Should it be World Environment Dooms Day?

By Shyam Parekh

Its a personally frustrating situation for the most of the environmentally conscious individuals. Everyone who agrees that there is something wrong with our environment doesnt know exactly what can be done to undo the damage. We all know what is causing damage, but none of us are in a position to prevent it.

None of the NGOs, voluntary organisations, governments or even United Nations' set-ups have been effective in restraining exploitation of environment the world over. There is no power on earth which can ask the United States to curb or reduce the consumption pattern. In a liberalised economy the boost is on improving lifestyle and consumerism, which necessarily means dumping more CO2 in the environment.

Currently, we, nearly six billion human beings are having an environment footprint which is bigger than what the earth can support. The tolerance levels are long past. We are in a deficit scenario where the consumption and pollution patterns are accentuating destructive natural processes like sea-level rise, melting of Arctic ice, falling tree cover and so on.

So what we do next? Live happily with closed eyes and a sinking feeling? Keep blaming the governments, industries and others for bringing a hell on earth? This is not a piece to exhort you to use toilet flush less often or control the flow of water in your taps or planting some trees and so on. One needs to explore far more effective ways to bring a change.

To begin with, everyone needs to become a saviour of earth. (Needless to remind that charity beings at home - be your own saviour first!) Identify two people who need to be made ecologically sensitive. Adopt them as your targets for influencing their thinking, way of life and concerns about environment.Make it your business to study their behaviour, figure out their insensitivity towards the environment. If you succeed in bringing some changes, you would have succeeded in bringing about a change. What's more, promise yourself to turn them around into replicating the same phenomenon with others.

If you found this idea ridiculous, please shoot something more effective. That's the idea!