Green collar jobs are OK, but will it be enough?

New York Times has been talking about Green Collar Jobs. I am sure as the need to go 'green' becomes more and more pressing newer green jobs will open up. But there is one question which I have been pondering over. Will all the carbon emissions saved be enough as long as we have fuel guzzling cars and a fuel guzzling lifestyle?
Even if you generate all the power needed for your home from the Sun, you are also doing a lot of things which will add up to the emissions. Plus, the industrialisation and construction activity that is going on is going to add more carbon to the atmosphere than what all the people on earth would save from going for alternative energy.
The only option before humanity is, weird as it may seem, go for radical lifestyle changes. And I believe if we don't do it fast, Nature will take it upon itself to do it in a far more violent manner.

Reducing our carbon footprints

Reducing our carbon footprint: It seems the world is slowly coming to the agreement that that is what we need to do if we need to ensure that the earth is habitable for living being after 60-100 years. Right now the ideas about reducing carbon emissions are still being bandied about, without much effective action being taken.
I think we as individuals can do a lot to reduce our carbon footprints. For those interested in this subject the Internet throws of plenty of action plans, such as reducing their food miles, using public transport more often, etc. I think even by simply changing the way we eat can contribute a lot to reducing our carbon footprints.
Over the centuries we have become habituated to eating over-cooked food that is zapped of its vitality and nutrients. At the same time, ancient Yoga treatises say we need to eat more raw food, such a fruits and vegetables. Imagine that: if the whole population of this crowded planet decides to switch to raw fruits and vegetables from today, I think we could solve a lot of our global warming problems, plus a lot of our health and living ones, too.
But that is easier said than done. For those who would like to try this path, one word of caution: don't just start on raw food from tomorrow. You need to make the switch slowly, starting from semi-boiled vegetables and fruits to a completely raw and fresh diet.
It sounds a daunting task, and maybe even a 'tasteless' one; still it is worth trying.
More so because I believe it can guarantee all of us a better life, and a more 'liveable' planet!

For once, let us respect the humble farmer

So, as a civilisation, we are going back to where we started from. Our current way of life simply cannot be sustained in the long run, and we will need to go back to how we lived. It may sound terrifying to some who are accustomed to the conveniences of our modern urban civilisation. But it needn't be. We may not have to go back to the way our ancestors lived probably 500 years ago; but we will have to learn to live in a more sustainable, closer-to-nature way.

And I realise, as we try to get closer to nature, the thankless task our ancestors did for a living - farming - would be much in demand. And for once, the humble farmer would be recognized and rewarded. Yes, rewarded. And in more ways than one.

I am talking about carbon trading. I am trying to find out right now if there is any mechanism already in existence by which individual farmers can be get money for their contribution to reducing carbon emissions. If any of you reading this blog know of any, please do write in. As of now, I haven't found any.

Holi in Mumbai - The city shows its culture

Well, it was my first Holi after shifting to Mumbai and I must say it was really a surprise for me. Because the Holi celebrations I witnessed here was a LOT less nasty than the ones I had been through in Delhi. Of course, there were incidents reported of extremes but those were more of isolated incidents.
I saw people in formal attires walking past unconcerned while groups of youngsters played Holi. If it was Delhi, those guys would have been promptly caught hold of and dunked in drain water mixed with colours! Hats off to Mumbai's culture.
Come to think of it, Delhi has no culture. The different invasions that destroyed it time and again, including the quelling of the 1857 mutiny by the British, have left the city with no continuous lines of people to carry forward its culture. If you read William Dalrymple's book The Last Mughal, you will understand what I mean. Much of that mutiny was carried forward by the cooks, dhobis and the sweepers. The culture czars of Delhi had almost no part in the happenings, and finally the Brits killed off those who were left.
Delhi still remains a city without a culture of its own; the only culture it knows is the culture of the sweeper, washerman and the cook. They 'salaam' before you and once your back is turned hurl abuses on you. And scruples is something they haven't heard of. Mix it with the kind of unprincipled politics this country has, especially with all those netas being in Delhi, you would know what to expect of from Delhi and Delhiites!

Back to the future!

Today I read an article in Fortune magazine about how stock markets might never be the same, after the recent crash. Many of those rules that a few generations of human beings went by when it came to stock market investing may now have to change. Well, I think we need to change almost all the rules by which we, as a civilisation, live including the rules that define success and the whole orientation of our progress.
That is because we cannot keep on adding stress to our ecosystem the way we have been doing for the last few decades. The choice before us is stark: reform or perish.
It seems to me the ancient system of life that the sages of India, and other lands, preached and by which our scriptures say our ancestors lived will need to be reviewed. But that is easier said than done. For hundreds of years we have got accustomed to a life powered by animals or machines, and have allowed our faculties to atrophy.
An ancient way of life doesn't mean going back to the bullock cart age. Rather, I would characterise it as living in perfect harmony with nature and creation, while using our currently untapped latent powers to make life easier for us, instead of using the hazardous route of machines and fossil fuels to do it.
More on this later. Stay tuned!

The day food is sold...

The pace of urbanisation all around the world is picking up fast as every nation worth its salt is trying to emulate America in consumption and life style. But no one seems to care about the ravages this is causing to our ecology. A recent report I read somewhere said our drinking water sources are getting contaminated by, among other things, antibiotics and other drugs, affecting animals and, possibly, humans.
The problem is worse than anyone can imagine. And however hard we try to brush it under the carpet, it is going to come back with more force. Imagine this, our kids will not be able to drink safe drinking water. Fresh, natural water will be a misnomer. Where will this lead us? Extinction? I don't know, but if not that, then we will have to live as a condemned species, what with all the toxins we are adding to our ecosystem.
Isn't it time we took our single-pointed focus off conspicuous consumption and our misplaced benchmarks of fine living and try to reorient ourselves to a more holistic, harmless and inclusive lifestyle?
Someone who I highly respect once told me: It is written by Sage Vyasa that the day when food is sold that will be the worst day for humans and creation. Now, we can easily dismiss him and his ilk as old-fashioned, religious fellows. But, come to think of it, isn't it true? Can't we trace all our problems to our greed for money, so much so that we are even selling food and allowing commercial interests to lock up food and water resources in their quest for profit? Aren't those the things we should make available to all creation for free?

Lofty Ideals, But Will It Really Help?

The more I think of it, the more I am convinced that the objective of life is not money; it is to help people - spiritually, mentally and physically. Well, it is a lofty motive, and one that has been conveniently misused by many to hide their profit-taking activities. Look at the world's richest men. All of them are falling over each other to finance charities. Of course, they are doing service to humanity and the planet. But look at it this way: they have ravaged the environment and the lives of many poor people in trying to amass those fortunes that they now propose to spend on the well being of those very people and environment.

The ravaries we are inflicting on this planet in our quest to amass those riches, simply put, cannot be healed by ploughing back a part of that money into welfare schemes. The motives may be good but they effort being put in won't save this planet. Unless we decide to take a look at this whole question of conspicuous consumption and material satisfaction.

I know it all sounds too abstract. But this is something we need to look at very carefully, and soon.