Went Green, going bald

It’s the last day of the year. So I thought I will end the year on a high note – by making you read my blog and by feeling glad that I made you do something. This time I am using the guise of the “Green movement” that’s happening in office. I had been pestered (believe it or not) to write a blog. Ok , I was just asked once but I felt pestered – that does count for something . Well, the deadline is the 31st of December 2009 and you can count on me to do things at the last minute. And you know, it’s my blog so all this will be about ME.

So this is how it began. We get a mail from HR about some Green initiative being launched in our company. SPOCs are decided for each location who have to come up with some Green Ideas, documentaries, quizzes etc. Do you know why the Copenhagen summit failed? Because the HR from our office was not invited there! One look at that green background on that email and all the delegates in that summit would agree that the world has become much more greener. Never mind the alien one eyed “Green I” who pops in once a day in my mailbox diligently and invites me to do small stuff which I never ever thought of before (which, apparently can change the world). Ideas galore, ranging from selling potted plants to eating less beans (and yes, less meat too) to make this world a better place came up from all directions. Being the radical that I am, I also stated my ideas (these don’t apply to me anyway, I am above all these):

- Sacrificing one meal a day (can’t say it went well with all the foodies in the office)

- Walk up and down instead of using the elevators (This was shot down I think based on the thought that it would not be eco-friendly if you slipped and fell down the stairs)

So I stopped sharing these ideas. One day that Green I will take me to his planet and let me preach these golden words of wisdom. It’s just not appreciated on Earth – goodluck with going green.
It’s amazing that everyone around is so conscious of the importance of the environment nowadays. (Except, ofcourse, the Bangalore Municipality which seems to be cutting trees every other day on every other road. I think their employees are very traditional and need firewood to cook their food – that’s one of their perks I guess).

Since my ideas are always thought to be radical, I do the next easiest thing. Borrow ideas from others. So here are some which I thought are more implementable (in other words, less inconvenient). Let me try and sell them to you (I pride myself in being an excellent salesman) :

1. Switch to a laptop instead of using a desktop computer and cut three-quarters off your electrical use. Or even better, switch off the laptop and tell your manager that you are going green.

2. Use public transportation whenever possible, carpool, shop locally. This is also good considering that the cops have become much stricter on drunk driving.

3. Switch to compact fluorescent from regular incandescent bulbs and use 60 percent less energy per bulb and save 300 pounds of C02 a year. Make your office look like a pub. You don’t need to unwind anywhere else.

4. Use a water filter to purify tap water instead of buying bottled water. This way you can also ask for extra conveyance allowance to lug around a water filter.

5. Use Solar Powered equipments. That way you get off early on rainy and cloudy days.

I bet you have already decided to implement all the ideas above. I bet that’s your new year’s resolution. Good! – see I told you I was good at selling. No, seriously.