Walking with Dragonflies

Dragonflies have been around for 300 million years, making them one of the oldest winged insects in the world. Their size has decreased over the centuries, apparently with the decrease of oxygen in the atmosphere. They need chemical free water to breed and decent air quality to survive. So get happy if you see dragonflies around you – it’s a fair indication that the air you are breathing is good.

The UN is observing the first World Clean Air Day today, looking at that more than 7 million lives are lost per year, due to toxic air. As Antonio Guterres makes heart-felt appeals to governments and industries to clean up their act before we all die, what should you and I do? It is frustrating to wait for coal to be phased out and manufacturing units to reduce carbon intensive production, while poison steadily seeps into us [aargh…the vivid imagery of it]! My friend who uses only Metro, just bought an EV for those non-metro-able rare trips. My father-in-law installed solar. While neither of them may have been produced using Renewable Energy or resource efficient methods, at least they are helping create a market for it and reducing GHG emissions post purchase. After all consumers dictate what governments and industries do.

More than 20% air pollution in cities like Mumbai and Delhi come from landfills. So while I am too lazy to get the infrastructure set up for solar or EV, I do my bit by being frugal and not sending truckloads to garbage heaps. Wearing the same clothes I had in college - which was around the same time that the dragonflies came about. Eating non-processed local food. Not taking part in the 'who-has-more-plastic-masks/gloves/shields/handsanitiser' inanity. And walking in forests for recreation – with the dragonflies.