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LOOK BACK, BLACK CARBON (0:56)
ARAVIND K, KAMAKSHI K, NISHTHA P - NEYVELI, TAMILNADU, INDIA
Its shocking that about one million people in India die due to ill-effects of a Black Carbon; which had been unrealized by most people, just because about 80 percent of the victims are from the rural sector. The Life Expectancy of rural people, which is believed to be high since they live in the natural environment, has depleted to just 63.7 years in 2005 (as per the UNDP report). Black Carbon, is only next to carbon-di-oxide, in causing global warming. Black carbon, popularly known as soot, warms the planet by absorbing heat in the atmosphere and by reducing albedo, the ability to reflect sunlight, when deposited on snow and ice. Black carbon stays in the atmosphere for only several days to weeks, whereas CO2 has an atmospheric lifetime of more than 100 years. This means that cutting down the black carbon emissions will help reducing global warming significantly in the short-run, and thus also contributing to the long term goals of cutting down emissions.
The movie looks at how black carbon is formed, mainly in the kitchens of rural India. The stakeholders, most of the times, are not even aware that this ‘soot’ is affecting their health and lives in such a dangerous way. Combustion of wood and bio-mass is so finely woven into the lifestyle of these people, that it takes very stark examples (of deaths caused due to respiratory diseases) and very strong awareness campaigns to sensitize them about the ‘soot on their lives’. While the story explores this at the local level of the villages, it talks about how the government and the NGOs must take the responsibility to sensitize the people living in the villages about this hazard and to help them find solutions like solar cookers and improved stoves.
Indian Youth Climate Network’s aim is to show this movie to rural India, to make them understand the issue of black carbon, and field their questions and doubts about it. This movie will also help us take our message to the policy makers and the NGOs in order to find solutions to cut black carbon emissions.
The movies highlights the issue of environment pollution caused by black carbon, and at the same time seeks opinions, feedbacks and above all action-oriented efforts on the part of stakeholders and decision makers.
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I think this sounds like a
I think this sounds like a great effort! I would love to see your final film!
It's interesting to me in part because when I lived in India I had much more difficulty with air pollution in the cities than I did in the rural areas - the air pollution caused by the traffic in the cities made my allergies nearly unbearable - I could actually breathe when I left the city and went to a rural area! It may be interesting to compare air pollution in the cities to air pollution in the rural areas in your film.
I am curious how this film will address the issue of climate change - how tangential will climate change be in the final film?
black carbon
i lived in india, and breathed a lot of black carbon! i think if this project deals with the concept of people polluting because they know no other way to live and don't have the resources to be "green" it will have a great deal of impact.