Note From President Vineet Bhatnagar
Tadoba Tiger Reserve, the last week’s fellowship trip by some of our members, was a delightful experience. Not only did we all enjoy the diversity and inclusivity of nature but also learned that right policies and conscious people can preserve this lasting character of our planet.
To me, the trip was also a useful “feedback” as it showed that when we take the responsibility to undo (poaching, deforestation, encroachment of land use in the name of agriculture) our wrongs, the outcomes can be delightful. We must find ways to devote our people and policies to fixing the problem rather than laying blame.
Global warming, the biggest calling of our times, requires similar approach and attention. What frustrates me as an individual is that there is nobody who is able to guide me as to what I can do as an individual. Most of the solutions that I read or hear about are either, lofty or simply impractical. I have read about Carbon Mitigation Initiative – solutions that could only be accomplished by large utility and energy companies, the most conservative companies in the world. And to this day, five of the solutions are not realistically possible, like making hydrogen gas from coal with a carbon capture system. Furthermore, none of the solutions was remotely profitable. So, WE ARE ESSENTIALLY SAYING THAT CONSERVATIVE COMPANIES SHOULD ADOPT MONEY LOSING TECHNOLOGIES AND THEIR BOARD SHOULD APPROVE THEM WITH FIDUCIARY RESPONSIBILITY. IT IS NOT GOING TO HAPPEN.
am looking for a simple list that allows me to be “action-oriented” rather than pushing me to be merely “an activist”. I am looking for not just “what things to stop” but “what things to start”. So, this is what I found :
Paul Hawken, environmentalist and entrepreneur has proposed a list of solutions to the global warming crisis and advocates humans to take responsibility for their actions. He is the author of several books and is involved actively with environmental organizations. Global warming should be approached as a problem that is “game on,” rather than “game over.” He used this as a “true wake-up call” and garnered a group of like-minded people to become actively engaged as researchers in creating a master list of solutions to global warming. This came to be known as Project Drawdown.
The solutions include the obvious, such as wind and solar power, but the plan doesn’t focus exclusively on renewable energy or even on energy sources in general. The solutions also involve food, buildings and cities, land use, transport, materials, and initiatives aimed specifically at women and girls. Two of the solutions – family planning and educating girls – are at the top of Hawken’s list.
I keep hearing – we need to fight climate change. It is a no-win slogan. In my mind, we should be trying to create a way of looking at global warming that is inclusive to all sectors from grassroot to boardroom. For a long time, we were perhaps innocent. Until we knew. But once we know the outcome of our own actions, we need to make a choice. We need to stop thinking that we’re going to “win” this. It’s not something we can win or need to fight.
We should change our perspective from “Global warming is happening to us.” After all, if you perceive that something is happening “to” you, you’re a victim. And it’s not a very powerful place to be as a human being. Furthermore, you only have one life, so do you want to live it in that way? Or do you want to live it in spontaneity, joy, creativity, imagination, helpfulness, generosity, and kindness? The way ahead then means that global warming is our feedback to ourselves; We did this. So, if we take 100 percent responsibility for the way things are, we can devote our time and life toward solving this problem – as opposed to a life of blaming others or selfblame. That’s what we need. We don’t need to be hopeful. You can’t have hope unless there’s something you’re afraid of. And to me, WHAT WE NEED NOW IS FEARLESSNESS, NOT HOPEFULNESS. WHAT HUMAN BEINGS HAVE DONE, WE CAN UNDO.
— President Vineet Bhatnagar