Lessons
to learn in the aftermath of Chennai Floods
Nature has had her last word. She
has demonstrated how patience when stretched can turn into passion untamed. In
Tamil which has the reputation of being a language at its proverbial best, we
have two great maxims about Nature: “One should have patience like the Earth”
(substitute Earth by Nature as Earth depends on Nature to sustain it and to
provide for the habitation of Man). This explains how Earth bears the sins of
one generation after another, but sometimes the goddess Earth (Bhumi Devi) loses her patience with the
sins of men. Earth has in recent times invoked the aid of Nature to strike back
– first in Mumbai in 2005, then moving eastward, in Uttarakhand in 2013, then tracing
northward in Kashmir in 2014 and finally down south in Chennai in 2015. The
second maxim states: “Water forgives
three offences” (Man is said to rise three times before drowning). Three warnings had been sounded in 2005, 2013
and 2014 but Man had failed to heed them and the result has been the mayhem
unleashed by torrential rains in Chennai for nearly half the number of days of
rain that created Noah’s flood nearly 4350 years back in 2348 BC. According to
the Genesis, “it rained for 40 days and 40 nights, and the fountains of the
deep were opened up: that is what caused the whole earth to be flooded.”
Chennai has now experienced twenty days of heavy rains
and if we do not listen to this warning, the catastrophe of the
magnitude of Noah’s flood will not be far away. Chennai, Mumbai, Kolkatta will
be wiped off the face of earth.
There is a gradual
realization that climate change has been responsible for this deluge along with
a grudging acceptance of our own irresponsible actions to strike at the roots
of Nature. It is an illusory comfort to
say that this is a freakish event and it is not that everyday Chennai gets inundated.
It is still a greater comfort to cite the El Nino as the villain- the weather
phenomenon that gives rise to warmer oceanic temperatures and results in
searingly high temperatures, droughts and intense rainfall. Chennai has had its
worst share of El Nino’s havoc. But this cannot be shrugged away as a one-off
occurrence. An American Meteorologist has warned that such episodes of intense
episodic rainfall are only going to become more frequent.
No cataclysm of nature alone
had caused this, but, rather, the tyranny and greed of Man have added to
Nature’s fury. Global warming is man-made though there is no conclusive proof to
link human activities to the catastrophic El Nino or its opposite La Nina. But
that does not alter the reality that there is a perceptible climate change with
droughts and floods affecting millions of people in different parts of the
world. A scientific understanding about climate change does pigeonhole Man as
the architect of these freakish and deadly changes in the climate pattern.
There is scientific evidence that less energy is escaping to space. The Earth
is warm enough to sustain life and it is because of greenhouse
gases in the atmosphere. These gases act like
a blanket, keeping the Earth warm by preventing some of the sun’s
energy being re-radiated into space. The effect is exactly the same as
wrapping oneself in a blanket – it reduces heat loss
from our body and keeps us warm. CO2 is one of the greenhouse gases and it acts like a blanket; adding more CO2 makes the 'blanket' thicker, and humans are adding more
CO2 all the time which explains how less heat is lost
and more energy remains in the atmosphere. CO2 has increased by nearly 50% in the
last 150 years and the increase is from burning fossil fuels and emissions from
automobiles and industrial units.. Scientific investigation
builds up empirical evidence that proves, step by step, that man-made carbon dioxide is causing the Earth to warm up. Even if
there is a rebuttal, it does not obviate the truth that CO2 has increased, that
the burning of fossils has caused the CO2 increase and this, in turn has given
rise to increase in temperature- what is technically defined as global warming.
India along with the
BRICK nations is accusing the Western developed nations for causing atmospheric
pollution. Though this is the truth, India as a developing nation cannot
absolve itself of the sin of burning coal and fossils that is adding to the
increase of CO2. The pollution levels in our cities have reached alarming
heights with respiratory diseases and lung affliction on the rise. We cannot
deny the air pollution caused by our automobiles that includes diesel cars and
trucks, two wheelers and three wheelers. We cannot deny industrial and
construction linked pollution that has made Indian cities unlivable. We cannot
deny becoming a slave to McWorld with profligate consumerism that is driving
emissions. There is no logic in finger pointing the developed nations who are no
doubt the worst polluters, but simultaneously aspiring to transform India into
a developed nation on the Western model. Your development should now be our development
cannot be an argument for it implies that till we become developed, we will not
stop polluting the atmosphere and we will stop when we join the elite developed
nations. China has said that it will bring down carbon emissions by 2030. Then
the nations that are in the underdeveloped category today can stake their
rightful claim to add to CO2 till such time they are developed…. This is the
surest way of hastening the end of the world though there is no sight of a
modern Noah to build an arc and start the regeneration of the world. In fact,
the Indian govt’s position tha it needs coal as a cheaper energy source
to fuel growth is supported only by 15% ofIndians. In a poll released by New
Delhi based MDRA conducted across 12 cities in India, 90% Indians find Climate
Change a real threat and 75% want the government to switch to clean energy to
fight it.
How to reconcile the
two opposite positions-one that advocates development aided by technology on the one
hand and the other seeking a changed lifestyle with emphasis on simple living,
unencumbered by technology? The latter will save the planet and preserve it for
the future generations while the former will give the present generation qualitative
development and higher standards of living along with the risk of higher
incidence of respiratory diseases affecting all- both in the present and in the
future years.
What is development?
Today development is closely intertwined with technology. It is assumed that
technology alone can bring about development. But the question is what development
does technology bring and what development do humans need? Are the two in sync
with each other? There is a variety of developments such as economic
development( agricultural economy, industrial economy, post industrial economy,
poverty alleviation), Socio- political development(life expectancy, democracy
and human rights, sustainable development, quality of life, healthcare ), Human development (Gender- related issues,
education, cognitive development, communication technology) etc. As stated
earlier technology has its benign influence on all these developments and has
become an indispensable part of human progress. The quality of life today is
determined by the technological aids that provide us with maximum comfort and
minimum labour. But unfortunately in many ways, technological development has contributed
to air pollution in equal measure if not more than the benefits it has
conferred on us. The benefits of technology in increasing life expectancy,
better healthcare, boosting up agricultural production and education is offset
by its adverse impact on environment, ecology, sustainable development and cognitive
development which, in turn, has impaired
vital human development. Today in Delhi the car manufacturers are bringing out
cars with Euro IV standard. It is stated that even if the entire country adopts
Euro V standard, this can bring down Nitrogen Oxide (NO) and air quality index
only marginally. The automobile companies say it is impossible to leapfrog to
Euro VI by 2017- which means that air quality is unlikely to improve in the
next few years. Technology is the modern genie at the service of Man. It also
acts as a rebellious jinni to make Man its slave. CO2`and NO(nitrogen Oxide)
are the lethal byproducts of technology
causing respiratory diseases and other lung related illness.
But we cannot live
without technology-particularly technology that produces power. We need power
to run our washing machines and refrigerators. We need power to charge our
mobiles. We need power to keep ourselves warm in winter. Winter or summer, freezing
cold or burning summer, we cannot live without power. We need power for
domestic use as well as industry, but ironically power generation plants emit
PM(Particulate Matter) above permissible limits to cause lung diseases. Without
power, the poor in winter have to burn coal and fossil to keep themselves warm
and this adds to the atmospheric pollution. The rich has the luxury of using
energy at will while for the poor, this is unaffordable. India has therefore pitched
its claim to continue with the burning of coal as that is the only means
available to its millions of poor people.
The solution lies in a
change in our lifestyle-especially that of the rich and the aspiring middle
class. Apart from Government’s efforts to bring better quality of air, as
individuals we have to make large scale changes in our life. We have forgotten
that we have legs to walk and hands to work which do not need electrical power,
but need will power to physically do those simple tasks that we have relegated
to the machines. Do we need a vacuum cleaner when a broom can do that work? Do we
need a washing machine or a dish washer when these daily chores can be done by
us collectively at home? They are certainly needed in hotels, hospitals and
restaurants, but not in our homes. In India we still have the luxury of hiring
maids to clean the house who depend on these tasks to earn their livelihood.
But physically we are allowing ourselves to atrophy by not working and
exercising our limbs. So much power can be saved if we lead a physically active
life. There is no need to go to power gyms to do the workout when that time can
be used for housework. As for time saving, we should honestly ask ourselves the
question as to what do we do with the saved time. Can it be said that our
parents and grandparents had a gruelling existence in the absence of all these
fancy machines? We do need machines for hard work such as grinding and pounding
but we do not need power cutters to chop the vegetables or to make dough for
rotis. In India where we have summer for full eight months, do we need
micro-ovens to heat our food or electric cookers to keep the food warm? If we
make a habit of walking to the shops and markets instead of driving down, we
save fuel, and save ourselves from physical atrophy. No one comes to grief by
working with hands. An active life is a sound recipe for a healthy body. Many
of us belonging to the category of septuagenarians are as strong as age would
allow us and we continue with the domestic work and also spend our time writing,
reading and watching TV in our spare hours that are plenty available. If we
live a simple organized life, enjoy doing work both physically and mentally, we
need not have to frequent hospitals with frozen shoulders or other muscular
ailments. Power saved by every individual can be utilized in hospitals where
life saving machines run on electricity and other public utility places. Power saved in this way can be used in
shelters for the poor to keep them warm. If the urban class- both the affluent
and the middleclass consume less power, this can be diverted to thise who can
ill afford power to serve their barest necessities. University hostels, school
hostels, shops, hotels and public places should be compelled to maintain room
temperature at the minimum around 22oC.Let the government go for
green technology from the West and encourage industry to prune its power
consumption on the motto of “waste not, want not”. Many years ago, our former
Prime Minister had given a 20-point programme for poverty alleviation. The
Ministry of environment along with NGT(National Green tribunal) and CSE(Centre
for Science and Environment) has to bring a 10-point programme for the citizens
to bring in a cleaner environment and reduce carbon emission.
Gandhiji said India has
enough for everyone’s need but not for everyone’s greed. If we pledge to do our
bit everyday in our consumption of power, natural resources in particular water
and keep our material needs to the minimum we can galvanize sustainable life both
for ourselves and for the future generations. Lavish weddings and parties where
a lot of electricity and food gets wasted can be avoided which in no way diminishes
gaiety and cheer. We should curb our
irrational instinct for extravagance to moderation in all that we do.These are
small measures that in no way impinge on the quality of life. From personal
experience I can say that there is no harm if we exercise and expend our
physical and mental energies. Adapting Shakespeare’s famous words, we can re-write
: The quality of life is not strained; it blesses him who works and him who
strives for it.
The old adage “Many a
little makes a mickle” exemplifies the worth of small steps that can help us
for a giant leap to a green world. It is good to put into practice John
F.Kennedy’s advice to fellow Americans: “Do not ask what others can do; ask
yourself what you can do.” It will be largely up to each one of us to pursue greener path to bring
sustainable development to our nation.
In just ten lines, Tao
Te Ching writes about when to stop:
Your fame or your person
Which is dearer?
Your person or your goods
Which is
worth more?
Gain or loss, which is the
Greater
bane?
…Know contentmet, and you
Will suffer no disgrace;
Know when to
stop, and you
Will meet with
no danger
