the portion of Carbon di oxide in air
goes beyond a certain limit
than we will lose our chance
for addressing this problem
And that limit is
450 parts per million
Meaning if we were to sample a million molecules of air
than the amount of Carbon di oxide molecules in this sample
should not exceed 450
It has to be noted that in 2015
Carbon Di Oxide portion was 404. In 2016 it was 409.
And in 2017 it has been recorded at 416
parts per million
Now the question is
how to get out of this muddle?
To stop climate change, the biggest tool that we have
is Conservation
Conservation of electricity. Conservation of Energy
Reduction in the consumption of Oil and Gas
Conservation of goods
Even if we just ban the use of plastic bags
than this is an important step in changing attitudes
 
Our second biggest weapon are trees
By planting trees in large numbers
we can bring a notable change in the climate
Trees not only absorb Carbon Di Oxide
but also provide us with Oxygen
In averting Climate change
the third arrow in the quiver
is that of Renewable Energy
If we generate our electricity from Hydro power stations
or through Wind turbines or Solar panels
than making electricity this way
does not release any CO2 in the atmosphere
And above all, we have to create
awareness, because unless
we create awareness
not only at an individual scale but at a mass scale
and mobile people
we would not succeed in implementation of any plan
We have to change both our ideas and
attitudes
In this world not everything is gloomy
Rays of hope are emerging from Pakistan
Quaid e Azam Solar Park
Which has a name plate capacity of 1000 MW
has 400 MW capacity
already installed
Once completed, it will be the largest
Solar Power Plant in the World
The second project completed recently in Pakistan
Is the Billion Tree Tsunami Project
On the completion of the project, Pakistan has received plaudits
from around the world
By planting 1 billion trees it is no doubt
that future has been secured for the coming generations
Secondly, it will also aid the timber industry
of the region provided
wood is harvested sustainably
 
In India, Cochin International Airport
is a trail blazer for the world
This airport
is completely
run on Electricity by solar energy
and is only one of its kind in the world
If we get out priorities right
than we can take the lead in tackling the issue of global warming
 
If we try than we will find that
we have the capacity, to lead this region in helping resolve
this issue
If we to get closer to nature
and
get rid of the disingenuous elements  in life
We have to, in this vast galaxy
protect our only home
Synergy Files Channel is a step towards resolving this issue
On this channel
more than 80 videos, in Urdu and English Language
are available
that will guide you. Please make use of
the information in them and create awareness
about this channel
Thank you for your attention
