Time to Go
Green
Have
you heard of Trisar, Nuvocron
or Avant?
Well, these are three big pesticides manufactured by multinational
companies like Monsanto and Shell. I am
sure you have heard of the legendary secret of Coke. The sales of Coke and Pepsi have increased in
the rural areas of our country by 20%.
Is it because all of us are consuming more soft drinks today? The world’s most famous soft drink, Coke, is
being used by hundreds of farmers in Andhra Pradesh and Chattisgarh
as the most effective and cheapest pesticide on their cotton and chilly
crops. The new Cola spray costs just
Rs.270/- to spray one acre of land, whereas the three popular Indian pesticides
cost Rs.10,000/-.
This is no doubt sweet music to Coca Cola’s ears, but what does it tell
us?
If we are going to live so intimately with all these
pesticides and chemicals, which reach our very bones and blood, we better start
knowing about them and the future of our world.
Let’s face some real facts! When
most people think of the massive environmental problems ahead of us, they think
it is not their job. Do you know that
pollution levels inside cars can be 18 times higher than those outside the
vehicles? Mumbai city alone discharges
around 2574.23 million tons of sewage into the sea everyday. Our standard for suspended particulate matter
in residential areas is 2.3 times higher than recommended by the World Health Organisation. The
average middle class urban family produces 20 kgs. of trash every week, which could take up to 500 years to
decompose. One out of every five people
in the world does not have clean water to drink. According to some conservative estimates, the
oil reserves of the world will last for less than 40 years and
It is right before dawn, you
slip out of bed, wear your track pants and go for a walk around the
campus. The birds have got up before
you, it is hard to see them, the air is crisp, fresh and clear, you take a deep
sniff, a squirrel leaps 3 feet, a peacock goes in
front of you. How peaceful and calm it
is here. It is at these occasions you
realize the truth of the statement that you can gauge a country’s wealth
by its tree cover. Who is taking
care of this forest? Who is the guardian
of this whole eco-system? Who is
monitoring what is happening? Who is
reporting what to whom and when? A big
tree can provide a day’s oxygen for up to four people. Their emotional and healing properties are
magical. Studies have revealed that
surgical patients in hospitals, whose rooms had a view of trees and greenery,
took fewer painkillers and recovered quicker.
The energy costs of an average urban city comes down tremendously as
trees lower peak summer temperatures by 5 to 9%. In fact, an urban tree is an effective machine
for combating global warming. Imagine
the earth as a ball you are holding in the palm of your hand. Look at its precious resources, clean air,
clean water, abundant food and animal life.
It suddenly comes to mind that in this simple and complete cycle we seem
to think of our species as sacrosanct, whereas dismissing others of no
account. We break the cycle by polluting
our rivers, our lakes and oceans, our cities look like trash cans, and the
level of pollution has risen to a point where it is affecting our health and
killing our forests and animals. There
is a crisis before us, and we have a chance, now, to get back in touch with our
personal power and responsibility to change our ways. The answer is in mobilizing each of us to
re-link the earth’s cycle. We are one of
the players of the game, and the architects of our own destiny, for our future
and for the generations to come.
- Nirupma
Kumar,
Professor
Finance and Investment.