On this World Environment Day, let’s pledge to use this crisis to do things differently and build back a better world that is more sustainable, resilient and inclusive, says Sakshi Sharma
Child: “Tell me the one about the virus again. Then, I’ll go to bed. That one’s my favourite.”
Adult male: “Okay! Snuggle down my boy, though I know that you know full well...
“It was a world of waste and wonder, poverty and plenty. Back before we understood why hindsight’s 2020. You see, the people came up with companies to trade across all lands but they swelled and got much bigger then we ever could have planned. We’d always had our wants but now, it got so quick, you could have anything you dreamed of in a day and with a click. We noticed families had stopped talking. That’s not to say they never spoke but the meaning must have melted and the work-life balance broke. The children’s eyes grew squarer and every toddler had a phone. They filtered out the imperfections but amid the noise, they felt alone. Every day the skies grew thicker till you couldn’t see the stars. So we flew in planes to find them, while down below, we filled our cars. We’d drive around all day in circles. We’d forgotten how to run. We swapped the grass for tarmac, shrunk the parks till there was none. We filled the sea with plastic because our waste was never capped. Until, each day, when you went fishing you’d pull them out already wrapped. While we drank, smoked and gambled, our leaders taught us why it’s best to not upset the lobbies, more convenient to die.
“But then, in 2020, a new virus came our way. The governments reacted and told us all to hide away. But while we all were hidden, amidst the fear, people dusted off their instincts. They remembered how to smile, started clapping to say thank you and calling up their mums. And while the car keys gathered dust, they would look forward to their runs. With the skies less full of voyagers, the earth began to breathe. The beaches bore new wildlife that scuttled off into the seas. Some people started dancing, some were singing and some were baking. We’d grown so used to bad news but some good news was in the making. So when we found the cure, and were allowed to go outside, we all preferred the world we found to the one we’d left behind. Old habits became extinct and they made way for the new. Every simple act of kindness was now given its due.”
Child: “But why did it take a virus to bring people back together?”
Adult male: “Well, sometimes you’ve got to get sick, my boy, before you start feeling better.”
Tom Roberts’ poem, The Great Realisation, is a bedtime tale about pre-pandemic life that falls apart when a virus hits, and yet, the end initiates something better: A world where people are kinder and understand the reality of life.
Years ago, when 2012 was predicted to be the doomed year, nobody believed it. Neither the eponymous film, nor the predictions. They seemed too bizarre for so many calamities to take place together, all of a sudden. Well, 2020, has been acting much like 2012, only a more exaggerated version of it. It started with Amazon and Australia bushfires, followed by the Coronavirus pandemic, cyclones, locusts attack, blood-sucking ticks attack, tsunami (near Russia), landslides (in Assam), earthquakes and what not, have taken a toll on the world.
The year of keeping in touch with our loved ones on video calls, virtual meetings on account of a lockdown has definitely many drawbacks. But it has been a blessing in disguise for our ecosystem as it has considerably slowed down the vicious cycle of unnecessary human consumption and nature has been flourishing. Manu Singh, Chief Mentor, and Environmentalist, Varenyum says, “The result of the lockdown has been clearer skies, purer rivers, thriving flora and fauna and an astronomical decrease in pollution.”
We saw a lot of examples that made it evident that nature was balancing itself as humans were locked indoors — clear water in the Venice canals, pigeon flocked the streets of Connaught Place in Delhi, flamingoes were sighted by hundreds in Mumbai, Gangetic Dolphins were spotted near Kolkata ghats after almost 30 years while resident of Jalandhar, Punjab and its surrounding areas were thrilled with the clear views of Himalayan peaks which weren’t visible for decades.
All these incidents have made us reflect on our actions and earth’s sustainability. Now that the lockdown is relaxed and later when life gets back on track, will pollution and other man-made disasters resume or is there a sense of realisation among the people? Manu says: “Let’s not imagine that this will, in anyway, remain the case, once the lockdown is lifted. We have turned ourselves into reactive zombies, who will again resume the rat race and individualism without giving any conscious thought to these learnings. People who have come to this realisation and will act upon it are a miniscule minority, whereas the ones itching to get back to the nefarious normal are in huge numbers.”
Delhi-based environmental activist and entrepreneur, Jai Dhar Gupta agrees and says, “Human memory is very short. They won’t remember after a while what disaster they have caused to the environment. The basic human nature is to be selfish. We will only be concerned about our economic survival which is at stake now. We will use the fossil fuels at the same rate and will bounce back to the old ways because people don’t change that easily.” He adds that the subset of people, who are environmentalists, is very small. Their hopes or aspirations don’t even matter.
Now that earth has become cleaner, albeit temporarily, how can we make sure people don’t repeat the mistakes that they have been making since decades? Well, Manu believes that the worst kind of pollution is not air, water, soil or noise but pollution of consciousness. We abuse ourselves, our fellow sentient beings, and nature because we have polluted our consciousness by investing in ego and greed instead of love, compassion and care. “The entire creation is a web of interconnectedness and the moment we start acting as if we’re separate from it, we start behaving like carcinogens who grow only for the sake of growth, destroying the ecosystem that nourish us — and eventually destroying ourselves. We need to slow down and feel the treasures of nature within and without, re-establishing our connection with life. We need to realise what we are losing as this alone can stop us from wreaking havoc on our planet,” says he.
The question of meeting our current needs without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their needs is sustainable development. But this is something that we do not pause and think about. Jai Dhar says that of course the right approach is to find a more sustainable way. He adds: “But before looking for solutions let us see what those mistakes are? One of the big problem is that 60 per cent people light their chulha using bio fuel — wood or dried cow dung, which is the largest source of air pollution. How is that going to go away? The people using them are either too poor or live in remote areas and neither the people at large, nor the government seem to try hard to change that. I don't think even our Environment Minister knows what the word ‘sustainable’ actually means, it is blind leading the blind. Our forest minister has done everything possible to destroy the environment to promote growth. We are compromising on health and government. We have been doing it for years.”
Talking about sustainability in the current times, he further asks, “What is it that people are buying in large numbers numbers?” and then answers, “it is the masks and PPE kits. Does anyone of us know how to use and throw plastic masks and PPE kits? How will they decomposed? Is their any authority that will regulate the waste that will be produced? Well, these are the questions we need to ask the government so that our safety doesn’t act as a burden for the environment.”
We can make sustainability possible now through a paradigm shift in our concept of development from a greed-based model to a need-based one. We need to revisit what Gandhiji had exhorted — the planet has enough for every man’s need but not enough for every man’s greed. Manu says, “This concept of development must migrate away from its current anthropocentric viewpoint and encapsulate all life forms and forces that support them. Our model of economics shouldn’t be an impediment in the path of ecology, but should protect it. Nations must join forces to promote cleaner forms of energies, reduce the population, destruction of rainforests and dumping of contaminants into our ecosystem.”
We can use this crisis to do things differently and understand the power and change that one person can bring about. While Jai Dhar’s only ray of hope is today’s youth, Manu says that this predicament is born out of our current lifestyles and we must radically and consciously alter it. He adds, “During this crisis, we have witnessed first hand how vehicular and industrial emissions affect our natural systems and what horrors are unleashed by the diabolic animal flesh trade. Thus, we can pledge and join forces to make the necessary lifestyle changes to mitigate the disastrous effects of these industries at least. Finally, I’ll quote Gandhiji again, ‘Be the change you want to see in the world.’”
Post self-realisation, we need to actively engage other people and transform this into a continuous movement, ensuring that our elections are fought over it so that we build back a better world that is more sustainable, resilient and inclusive.
