Posted on: April 28, 2009
I receive a number of comments on the entries that I post on my blog, which regrettably I am not able to respond to, much as I would like to. Some, of course, often favour me with multiple comments and merely dismiss anything that I say. In particular, on the issue of climate change there are obviously some skeptics who are very active. But several others wish to know, for instance, what they can do in their own personal choices by which they can deal with the problem of climate change. Still others want to make career choices based on a desire to pursue subjects related to protection of the environment.
It is important to remind ourselves of Gandhiji’s very simple but pertinent advice “Be the change you want to see in the world”. The emissions of greenhouse gases (GHGs) which continue to increase despite growing awareness on the subject, are created by production and consumption decisions made by human beings, which certainly need reappraisal and possible reversal in some cases. It is entirely possible for human society to build on all of the good things that modern science has given us, while at the same time ensuring a rapidly shrinking footprint from human activities on the ecology of the planet and on the stability of the earth’s atmosphere. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has clearly established that to initiate a process of stringent mitigation of GHGs, we have all the technologies and means available to us today or some that are on the verge of commercialization. This can be seen in very simple examples like the operation of the bullet train and the TGV in Japan and France respectively, the availability and reliability of which does away with so much more automobile traffic that would have grown if these excellent options were not available. There are many sharp differences in the efficiency of energy use across the world for providing comfort in homes, say, between a country like Sweden, which is highly energy efficient, and parts of North America where a similar home may consume almost three times as much energy to provide preferred levels of comfort.
It is important for readers to understand that I for one am not advocating actions to turn back the clock and ask people to live like our ancestors did in the middle ages (even though some parts of their lifestyles may actually do us good even today). We need a mix of policies that promote a movement to a low carbon future with active engagement on the part of business organizations in developing technical solutions. We also need greater awareness on the realities of this problem and solutions that need to be chosen on the part of civil society, academic and research organizations etc. Awareness among individuals will create responses such as switching off electric lights when they are not needed, and reducing the thermostat setting within homes at the peak of winter such that people do not have the luxury of sitting in their T-shirts under such conditions, but instead wearing adequate clothing. Most importantly, we need to make certain consumption choices that reflect our concern for the environment, such as deciding between taking a shower in the morning for a leisurely 30 minutes at a stretch versus an efficient and equally effective 5 to 7 minutes under the shower. And, of course, we also need to be conscious of our diets and to reduce consumption of meat, because the meat production cycle is extremely intensive in emissions of GHGs.
In essence, I am only suggesting responsible behaviour on the part of individuals and households and not an abandonment of the facilities and infrastructure on which life today has become terribly dependent. But, in keeping with the definition of sustainable development we must ensure that this generation and the next do not have to compromise on choices arising out of escalating and unsustainable dependence on current patterns of consumption; we may otherwise have drained this earth of the natural resources that we depend on and depleted or degraded them to the point where the underprivileged today or much larger numbers tomorrow get deprived.
