Editorial Viewpoint
Carbon footprints
Concerned about the rising price of bawal wood consumed in fire temples, a trustee suggested that less wood be used. The flame, he argued, need not always be kept burning brightly. His remark brought down upon him the wrath of his co-trustees.
“They thought I was committing blasphemy,” he lamented.
The price of bawal wood has almost doubled in the last five years and due to changes in the supply system a ready stock may not always be available. Farroakh Govadia of H. Sidhwa and Sons, a principal supplier of firewood to fire temples in Bombay and south Gujarat has already cautioned the community regarding the unreliability of supplies. With each agiary consuming anywhere between seven to 25 tons a year and each atash behram around 40 to 50 tons, approximately 2,000 tons of bawal are consumed per annum by 109 fire temples in India, says Govadia.
This does not include the sandalwood utilized by devotees at religious ceremonies and maachis. In addition many more tons are utilized at jashans on festive occasions, both in public places and at people’s homes, offices and factories. As sandalwood is exorbitant in price (a kilogram of sandalwood sells between Rs 6,000 to Rs 8,000, a 1,000 times more than bawal wood), the fragrant wood is used sparingly. Sandalwood being a soft wood ignites easily, the flames causing the bawal to be consumed faster, says Govadia. Hence the offering by devotees accelerates the overall consumption of wood.
The Govadia brothers estimate each bawal tree generates anywhere between half a ton to one ton of wood depending on the size of the tree. Hoshang Govadia notes that as the demand for bawal outstrips supply, smaller, younger trees are cut, resulting in less tonnage per tree being yielded. A bawal tree takes 10 to 15 years to grow in a favorable environment and 20 years if the surroundings are not as conducive.
This means that in order to feed the fires, around 2,500 to 3,000 trees are cut every year. Surely this conflicts with the tenets of Zoroastrianism where we are told to protect and venerate nature.
Aside from spending a horrendous amount of money on purchasing bawal wood for the holy fires (much over Rs 1,50,00,000 per annum), the burning fires add to the world’s carbon footprints. One may argue the amount of carbon dioxide is minuscule to what a large factory or power plant may emanate, but the fact remains that as Zoroastrians we pride ourselves on conserving nature.
Aside from the damage to the environment caused by cutting trees, the burning of the fire also adds to global warming. In London in the mid 1950s a thick fog enveloped the city in the winter mornings. The culprit: wood being burnt in fireplaces at home. With the burning of wood banned, the fog cleared up.
One has also to allow for the fuel and labor consumed in cutting, loading, transporting and storing of the wood, all adding their bit to global heating.
The smoke from the fire not only affects the respiratory system of the priest who is exposed to it continually but also the worshippers who gather at the fire temple. The smoke also irritates the eyes. During the muktad days many fires burn in agiary prayer halls, further compounding the health and environment issues.
The lighting of divas further contributes to the heat and the fire hazard. Many an individual at home and priests in the agiaries have suffered grievous burns when their garments have been accidentally set ablaze when coming in contact with lit divas. Aside from utilizing a valuable natural resource, oil, the divas also contribute to global warming. Surely we can adopt some other practice to demonstrate our religiosity.
The fourth Global Environment Outlook (GEO-4) published this October by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) warned that “the amount of resources needed to sustain (the earth’s population) exceeds what is available.”
“They thought I was committing blasphemy,” he lamented.
The price of bawal wood has almost doubled in the last five years and due to changes in the supply system a ready stock may not always be available. Farroakh Govadia of H. Sidhwa and Sons, a principal supplier of firewood to fire temples in Bombay and south Gujarat has already cautioned the community regarding the unreliability of supplies. With each agiary consuming anywhere between seven to 25 tons a year and each atash behram around 40 to 50 tons, approximately 2,000 tons of bawal are consumed per annum by 109 fire temples in India, says Govadia.
This does not include the sandalwood utilized by devotees at religious ceremonies and maachis. In addition many more tons are utilized at jashans on festive occasions, both in public places and at people’s homes, offices and factories. As sandalwood is exorbitant in price (a kilogram of sandalwood sells between Rs 6,000 to Rs 8,000, a 1,000 times more than bawal wood), the fragrant wood is used sparingly. Sandalwood being a soft wood ignites easily, the flames causing the bawal to be consumed faster, says Govadia. Hence the offering by devotees accelerates the overall consumption of wood.
The Govadia brothers estimate each bawal tree generates anywhere between half a ton to one ton of wood depending on the size of the tree. Hoshang Govadia notes that as the demand for bawal outstrips supply, smaller, younger trees are cut, resulting in less tonnage per tree being yielded. A bawal tree takes 10 to 15 years to grow in a favorable environment and 20 years if the surroundings are not as conducive.
This means that in order to feed the fires, around 2,500 to 3,000 trees are cut every year. Surely this conflicts with the tenets of Zoroastrianism where we are told to protect and venerate nature.
Aside from spending a horrendous amount of money on purchasing bawal wood for the holy fires (much over Rs 1,50,00,000 per annum), the burning fires add to the world’s carbon footprints. One may argue the amount of carbon dioxide is minuscule to what a large factory or power plant may emanate, but the fact remains that as Zoroastrians we pride ourselves on conserving nature.
Aside from the damage to the environment caused by cutting trees, the burning of the fire also adds to global warming. In London in the mid 1950s a thick fog enveloped the city in the winter mornings. The culprit: wood being burnt in fireplaces at home. With the burning of wood banned, the fog cleared up.
One has also to allow for the fuel and labor consumed in cutting, loading, transporting and storing of the wood, all adding their bit to global heating.
The smoke from the fire not only affects the respiratory system of the priest who is exposed to it continually but also the worshippers who gather at the fire temple. The smoke also irritates the eyes. During the muktad days many fires burn in agiary prayer halls, further compounding the health and environment issues.
The lighting of divas further contributes to the heat and the fire hazard. Many an individual at home and priests in the agiaries have suffered grievous burns when their garments have been accidentally set ablaze when coming in contact with lit divas. Aside from utilizing a valuable natural resource, oil, the divas also contribute to global warming. Surely we can adopt some other practice to demonstrate our religiosity.
The fourth Global Environment Outlook (GEO-4) published this October by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) warned that “the amount of resources needed to sustain (the earth’s population) exceeds what is available.”
◆ ◆ ◆
From the archive