Let Trump Go To Hell; Let’s Do Something To Preserve Nature 

Mahesh Vijapurkar

An American stand-up comedian made a significant point about Donald Trump walking away from the Paris Accord on climate, by focusing on the location of the announcement: The Rose Garden at the White House. He

said, “At this rate, if we renege, there would be no rose garden. There would be a cactus garden." He was pointing to how things could worsen if we care two hoots about it.

There is much to say about Trump withdrawing the US from the Paris Accord on climate change, but the major developed countries have resolved that in the changing world, they would forge ahead with their resolve to meet the climate change goals. Barak Obama in his quick response helped rally the US cities and businesses to stick the commitment to the Paris Accord.

It is here that the silver lining appears, that more than the governments, the people have a role to play as important a role in arresting the rising temperatures which decades promises to increase by 2C, with glaciers already shrinking, and reaching the inflection point. The summer just ending in India where life had become unbearable is more than a gentle nudge to us to do something about it.

Are we doing anything about it as a society? Leaving it entirely to the governments is a serious folly because governments, as experience show, are insensitive, and have a habit of trying to meet a target by postponing the

dates when they ought to have been realized. Governments think, but do not always act enough and quickly enough to meet their self-set goals. It is at all levels – Centre to the gram panchayats.

I do not intend to get into the complexities of the Paris Accord and the way the work is on or not in the countries which are signatories to it. There are issues of the not-developed countries having to pay a price for their depredations and find it hard to race towards the targets. Other concerns of equal magnitude overshadow any work, if any, done in the direction of reclaiming the environment.

But as citizens, we often think that our role is limited to be critical, and if positive minded, conduct candlelight vigils, form human chains, in support of environment which is snowballing to its terrible state. Positive action, even in our little spheres is sadly missing. Emissions deleterious to the atmosphere are released every time we take the car out to reach the ice-cream parlour. It doesn’t even occur to us that a little walk is good.

The consciousness has to go beyond the mindset of candlelight vigils as a contribution to the cause. It has to be seen in every little step taken to ensure that nothing ensures a further degradation of the climate. There are many ways, and one of this is to end wastage of anything for things require energy to make them. Some things made are so dangerous that they further compound the issue.

What I propound here may sound simplistic, even over simplistic, but they are essential. Sit down and think about every move you make which requires one resource or the other. Have I switched off the light when leaving the room? Have I changed to fluorescent to LED lights? Is the fan on when I am away? Is the air-conditioner set for any temperature than the optimum 24C because it keeps you comfortable and also saves you money in the bills from the power companies.

If the state, city and town governments have banned thin plastic bags, we need to ask why are they being allowed to be used. More importantly, we need to ask if the stuff that the retailer – vegetable seller to the grocer – gives couldn’t be taken away by the buyer in cloth bags? Plastics are a severe danger to our planet, and most commodities these days come in plastic. Even the tea from the street side tea vendor is dispensed in plastic pouches if it is a takeaway.

The manner in which the taps run when washing hands is a serious and reckless waste. If there is no water from the civic body, it could be bought from a private source supplied by tankers – which is mostly the case – as if even that is not a resource. Standing under the shower, luxuriating under it, for minutes on end is a further wastage. Water may come from an informal source, but it is to augment the wasted source.

The list can go on, but I suppose the point is made. We don’t know what the others are doing about caring for this world which is now in Anthropocene age – the only age when humans have irreversibly damaged the environment – but what are we as individuals and societies doing about it ourselves? Think.