No More Snooze Buttons
By Zara Naveed
Of 2nd yr.
The water motor at my house gave up working the other day.It had started to cough protestingly some weeks ago,but we didn't pay much attention.Who listens to the mechanical gurgles of an aging motor anyway?But It had worked for many years,pumping up groundwater so we could use it with abandon.So we called in a motor mechanic.He pronounced the motor officially dead.And NO....this is NOT an obituary of the motor,people.This is much more serious.
You know what that mechanic said?"You need a deeper bore."A bore is the misnomer used to explain the depth to which your motor can pump up groundwater.And every two or three years,we keep hearing those ominous words,"You need a deeper bore."
There's a tube well in the Village my grandparents hailed from.And every year,my relatives there have had to call in huge machines to dig up more earth and DEEPEN their "bore".Every year,the groundwater keeps slinking down.And this year,they had to dig a very deep bore.And someone asked worriedly,"How much deeper can we go?".The rains don't come on time,either.So all the farmers depend on groundwater.The rains USED to come on time.Tube wells USED to be rare.Now every farmer has one to keep his wheat crop alive.
My point is-the groundwater level is going down.I hope the recent rains serve to mitigate the situation,but I'm not sure they were bountiful enough.And the bit of ground water that's nearer the surface in Lahore is way too contaminated.I don't know what keeps us so oblivious to our surroundings.I do not want to live a world where I'll have to run around to get a pint of muddy water.
There are things we can do to make things better.We could stop wasting too much water in our homes while washing up,doing the laundry etc.Everybody know about these water-conservation steps,so I won't bore you with the details.I just hope to raise some iota of awareness on the topic :).What bothers me is that maybe ten years from now,we'll have to adopt these measures as a matter of Necessity-we won't have a choice!
Our planet's way over-used.And the Earth Alarm keeps ringing.But we use the snooze button every time.We just don't want to be bothered about being resource efficient.But one day,even that snooze won't work.What then?
Of 2nd yr.
The water motor at my house gave up working the other day.It had started to cough protestingly some weeks ago,but we didn't pay much attention.Who listens to the mechanical gurgles of an aging motor anyway?But It had worked for many years,pumping up groundwater so we could use it with abandon.So we called in a motor mechanic.He pronounced the motor officially dead.And NO....this is NOT an obituary of the motor,people.This is much more serious.
You know what that mechanic said?"You need a deeper bore."A bore is the misnomer used to explain the depth to which your motor can pump up groundwater.And every two or three years,we keep hearing those ominous words,"You need a deeper bore."
There's a tube well in the Village my grandparents hailed from.And every year,my relatives there have had to call in huge machines to dig up more earth and DEEPEN their "bore".Every year,the groundwater keeps slinking down.And this year,they had to dig a very deep bore.And someone asked worriedly,"How much deeper can we go?".The rains don't come on time,either.So all the farmers depend on groundwater.The rains USED to come on time.Tube wells USED to be rare.Now every farmer has one to keep his wheat crop alive.
My point is-the groundwater level is going down.I hope the recent rains serve to mitigate the situation,but I'm not sure they were bountiful enough.And the bit of ground water that's nearer the surface in Lahore is way too contaminated.I don't know what keeps us so oblivious to our surroundings.I do not want to live a world where I'll have to run around to get a pint of muddy water.
There are things we can do to make things better.We could stop wasting too much water in our homes while washing up,doing the laundry etc.Everybody know about these water-conservation steps,so I won't bore you with the details.I just hope to raise some iota of awareness on the topic :).What bothers me is that maybe ten years from now,we'll have to adopt these measures as a matter of Necessity-we won't have a choice!
Our planet's way over-used.And the Earth Alarm keeps ringing.But we use the snooze button every time.We just don't want to be bothered about being resource efficient.But one day,even that snooze won't work.What then?
7 comments
Nice post Zara, and a different topic :) Reminds me of 'An inconvenient truth' and Al gore's impressive talks on the issue... the danger bells are sure ringing!
ReplyDeleteLiked it a lot. you should write more and more:D
ReplyDeletethanku Fizza baji,u alwz give very encouraging comments :)
ReplyDeleteAnd @anonymous: thanksalot! I love getting positive feedback!
woowww zara...through n through an environmentalist...but srsly an awesome post..!
ReplyDeleteI remember being 5 or 6, when I saw that episode of Sesame Street where a boy is brushing his teeth with the tap running. The water level in a pond outside his window keeps falling. Until a fish calls him and tells him to turn the tap off or all the water will be gone and he'll die.
ReplyDeleteI remember how I began to make a point of turning off the tap while I brushed my teeth, or helped Mama soap the dishes.
It's about creating awareness. If people know and understand, then many of them do realize that 'green' and 'conservation' isn't just for the activists. A good piece and a good effort! :)
A very vital issue to be taken care of these days =)
ReplyDeletenice depiction of an alarming situation!!
ReplyDelete