The Many Faces of Climate Change

“What’s the use of a fine house if you haven’t got a tolerable planet to put it on?”

The above question by Henry David Thoreau comes to mind on the eve of the Earth Day 2013, which is observed worldwide on 22^nd April every year. “The Face of Climate Change” is the theme chosen for this year.

There have been so many conferences, symposia, debates, campaigns, books and documentaries on this topic. But the governments of most countries have not yet given climate change the seriousness it deserves. May be the governments will take up the issue seriously only when the movement gains a political momentum. But for that to happen, the idea must first have a face. Otherwise it runs the risk of being called a figment of the imagination, a cynic’s nightmare, mere speculation or the projection of the prophets of doom. It is none of these. And now it has acquired a face, many faces indeed. It is not just the human faces of the increasing number of young and old who have turned activists for the cause, but the face of climate change seen in the small but concrete devastations that are taking place all over the world. The patterns of the seasons and their duration, the variations of temperatures, the unexpected rains and storms, the intervening dry spells during the rainy season, the snowfall in places that never saw snow, the increasing water levels and the receding sandy beaches – all these are visible manifestations of the process of change and the signs of things to come if we don’t do our bit towards mitigation. 

A special report in the latest issue of Down To Earth, the science and environment fortnightly, states that Asia was “the worst affected in terms of casualties due to natural disasters – 65 per cent of those killed in 2012 were Asians.” The report says that the economic and environmental consequences of climate change are not evenly felt, that those who pollute and those who suffer are usually not the same. The attention that is drawn to disaster is also influenced by the status of the society or country in which it happens. This is a well known occurrence be it terrorism or natural disaster. The developed countries have their disaster management in place while the developing countries are the recipients of post disaster aid. Whereas hurricanes in the USA are predicted and named Katrina, Rita, Wilma and Sandy with those likely to be hit in a state of readiness, Typhoon Bopha goes for a kill in Asia with almost 2000 dead. It is high time Asians also give publicity to every local manifestation of climate change and call it by a name. Such awareness could help change the attitudes of our people. Ignorance is no bliss. We could make a start by giving alternative names to our receding beaches in Goa, each according to dangers posed by possible climate change, but not forgetting the more immediate manmade disasters that are looming large.

Kathleen Rogers, President of Earth Day Network, says: Many people think climate change is a remote problem, but the fact is that it’s already impacting real people, animals, and beloved places all over the world, and these Faces of Climate Change are multiplying every day. Fortunately, other Faces of Climate Change are also multiplying every day, those stepping up to do something about it.

There are many battles on many fronts that many people are fighting many a day. These battles are fought by people against people, states against states, organizations against organizations, individuals against individuals, and so on and so forth. But there is one battle, nay an epic war, that we all need to fight together to keep our earth safe and clean for ourselves and our future generations. This war does not need the sword, the tank, the warship, the warplane, the bomb – hand made or nuclear. It needs goodwill and generosity to join the cause, to give one’s time and effort, to sacrifice an earth destroying way of life, and to embrace a green lifestyle. As awareness grows, the army of this type of people also keeps growing, ranging from soldiers of the earth to “greenovators”. I am sure the faces of those wanting to do something for a better world will increase after the Earth Day  2013 events.

The people of the western and southern regions of India have a task at hand: the preservation of the natural heritage of the Western Ghats. This environmental issue concerns the people of Goa, Maharashtra, Gujarat, Karnataka, Kerala and Tamil Nadu. The recommendations of the panel led by Dr K Kasturirangan have been submitted to the government of India. To what extent do these dilute the recommendations of the Western Ghats Ecology Expert Panel led by eminent  ecologist Madhav Gadgil? Expert ecologists should debate these points in the media for the benefit of the public. Whatever the other faults, governments in India do respond to strong public opinion specially when elections are near.

We must do what we can, for as Warren Buffett says, “someone's sitting in the shade today because someone planted a tree a long time ago."

Published in The Navhind Times, Panorama 21.04.2013

Thatcher and the Nineteen Eighties

When we talk about history, we speak in terms of eras and centuries. But when we talk of the last century in which we have lived, it is apt to talk in terms of decades. Each decade of the twentieth century is replete with interesting events and developments. The nineteen eighties were the focus of many political analysts for many years before the dawn of 1980 because of the famous Orwellian year Nineteen Eighty Four, the name of the novel in which George Orwell had described the ultimate totalitarian state that could come into existence with the rise of totalitarianism. Happily the predictions of Orwell did not come true in totality although streaks of the horror described were seen here and there.

There were strong democratic leaders, who came up in nineteen eighties in liberal democracies, who definitely contributed to the arrest of totalitarianism across the world. China and Cuba are among the few that still carry on, but not as bad as could have been without a challenge to the idea. The ideas of freedom, equality, free enterprise, human rights and democracy have prevailed; the seed is growing in spite of being throttled by dictators and autocratic regimes of various hues. We have military dictatorships, hereditary monarchies, communist ideologies, and theocracies that still exist. Individual freedoms and human rights are trampled upon to maintain conformism to the prevailing system, and to impose the same on unwilling citizens.

Who can deny the role some strong leaders played in the period we are talking about? Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher of UK, who passed away last week, played a stellar role along with President Ronald Reagan of USA. Their formidable combination contributed in no small measure to the decline of communism as a political force, especially in East Europe. May I state here that I am not so much against the Marxist ideology as against its political manifestation as unfolded in history. The human spirit can’t be bonded by any chains whether they are  ideological or religious, political or economic, social or gender based. The dignity and freedom of each person and all persons are the ultimate criteria to judge a state or society. That is why the preservation of diversity is so important. That is why liberal democracy is so important. And that is why secularism is so important. If we don’t understand this and give it our first priority, then we run the risk of being made robots in 2084 may be, if not earlier.

The Nineteen Eighty Four nightmare can come true in the twenty first century. But not if we are vigilant and learn the lessons of the nineteen eighties. Margaret Thatcher in a way arrested the economic decline of the mother of parliamentary democracy. She was strong and decisive, determined and pushy. She pushed ideas and reforms, some good and some not so good. But she did not push herself. She ruled Britain for eleven years from 1979 to 1990. When the time came to abdicate as she could no more command majority in her party, she gracefully resigned. She did not manipulate her supporters to throw shoes and break mikes in the House of Commons. She did not restrain her opponents on some pretext or the other from attending the parliament. As a true democrat, she submitted her resignation to the queen and let others take over although her party had won three times under her leadership. The final tribute to her may have come not from her Conservative Party but from the opposition Labour Party under Tony Blair, their new leader and future prime minister. Blair brought about reforms to present to the people a new face of the Labour Party, which subsequently won and implemented quite extensively some policies of Margaret Thatcher. 

In obituary references, the British newspaper The Daily Mail described her as the woman who saved Britain. But Prime Minister David Cameron, while paying tributes, also said that Lady Thatcher divided opinion. It can’t be forgotten that she became known for breaking the back of the unions and was called the iron lady, not admired by many. On the international front she will be remembered for winning the Falkland Islands war in far away South Atlantic against Argentina with the might of the British navy during her early years in office , and for backing  President George Bush during the Gulf war over Kuwait during her final year. In between she worked in close collaboration with President Reagan to end the Cold War. Along with Reagan, she welcomed the rise of Mikhail Gorbachev in USSR, and must have rejoiced when the USSR was dismantled.

Yes, the nineteen eighties were an interesting period in world history. Among the great leaders of those times will also be remembered Pope John Paul II, Nelson Mandela and our own Indira Gandhi.

Published in The Navhind Times, Panorama 14.04.2013