An Inconvenient Truth

A lot is being said about Global Warming and Climate Change lately and how if we do not act, the world would become an increasingly inhospitable place. In the midst of all the debates in newspapers, magazines, news and enovironment channels, a friend suggested that I watch a documentary An Inconvenient Truth hosted by former US Vice President Al Gore.

I for one have never been a great fan of US politicians, though I must sadly admit that they are far better than their Indian counterparts, at least when it comes to patriotism and protecting their country. You may ask why do I write that; the answer is no matter the internal differences, when it comes to facing the rest of the world, they put up an joint show. Now can we say that of our politicians? I say NO; you have a right to your own opinion.

Coming back to climate change, I decided to watch An Inconvenient Truth. And am I glad I did that. The doumentary talked about how years of industrialization, mechanization, deforestation, and a general apathy toward protecting our environment have taken their toll on our atmosphere. It shows how the ice-capped Antartica is melting and how rising sea waters would in the not-so-distant future submerge cities by the sea.

The documentary with facts and figures tells us how political apathy coupled with economic greed has repeatedly pushed environmental concerns in the background. And it tells us that we have about eight years to try and reverse the damage caused or else pay the price, a heavy one at that.

One can agree with what Al Gore has to say or dismiss it as being similar to the Y2K threat that fizzed off. But if we were to map temperatures in our lifetime we will realize that there is truth in what proponents of Climate Change have to say. In the summers, Mumbai now touches 40 degrees celcius; while I was a kid the temperature used to be around 32-33 degrees celcius. That is a 7 degree increase in a span of 25 years. And if one were to map the change in the last five years, then 4 of that 7 degrees have happened since 2002.

You can dismiss this as the rantings of a believer in the Climate Change message. But you would be doing so at your own peril. As we prosper economically, we as a world are going to buy more cars, air-conditioners, refrigerators, computers and other gadgets that directly or indirectly contribute to Global Warming.

I am not saying that we should learn to do without these things. What we must do is demand eco-friendly products, opt for brands that comply with environment regulations and force businessmen, politicians to listen to us.

How do we do that? By not subscribing to products that are not environment friendly and by not voting for politicians and parties that fail to go beyond lip service; in short, reject those who refuse to walk the talk. When we do that, companies and politicians will realize that they have just one option. That is to spend on research and development of ecofriendly products.

Here dear bloggers I would request all those who share my views on climate change with people they know and are uniformed. And I say 90% of our people are uniformed; when Mumbai observed Batti Bandh on December 15, 2007, between 7.30 pm and 8.30 pm, only 10% of Mumbai switched off power supply.

That dear friends is a sad testament of the apathy and ignorance that most people show to the subject of Global Warming and Climate Change. It's for you to decide whether you want to, even if in a small way, contribute to preserve out atmosphere and protect life from the ill-effects of Global Warming. Whether you want to fight for Right to life or Die in silence is a choice I will let you decide.