I Want!

I am a hypocrite. I have serious difficulties practicing what I preach. I refuse to go back to Pleistocene. I enjoy the benefits of modern age. Non-stop electricity, air-conditioning, hot showers, freedom of mobility, exotic food , rum-coke , leisure travel, latest gadgets, useless gizmos, all feed my compulsive need to consume. I cannot change my consumption pattern, I am addicted. My personal carbon footprint is unforgivable. It’s a result of cultural conditioning, societal influences, peer pressure and yes my job. I fly more often than the average Indian because my current job as an ‘international environmental activist’ requires it. I am not kidding. But I am aware that my lifestyle is affecting the poorest of the poor, it irritates my conscience. I am guilty, I am a hypocrite. But I am willing to change. I need my government’s help. I need the corporations who feed my consumption addiction to change. I want the world to change. To help me. So that, I don’t continue to screw the poorest of the poor that are getting affected by my lifestyle. I want energy efficiency. I want my electricity from clean and renewable energy. I want to drive a non-polluting car. I want locally grown organic food. I want eco-friendly products. I want non-toxic gadgets manufactured without impacting the environment or unsuspecting local communities. I want effective waste management systems. I want the forests protected. I want the tiger to roam free in the jungles. I want my country to cut down its greenhouse gas emissions. Most of all I want every country to take climate change seriously. I want equity. I want all my fellow-citizens and future generations, to enjoy the benefits that some of us in last few decades have availed. I want you to buy, beg, borrow but read George Monbiot’s path-breaking book ‘Heat – How to stop the planet burning’.