Innovation battles the Environment
The past two centuries have yielded remarkable discoveries and inventions in diverse expansions of this world. Our morning cup of tea at a local vendor, the fast transport to our workplace, the paper we use to scribble down our grocery list, along with the bag to carry our of nutritionally enhanced vegetables- every aspect of our day to day lifestyle has been influenced by these innovations, making life in the 21st century convenient and pleasing. But looking at the other side of the coin, we can see that our idea of a quality lifestyle has benefited only some and fueled the suffering of many more. Many who are now drowning in the wastes, initially created for our upliftment.
Taking a walk through a city in India, we may come across a certain area with mesmerizing, posh buildings and huge recreational malls, as well as not so luxurious zones inhabited by the poor. Where heaps of plastic line tiny mud shacks, devoid of proper sanitation and drainage, slums are areas we avoid. Yet small children grow up with the discomfort of an unhygienic environment and are compelled to withstand the stench of garbage-filled drains for their whole life. What responsibility can we take for being the source of their misery?
Analysis by the Plastindia Foundation estimates the annual consumption of plastic in India to be around 16.5 million tonnes, which is one of the largest in the world. A great quantity of this unrecyclable plastic from plastic covers, straws, packaging, and other daily used items are dumped in the oceans and rivers, circulating throughout and harming all forms of life. The convenience plastic has conferred to us is now provoking widespread disaster. It is the same plastic from last night’s dinner plates or cold drink bottles that suffocate the slums and leave the residents to live amongst undegradable filth. The helplessness of the slum dwellers is rapidly downgrading into hopelessness.
One small step we as individuals can take to improve the lives of many people is to reduce our wastage. We should use the provided resources wisely and judiciously, keeping in mind the consequences of their excessive disposal. The idea of class and quality in our lives has clouded our sense of reason and enhanced our desire for more unrequired goods. Although this sense of enhancement in lifestyle is not wrong, it should not interfere with the wellbeing of our environment and its inhabitants. Simple acts of consideration such as disposing wastes in demarcated bins, carrying reusable jute bags and steel water bottles, cautiously using paper, etc can go a long way. The time when we, as humans, learn to change our oblivion to empathy towards those who are not as fortunate as us, that is the time when we can all really make a difference.
