Varsha Apte

Professor, CSE, IIT Bombay

Over the last few years, I have become more and more convinced that if we humans do not make drastic changes in our behaviour, we will drive ourselves to extinction. What's more, by the time we become extinct we will have trashed and destroyed the rest of the planet. The world will progressively become a very difficult place for future generations if the environmental crises of today are not resolved. There are bound to be serious conflicts and wars over natural resources that will become more and more scarce.

The reason for dedicating a web-page for this issue from my IITB website is that despite this fairly certain future, I find very few students at IIT Bombay concerned about it. Most are just amused (sometimes annoyed) when I mention my concerns on this issue. This is surprising because it is you, the younger generation who are going to bear the brunt of the misbehaviour of my generation. I think this is primarily because of lack of awareness and association with environmentally sensitive people. My own "awakening" happened due to my association with people deeply committed to living a life that creates a very low "impact" on environment.

So with this web-page I plan to share with you some information, and some links, which I hope can lead to an "awakening" similar to mine. I do hope that you will browse through the links given here, and start making changes in your own habits, and possibly influence events and day-to-day life in IIT Bombay to be "low-impact".

The Story of Stuff

A compelling 20-minute video that gave me a wake-up call. US-centric, but middle-and-upper class Indians are very much going this way.

The No Impact Project

"The No Impact Man" is a book that inspired me to start making changes in my own life to reduce my "impact" on the planet. It is a "movement" now.