Abu Dhabi students use their power

Leading a social change in the UAE Capital is a group of 150 students from different schools with an objective - environmental clean-up.

Three months back, two students of Bright Riders School - Tanmay Kulkarni and Parth Garg - both members of school's eco club thought about doing something on their own instead of waiting for school to provide an opportunity.

"Our school eco club had one or two activities a year. It was during our vacation we decided to do something on our own. And that's how Club Rise Abu Dhabi happened. We put up posters on social media and educational institutions to spread the word. Initially, we got some 20 to 25 members joining us," Garg said.

It was after they got going with their first initiative that more students joined their movement.

"We cleaned up Capital Garden and had some 60-odd students from 8-9 schools. It has been growing ever since," Parth said.

Last week, they took up issues of vehicle idling, underage smoking among others. Holding an event at Abu Dhabi Corniche, they performed dances to grab attention of people and followed it up with speeches creating awareness on various topics. The two-day event was held over Friday and Saturday with a day for surveys and another for awareness sessions. The group covered some 300 people at Corniche, parks, malls and streets.

"Motorists when they stop at red light signals, they leave their car engines on. This leads to tonnes of fuel being wasted. What if we were to switch off our engines for those 30 seconds, we would save tonnes of fuel and save the environment from harmful gases. We don't realise it but the environment is always being abused. Everyone, if they off their vehicle engines at traffic signals, can save thousands of litres of fuel and save our planet too," Ahmad Khan, a student of Abu Dhabi Indian School, noted.

Club Rise Abu Dhabi is hoping that the UAE will soon follow in footsteps of the US, the UK and Hong Kong to implement anti-idling laws and introduce penalties. "We were shocked to find that some 92 per cent people didn't know what idling is. We had some 30 volunteers who went around creating awareness," said the founders.

"Every day, millions of cars and trucks idle needlessly, sometimes for hours, in the UAE traffic. And an idling car can release as much pollution as a moving car. A simple turn of your key can keep the air cleaner, and save money and fuel. Contrary to popular belief, restarting your car does not burn more fuel than leaving it idling. In fact, idling for just 10 seconds wastes more gas than restarting the engine. So, turn off your ignition if you're waiting more than 10 seconds.

"Idling tailpipes spew out the same pollutants as moving cars. These pollutants have been linked to serious human illnesses including asthma, heart disease, chronic bronchitis and cancer. And for every 10 minutes your engine is off, you'll prevent half a kilogramme of carbon dioxide from being released."

They noted that up to 90 per cent of the people have vowed to educate their friends and family about the harms of idling and would definitely switch off their cars.

Apart from idling, the group also took up the issue of tissue paper.

"I have seen at so many places that people take three or four tissue papers. We end up using four times than what we need to use. These little things matter," Khan pointed out.

Apart from the trio, the core team is formed by Armaan Agarwal, Apoorv Pandey, Anas Ajaz, Ahmed Hashim, Thariq Thahir, Bhadra Nair, Manas Phawde, Anvesha Dutta and Aritra Mullick. The group, with students from Grade 8 to 11, has few members from Dubai too.

"Once we pass out from school, someone else will take up the mantle. This movement should go on forever until we make our planet safe," the members added. And the group has received great support from the municipality. "We were surprised by the level of appreciation and encouragement we received from officials at the municipality and Environment Agency Abu Dhabi," they added.

Source: Khaleej Times