Green cops: The more you give, the more you get

Indian Environmentalists: The more you give, the more you get

From The Star | 6th Sep 2010 | By Shah Alam

Environmentalists T. Srinivasa Rao and R. Gnanasekaran from New Delhi, India, who are on their seventh globe-trotting expedition to raise awareness on global warming, believe in the importance of giving back. “One truth is that the more you give, the more you get in return.

“And the more you give to the earth, the more the earth will give back to you,” said Srinivasa, 48.

Green cops: Srinivasa (left) and Gnanasekaran, who are travelling around the world to spread the message on global warming and urge governments to opt for green solutions, standing outside the Selangor State Secretariat building in Shah Alam.

These guys are cool, they travelled across Europe and spent most of their time with councillors and state leaders AND children to “sow the seeds of going green”.

They've already visited Kuala Lumpur and USJ to work with communities and neighbourhoods to help protect Mother Earth. 

Gnanasekaran, 47, said being green was not just about contributing money but also one’s time and talents. “Malaysia is a beautiful nation blessed with abundance of sunlight and this natural resource can be turned into solar energy.

“Paying utility bills is absolutely unnecessary. Making the solar panels will be cost-effective if all houses are fitted with it,” he said.

Gnanasekaran said people were using fossil fuel that polluted the air and this led to global warming and depleted non-renewable resources.

“We want developed countries like the United States to support developing nations with financial grants to develop renewable-energy projects to improve the environment,” he said.

Srinivasa and Gnanasekaran, both electrical engineers, started their global awareness campaign in 1986 with their first expedition on bicycle covering 68,000 km. They arrived in Mexico last month (December) for the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change in December. Good stuff.

Courtesy_

http://thestar.com

http://www.theecomuslim.com

Disarming Manner Supported Pair's Ride For World Peace

Disarming Manner Supported Pair's Ride For World Peace

July 13, 1989 | By Ron Avery, Daily News Staff Writer

Their names are longer then their bodies. And their bodies seem as frail as matchsticks.

In fact, the diminutive pair that bills itself as the "Indian Peace Cyclists" are men of steel.

Thangavelu Srinivas Rao and Rajasekaran Gnanasekaran arrived in the Delaware Valley earlier this week near the end of a three-year, 38,000-mile, 38-country, six-continent bike ride.

The two men, both in their mid-20s, completed engineering studies and decided to postpone career and family a few years to secure world peace and nuclear disarmament.

Well, they could try.

They left Pondicherry, India, in March 1986. Each had $500 and a bicycle. They carried leaflets warning of the dangers of "nuclear holocaust."

And wherever they went they tried to meet the king, prime minister, mayor, commissar, chief, headman.

They asked these leaders for a letter supporting peace and nuclear disarmament, and they almost always got one.

When they arrive in New York, probably today or tomorrow, they'll seek a meeting with Javier Perez de Cuellar, secretary-general of the United Nations. And they'll hand him 500 letters calling for peace, including those signed by the prime minister of New Zealand, the king of Sweden and the mayor of Philadelphia.

They will then catch a plane back to India, where they hope to write a book and establish a small peace museum to display the thousands of objects they accumulated along the way, including 250 newspaper clippings about themselves.

How do you stretch $500 for three years? The secret lies in being sincere, friendly and Indian.

"There are 10 million Indians living abroad. They're everywhere," explains Rao.

So, when the pair arrived in Media, Delaware County, Tuesday, they repeated a procedure that has served them countless times in the past. They found a telephone book and looked for an Indian name.

They called Dr. Ahmed Kutty of Swarthmore, a cardiologist who readily agreed to provide free room and board. What's more, Kutty decided to help raise air fare back to India.

"He chipped in $100. He is calling all his Indian friends in Philadelphia. If they all give $100, we'll have the air fare (about $1,600) in no time," Rao explains.

Where they didn't find an Indian community, someone has always offered free lodging. They slept in grass huts in Africa and under the roofs of many American farms.

They claim they have never been robbed, mugged or abused in three years of travel.

Except for bouts of malaria in Africa, there have been no health problems. They say they found a universal friendliness and hospitality. The only danger came from African elephants and American dogs.

Courtesy_

http://articles.philly.com

Indian duo on round the world bicycle trip to raise global warming awareness

Indian duo on round the world bicycle trip to raise global warming awareness

Mon Sep 06 2010 16:12:20 GMT+0530 (India Standard Time) by ANI

Kuala Lumpur, Sept 6 (ANI): Indian environmentalists T. Srinivasa Rao and R. Gnanasekaran from, who are on their seventh globe-trotting expedition to raise awareness on global warming, have said that they believe in the importance of giving back and urged world to opt for green solutions.

“One truth is that the more you give, the more you get in return. And the more you give to the earth, the more the earth will give back to you,” The Star quoted Srinivasa, as saying.

The duo is currently in Malaysia and received 1,000 dollars (RM 3,200) from Selangor state exco member Ronnie Liu, to work with communities and neighbourhoods to help protect Mother Earth.

Gnanasekaran said being green was not just about contributing money but also one’s time and talents.

“Malaysia is a beautiful nation blessed with abundance of sunlight and this natural resource can be turned into solar energy. Paying utility bills is absolutely unnecessary. Making the solar panels will be cost-effective if all houses are fitted with it,” he added.

He further stated that the use of fossil fuel pollutes the air, which leads to global warming and ultimately depletes non-renewable resources. He urged developed countries like the United States to support developing nations with financial grants to develop renewable-energy projects to improve the environment.

Srinivasa and Gnanasekaran, both electrical engineers, started their global awareness campaign in 1986 with their first expedition on bicycle covering 68,000km.

The duo would be heading to Argentina and travel through South America before arriving in Mexico for the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change in December. (ANI)

Courtesy_

http://www.thaindian.com

Environmentalists meets Indian Leaders

T.Srinivasa Rao and R.Gnanasegaran met Selvi J.Jayalalithaa, Hon'ble Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu

T.Srinivasa Rao and R.Gnanasegaran met Dr.M.G.Ramachandran, the then Hon'ble Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu

T.Srinivasa Rao and 

R.Gnanasegaran met Mr. M.Karunanidhi, former Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu

T.Srinivasa Rao and 

R.Gnanasegaran met Mr. Vaiko, General Secretary, MDMK

T.Srinivasa Rao and R.Gnanasekaran with PMK Leader Dr Ramadoss at "Save Marina Beach" Campaign

Hon'ble Pondicherry Chief Minister Mr. N.Rangasamy addressing a Meeting. Twins T.Srinivasa Rao and R.Ganansekaran, the then Her Excellency Lt. Governor Rajendra Kumari Bajpai and the then Hon'ble Education Minister Mr. A.Gandhiraj are also seen in this Picture

T.Srinivasa Rao and R.Gnanasegaran met Mr. Jyothi Basu, the then Hon'ble Chief Minister of West Bengal

Photo Sources: https://picasaweb.google.com

Kuala Lumpur: Environmentalists chat with mediamen

Message of hope to Tamils

By ANDREA FILMER, andrea@thestar.com.my

Friday August 13, 2010

GLOBETROTTING human rights activists and environmentalists T. Srinivasa Rao, 48, and R. Gnanasekaran, 47, arrived again in Malaysia for an unscheduled stop in their seventh expedition around the world.

The Indian national duo, who are circling the globe to raise awareness on global warming and other issues, arrived in Kuala Lumpur recently after travelling in Europe.

Fighting for human rights: Srinivasa (left) and Gnanasekaran posing outside Batu Caves on their way to Penang from Kuala Lumpur.

“Malaysia was actually our first stop outside India on this expedition that started from New Delhi in January 2009,” said Srinivasa Rao.

“We arrived in Malaysia a month later. We left for Indochina and then travelled to Europe.”

He said the original plan was to tour South America right after Europe but developments in the Sri Lankan civil war lead them to add a second trip to Malaysia.

“About 100,000 people have either been killed or affected by the war.

“This has affected the morale of Tamils all over the world. We want to spread a message of hope to them so that they continue to fight for justice,” he said.

Srinivasa Rao added that Malaysia was a good place to start as it was home to some one million Tamils.

Srinivasa Rao and Gnanasekaran started their global awareness campaigns in 1986.

They made their first expedition on bicycle covering 68,000km.

The duo have since upgraded their mode of transport, this time riding a Tucson four-by-four sponsored by Hyundai.

To date, they have driven over 700,000km, circling the globe.

Srinivasa Rao and Gnanasekaran, who are both electrical engineers, headed back to Kuala Lumpur on Aug 7 and then to Johor before leaving for Singapore at the end of the month.

They will then head to Buenos Aeres and travel through South America before arriving in Mexico in time for the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change in December.

From there, they head to the United Nations headquarters in New York which is their final destination.

Courtesy_

http://thestar.com

THE HINDU: Neighbours on a mission

Neighbours on a mission

On a world trip, T. Srinavasa Rao and R. Gnanasekaran.

IT WAS in 1986 that neighbours T. Srinivasa Rao and R. Gnanasekaran, both electrical engineers from Pondicherry, decided that their lives would not be restricted to being just another 9-to-5 saga. Instead, they decided to devote their lives to doing something different. The idea resulted in their touring the world five times, spreading the message of environment conservation.

"During the many evenings we spent at the beach near our house, one day this idea suddenly struck us. Of course, there were problems and many people thought it not the best of ideas for two youngsters to just wander around the world.

But the more we thought about it, the more we felt we were on the right track. What initiated the trip was all this talk about nuclear disarmament at that time, which had us touring the world on a bicycle the first time round,'' says Gnanasekaran.

But their critics then have now turned admirers as they have managed to bring back "innovative projects'' to the country and also provide useful suggestions. They have also brought out a "diary'' on their travels.

Speaking about their initial trips, Srinivasa says: "We started our first world tour on a bicycle and the message we carried was `Nuclear Disarmament and World Peace'.

Our second trip, which took us to 70 countries in a Maruti Gypsy, was to propagate the message of `Save Environment Today - Or Tomorrow Will Be Too Late'. The third world tour was in a Maruti Zen in 1996 when we were gathering world support for `Saving Antarctica', and the other trips in 2000 and 2002 were about `Mission Save Earth'.''

The two neighbours are now in Delhi talking to officials in the Union Ministry of Environment and Forest about their experiences and looking at the possibility of putting their travel and experience to better use.

"Having travelled the world, we are aware of where India stands. For one, we have a population which is really large and our problems are complex and have many shades to it,'' explains the duo who have been instrumental in setting up eco clubs in schools, adding environment education to the school curriculum and imposing a ban on prawn culture.

"India has among the most badly polluted river systems in the world. The country lacks a good monitoring agency and the bane of the system, of course, is that there is no accountability and the enforcement is very weak,'' explains Srinivasa.

While their gripping travel tales are all there in their first book, `Mission Save Earth', the duo is now working on their second book. "In our book we have spoken about many incidents across the globe, the dangers and the beauty that we saw around. And through these numerous trips we have realised that nature is really the most powerful `person' in the universe, human beings are fools to believe that we can alter its course,'' says Srinivasa.

By Bindu Shajan Perappadan

Courtesy_

http://www.hindu.com

Global Warming Alert by Indian Pair on World Bicycle Trip

Global Warming Alert by Indian Pair on World Bicycle Trip

by Rathi Manohar on September 07, 2010 at 6:56 PM

Building awareness of global warming is the reason why global expedition veterans, environmentalists T.Srinivasa Rao and R.Gnanasekaran are on their seventh world bicycle trip.

"One truth is that the more you give, the more you get in return. And the more you give to the earth, the more the earth will give back to you," The Star quoted Srinivasa, as saying.

The duo is currently in Malaysia and received 1,000 dollars (RM 3,200) from Selangor state exco member Ronnie Liu, to work with communities and neighbourhoods to help protect Mother Earth.

Gnanasekaran said being green was not just about contributing money but also one's time and talents.

"Malaysia is a beautiful nation blessed with abundance of sunlight and this natural resource can be turned into solar energy. Paying utility bills is absolutely unnecessary. Making the solar panels will be cost-effective if all houses are fitted with it," he added.

He further stated that the use of fossil fuel pollutes the air, which leads to global warming and ultimately depletes non-renewable resources. He urged developed countries like the United States to support developing nations with financial grants to develop renewable-energy projects to improve the environment.

Srinivasa and Gnanasekaran, both electrical engineers, started their global awareness campaign in 1986 with their first expedition on bicycle covering 68,000km.

The duo would be heading to Argentina and travel through South America before arriving in Mexico for the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change in December.

Source-ANI

Courtesy_

http://www.medindia.net