When "Green" was inbuilt in Australia

There was a time when Australia felt naturally greener—when our neighbourhoods breathed easier, and everyday life quietly worked in harmony with the environment. Somewhere along the way, much of that simple wisdom was lost.

A few glimpses from past:

• Poles carved from trees, not metal – In older suburbs, electricity and utility poles were made from giant tree logs. They spared our use of iron, steel, and aluminium, and they were practical—anything could be nailed, tied, or fixed without special tools.

• Lights that respected your time (and power bills) – Staircases and other common areas in old apartment buildings had push-button lights that stayed on for just 30 seconds, then switched off automatically. They saved electricity without needing anyone to remember to flick a switch.

• Cooktops that didn’t burn gas – Homes often ran on electric coil cooktops, avoiding the cost and infrastructure of gas pipelines, and sparing the use of natural gas altogether.

• Ventilation powered by the wind – Rooftops spun with little metal “wheelies” that kept air flowing through restrooms and kitchens. No freshair fans, no electricity—just the steady work of a breeze.

Back then, it wasnt called “sustainable design.” It was simply the way things were. Perhaps it’s time we remembered that living lightly on the planet doesn’t always require new inventions—sometimes, it just means reviving the wisdom we once had.

Getting Indian cities cleaner

As Suma and I continue discussing the perils and problems of Bangalore traffic and the breakdown of municipal waste management — where sidewalks are being loaded up with garbage — the solution that comes to mind is the same one we have discussed in the past. Sometimes, I am not sure whether I am stuck in a time warp or experiencing a mental freeze, unable to look beyond this particular solution I’m about to mention. But it still seems like the most logical one.

The solution, in this case, is regular and proper cleaning of drains and removal of dust and sand from roadside areas, especially on every urban road. It is a regular three step process:

Clearing sand and dust: 

Now, removing doesn’t just mean picking it up and throwing it away — it has to be sifted through a fine seive to remove the trash and dust so remaining should be properly disposed of in landfills and topped with green cover so that the sand doesn’t blow away.

The process of clearing the dust from roads to be a two step process, one is the obvious dust that gets accumulated by the roadside because of pressure of passing vehicles and the other is clearing the roads with fine steel brushes used by labourers when a new layer of road is built.

If fine steel brushes cannot be used then towards end of day, recycled water should be used to water down the roads, the natural incline of roads will ensure dust flows off into the drains.

Any person would say that in parallel we need to stop new dust from accumulating by controlling dust discharge from construction sites, it is easier said than done in India and hence should be kept separate.

Controlling flying sand:

Loose sand in cities and towns to be controlled by greening those areas with grass or local bush that can hold the soil together. Use mulch in places of low sunlight, the idea is sand has to be held down. Whilst it will reduce the pollution, it will also improve the aesthetics of the location

Have STP plants in every major suburb 

STP plants to be created in every major suburb to locally handle and treat the sewage. The treated water to be then reused in industrial establishments in addition to being used for local municipal work like cleaning the roads or watering the local green pastures.

Clearing trash:

The trash that remains should be segregated into organic and inorganic waste and disposed off in below manner:

• Organic waste to be used to generate bio gas and compost, both of which can be sold to earn revenue
• Non - organic waste to be segregated into waste that the recycling local industry can use and sold to them again to earn revenue
• The non recyclable waste to be burnt to convert energy as is being done in many cities globally, again earn revenue

Clearing drains:

Drains need to be repaired so that automatic drain cleaning machines can do the work and need of manual labourers is eliminated for humanitarian reasons and also to bring more efficiency. 

Openings that allow water or sewage to flow into drains need to be closed with wire mesh to prevent trash from going in, very common in countries like Singapore.

The type of machines to be used can be one of below or combination of below:

1. Sewer Suction Machine
2. Jetting Machine (or High-Pressure Jetting Machine)
3. Combined Jetting and Suction Machine
4. Robotic Drain Cleaning Machine
5. Hydraulic Sewer Cleaning Machine

Once the above five steps are done regularly then the cities will achieve a minimum level of cleanliness which can be further enhanced.