Sunday, April 19, 2009

Environment: Mandates and processes need of the hour!

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I have come across enthusiastic appeals to contribute towards saving the environment by modifying the way I go about my everyday life.

For example, I find it very difficult to avoid using plastics. I buy juice in a carton as against a plastic bottle, only to find that even the cartons use plastic linings to make it waterproof. After little research I come to understand that there is no alternative water-proofing solution to plastics that is affordable to common man. Similarly, I am piling up dozens of used batteries simply because I am yet to find an environmentally safe way of disposing them, even after actively searching for a recycling plant or safe-disposal facility close to Hyderabad . The same predicament applies to anything that can be connected to electricity from cellphone chargers to television sets.

On the other hand even when solutions are available for an environmental problem common man is not effectively sensitized. Consider the case of disposing kitchen wastes. Composting them to manure and using them as manure for plants is a tried and tested solution. However, the process of composting or the fact that such small compost bins are available at affordable prices are known only the to environmentally conscious.

So, good intentions of appeals to be environmental consciousness not withstanding, a tangible impact can be achieved only if proven alternatives are easily available for common man use supplemented by processes and mandates for sensitizing him on the issue.

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