Greening the Carpet...

With friends like Minu and Kalai around, I wonder how I become so immune to social and environmental concerns. No, I’m not someone who turns my back to such things. But there is only intent. No action. This post is as a result of the inspiration from the latest article in Minu’s blog.
http://mybetaworld.blogspot.com/2009/06/helping-environment-through-its-ordeal.html

The article which speaks of climate change, also has some simple ways as to how we can contribute to a greener world by doing some very basic things right. And Minu had a suggestion to me that UNEP didn’t speak about. Throw my mobile into the next bush I find. That was drastic. Well, most of my friends will love to have a word on that!

As far as India is concerned, I was expecting that R K Pachauri’s Nobel would add a bit of momentum to the climate change movement. And the odd efforts are definitely on. Did you, for example, know that the Indian International Film Academy has a Green Global foundation to show-case on global warming and climate change? Interestingly, since 2008 the IIFA award ceremony has a Green Carpet in lieu of the normal red carpet! I was immediately reminded of Chairman Mao (It doesn't matter if the cat is black or white, as long as it catches mice).

Does changing the colour of the carpet really help?? It can, for sure, increase the decibel levels and bring the spotlight on these issues. But the real change has to happen somewhere else.

Let us first realise that such changes never happen overnight and we should go back to the drawing boards. I think we should go back to Wordsworth (Child is the father of Man). Let’s go back to school.

The one definite step is to mould a generation that has concern for the nature and the only answer is a complete revamp of our school curriculum.

Just for a moment think of our schooldays. What we have learned and what we haven’t. We have learned how to draw the cross section of eukaryotic cells and recite the elements of the Lanthanides. We know about the military conquests of the Hoysalas and the structure of Trimethylbutane. We learn about asexual reproduction in Protozoa and the components of the rings of Saturn. But, is any of these learning helping?

I am not underestimating the importance of the basic sciences and social sciences. It’s the same science that tells us that the grasping ability diminishes with age and we practically stop learning after a certain phase. But how much of our learning in the first 15 or 17 years of our prime age do we practically apply in our lives and our work?

The environmental and social aspects should be added to the core part of the Carriculum and not a co-curricular activity. We used to have Moral Science classes in school that transforms into extra classes for History and test paper sessions for English.

So the curriculum should implant methods to educate the importance of nature. Let us not talk to kids on how to plant trees and why to plant trees. Make them do it. Let us take them out of the classes and into the lap of nature. Let us teach them gardening. Let us teach them the difference between blue bin and a green bin!

So let us hope that we have a new generation whose motto is Vasudhaiva Kudumbakam. A generation that cares for the world as much as their own family. We are too old now, to usher in a complete change.

My friend Jana says that his objective in life is to become to Finance Minister of the country and speaks passionately about the changes that he plans to usher in. Maybe, I should eye the Human Resource Development portfolio!