Hope, Despair and Action…

Fresh data shows that greenhouse gas emissions between 2000 and 2007 increased far more rapidly than expected. We are basically looking now at a future climate that is beyond anything that we’ve considered seriously in climate policy.  – IPCC

Don't worry, he is not an endangered species. But some frogs and the tropical rainforests they live in are.

The relentless environmental degradation going on in the world today  makes for grim reading – melting permafrost, receding glaciers, disappearing habitats,  rising acidity in the oceans, baby birds being fed plastic trash, species being driven to extinction, cancer epidemics due to increasing chemical pollution, continuing deforestation, raging wildfires, and the like. Public and private apathy towards these issues are enough to make even optimists gloomy about the fate of our planet. Things are so bad and most experts in the field are so pessimistic that I can’t help feeling a tinge of sadness when I look at small kids these days. I wonder what kind of a world are we going to leave behind for them. Is it Game Over! for us humans? Is Collapse inevitable?

My own environmental record is dismal. I live in Boston where I burn a thousand dollars worth of natural gas every year to heat my home. Add more gas for a heated indoor tennis club. I run through too many tennis shoes, racquet strings and buckets full of tennis balls (more on these in a later post.) Living in a suburb, I am forced to drive everywhere and clock up over 10,000 miles in a year. I fly twice a year, sometimes across the world. I own two TVs and two computers. Just a few years ago, when I had exactly zero TVs, I would I have shot myself for this.

Yet amidst the despair, there are a few signs of hope. The global economic recession is forcing every company and every individual to reconsider their consumption and even their lifestyles. Many companies are investing in energy efficient lighting, better insulation for heating and air conditioning and turning to wind and solar energy. They are turning off their computers at night and setting double-sided printing to default. We have an American president who acknowledges the crisis and at the moment is at least saying all the right things. His energy plan is a step in the right direction, and the carbon cap system if passed, will finally make even the reluctant corporations take notice. The responsibility though still lies with all of us – the ultimate consumers.

In spite of my many environmental crimes, I do also ride a bicycle to work in good weather. I hang-dry my clothes and take a cold shower on most days. I eat mostly vegetarian food, buy certified humane animal products, use a programmable thermostat, strictly avoid disposable products and those with excessive packaging, use canvas grocery bags and recycle every thing I can. My trash bin is less than a foot tall, about the same size as the one my parents use in Mumbai. I only buy high quality products that last a long time and are hopefully also made with less worker and environmental exploitation. I carry a handkerchief and use wash-cloths to avoid using paper-towels.

All of the above things, by the way, are not just good for the environment, they are also good for Sanjay Inc.’s bottom line. I estimate that bike commuting saved me over $250 last year in gas and car maintenance. Hang drying clothes saves energy, but it also reduces wear and tear and the need for ironing. Cold showers boost the immune system and also ensure that I don’t shower longer than necessary, thereby saving water, energy and time. Vegetarian food typically costs less, spoils slower and will very likely save on health care costs later in life. Higher quality products may cost more initially but save money eventually by lasting longer. Being cheap is good for the environment!

But this should not just be about the bottom line. It is when I see children and imagine their future, that I feel the weight of our responsibility towards life beyond our own lifetimes.  Neglect and denial are no longer an option. We must all become environmentalists. The time for action is now!

Those of us who enjoy wilderness sports, at least the non-motorized ones like hiking, follow a strict environmental ethic: Leave no trace. We may never be able to fully implement that in our daily lives, but we must commit to trying.

(if you read this far, you obviously care. Please add a comment if you have an idea for the aspiring environmentalists.)