Oil…Ozone…and an Optimist

The speedy car having me inside crossed a petrol pump…oh sorry Gas station (7 months down in this country but still not convinced why petroleum being a liquid will be called “Gas”…well they say its an acronym for gasoline) To be more generic, I will use the word "Oil" throughout.

Since the time I have came here in December, the price has hiked from a 3.4$ to 4.6$ a gallon. US throughout its history has been successful to muscle its way and kept the prices very affordable. A colleague of mine at office said that always the price of a gallon of milk and oil has been the same here.

Statistics say the United States consumed in 2007 about 22 million barrels of oil each day, about 25% of world consumption of 87 million barrels of oil per day. Where does all of that gasoline go? When it burns, it turns into lots of carbon dioxide gas. Gasoline is mostly carbon by weight, so a gallon of gas might release 5 to 6 pounds (2.5 kg) of carbon into the atmosphere. The U.S. is releasing roughly 2 billion pounds of carbon into the atmosphere each day. Even a fifth grader knows about how carbon dioxide eats up the Ozone. These statistics from a news website amazed me.

I reached back home still concerned about my spiraling costs (having a rented car) and finally decided to relax.

Opened up the laptop to read the news, check mails etc.
Well the headline didn’t surprise me at all.

Timesofindia said that in the first time in human history, billions of years formed ice is going to melt away in North Pole.
Well the statistics I had read last day about the carbon being sent to atmosphere each day explains the fact.
I had read in my school the importance of ice in North & South Pole. My geography Sir was a doctorate and despite his very soft voice (for which he was ridiculed all day) had explained with lot of enthusiasm that those ice actually behaves like an air conditioner and helps to keep the temperatures moderate. Ice locked there if got melted could create havoc in the world …eating up the coastal cities etc.

But the irony is …what seemed to be a concern for a normal person like me …was an opportunity to some. The article progressed with the idea that now when there is only going to be water in Artic, it is going to be much more accessible and the rich oil reserves, mineral deposits can be exploited.

I was now shocked..rather than thinking of something to mitigate the forthcoming disasters…we are conjuring to rip apart the planet. Slowly but surely Artic and Antarctic will melt away ..flooding the cities …Mumbai…Venice…San fransisco might be wiped away from the maps.

Visualizing the destruction made me more sad…But suddenly the optimist in me took control of my psyche. The optimist could picture vehicles running on solar energy, coastal cities harnessing wind energy, governments around the world making tough and a tad less selfish decisions ,people being more inclined to do their work virtually like managers relying on video-conferencing instead of flying in those oil guzzling jets, …in short “A world where ambition and nature can co-exist”. I said “Amen” to my thought and said myself a “Good night”.

The Old Man & the Dog

Sun smiled again on earth and the city woke up.
I played the same game with my cell phone ie. snoozing the alarm for atleast an hour in a semi-conscious state..
Finally responsibility dawned in me and I was up and running for another day of my life.

At the bus stop, there was an old man sitting with his dog.
The old man had an adorable paunch and a blissful smile on his face.
The dog seemed very tired and had curled up at one corner.
I like observing dogs from a distance but the moment they approach you to build in their brain a customary identification report by sniffing, I get extremely uncomfortable.
So looking at the dog, I decided not to stand under the shade of the bus stand.

I stood outside and pretended to be brave…look occupied by checking the schedule etc.
The old man was observing me for quite some time.
Then he started the conversation by saying “Come here lady..My dog doesn’t bite…Neither do I...”

A single humorous statement put me at ease and we started talking about weather, the upcoming market complex near the apartments etc.
Our fun filled conversation lasted for about five minutes but still it was so refreshing.

Humor is the best trait…It can make merry situations merrier and tough situations just pass by with a smile. You can make best friends out of it and turn worst enemies into friends.

Everyday can’t seem equally exciting or promising. Today seemed one of those days…But a five minute talk with an unknown person in an unknown part of the world could make a difference in my life.

The bus came on schedule and the old man wished me good day.
The dog still sat lazily rounded on the corner.