The Solution (Part IV)

The Human Touch contd...

The problem needs serious attention. And one ought to understand that at the centre of the thought for solutions has to be the belief that we cannot have unlimited desires on a limited planet. The earth, the land, the water and the resources are in limited supply. The need is to ensure their supply in a way that is sustainable. And like charity it should begin from self.
1. The first and the most important challenge is food. Studies have proved time and again the energy required to produce non-vegetarian food is much more than vegetarian food. This will also reduce stress upon our land resources. The surplus land can be used to increase the forest cover which act as lungs in our city life.
2. The second most important thing has to be green housing. A housing that reduces dependence upon electricity by optimally using sunlight, air and water.
3. ‘Life Infrastructure’ like drainage, water conservation facilities, parks and proper waste disposal and recycling facilities should be mandatory for those who can afford. The government should support these initiatives in irregular poor colonies.
4. A city like Delhi can draw a lot of its energy from renewable source like sunlight as it receives ample amount of it throughout the year. The use of solar water heater and solar cooker can save precious natural gas for our power houses. Energy can also be produced from waste and excreta. Proper recycling of the waste products will also solve the problem of hygiene. It would also employ a large number of people.


Beside these big things that have to be done at the policy level by the government, there are things each of us can do from today.
1. Early to bed and early to rise can save millions of unit of electricity.
2. Soak rice and lentils for some a few hours so that they can be cooked with less fuel.
3. Use sprouts and fruits in place of packaged junk food which consume huge amount of energy from processing to packaging to marketing.
4. Use soft copy to wish birthday to valentine. It can save millions of trees every year.
5. Take things out of refrigerator a few hours before use so that they warm to room temperature.
6. Switch off the iron before ironing the last cloth. The residual heat is enough to iron it.
7. Don’t smoke. This will give a few more days of life and a clean atmosphere to others.
9. Always carry a jute bag when going out to buy vegetable. Plastic is a great polluter and at the top of it takes thousands of painful years to degrade.


These are just some of the many possible ways that one can think about depending upon his or her circumstances.


Sustainable development is meaningless without sustainable consumption. The basic question is can our entire population consume at the level of the affluent nations without causing rapid depletion of our limited non-renewable resources? I wonder if such a happy state can ever be attained. The International Council for Science in its report to the World Summit on Sustainable Development (2002) underscored the need to encourage the development and sharing of new and existing patterns with due emphasis on local, culturally appropriate and low cost technologies.

To quote Stieglitz from his seminal work ‘Globalization and its Discontents’, we are a global community and like all communities have to follow certain rules so that we can live together. These rules must be seen to be- fair and just, must pay due attention to the poor as well as the powerful, must reflect a basic sense of decency and social justice.

To be contd...