Every day now there is a whiplash of violent images in print, social media and television of nature’s fury manifesting itself through the world in the form of drought, wildfires, floods and as I write, cyclones such as Biparjoy which is causing so much anxiety to people living in those areas of Gujarat which are expected to be affected. Oftentimes in conversations over climate change I hear individuals expressing their inability to do something substantial which would lead to a positive transformation and attributing the problem to mindless use of our natural resources by voracious profit-making corporates.
However, in my opinion, given the large numbers of the world’s total population, it is imperative for each one of us to resolve to make a difference in a small way and let each effort be a drop which grows into an ocean of significant change. The UN Sustainable Development Goals (UNSDG) include Responsible Consumption and Production Patterns, interestingly in that order. The UN website emphatically states that consumption and production are the root cause of climate change, biodiversity change and pollution, the triple planetary crises. Our reliance on natural resources is rising globally and constantly. It continues by further stating that too much food is being lost or wasted in every country every day before it reaches retail markets and at the consumer level. It is numbing to learn that the vast majority of the world’s electronic waste is not being safely managed.
So what can we as individuals do? We all know the 3 Rs: Reduce, Recycle and Reuse. Traditionally, ours was a society which was thrifty and practised them as a part of daily routine. Each one of us could give an example of an older family member with what may have seemed an ‘eccentric’ habit then but makes so much sense today. I will give my mother’s example who could not part with a scrap of cloth from our garment-making business. She wasn’t sure what she would do with them immediately but she always came up with an idea. She would patch the bigger pieces and make re-usable carry bags for example, small scraps would be used for stuffing small cushions and the dolls she would make during the pandemic. In yesteryears before electronics took over our lives and ‘hisaab’ was written on pieces of paper, my aunt would collect every bit of usable paper and ensure each inch was used for her daily accounts before she threw them away.
We can make a conscious effort to re-use our clothes and I heard on AIR an anchor talking about a group of friends who had decided to share their clothes and artificial jewelry. We used to share our books and that concept has gone further to include items of clothing and embellishment! How wonderful ! Reducing consumption is of course urgent so let’s think before we buy our next garment or cloth. Or if you absolutely must follow fashion trends and change your style accordingly do remember to pitch out the same number of garments from your wardrobe to a good cause which will re-use them in some way.
Let’s be mindful of our usage of natural resources, water first amongst them. Not only is it life-giving, it is used to produce just about everything. But in our homes we can find a myriad ways to reduce our consumption { The last rinse of dishes is in fact clean water which could be used for other purposes).
We can be energy efficient: turn off the lights and fans in the room you are exiting, reduce your consumption now else you will be sitting in the dark in the future.
Make your full tank of gasoline goes further than it used to: walk don’t drive whenever possible. Make a list of your chores so that you don’t have to repeat a trip to the same place.
Cover your pans while they are cooking. The food cooks faster and you save gas.
The more consciously you look around you, the more sensitive you will become to your own environment and your personal efforts to impact climate change.
