Staying green

There is so much jabber about going green. So much chatter about global warming. Nonstop babble about reducing carbon footprint. Phew! It’s exhausting to even listen to or read another article urging people to Go Green!

I’d like to contribute. I really would. But sometimes, I indulge. I love showers, so once in a way or well, maybe more than occasionally, I shower or take a bath in a tub. My justification is that the water I use (some may call it waste) gets recycled anyway, since I live in a building that recycles water for use in the garden. Therefore, I’m not really being wasteful.

Then there’s taking public transport...This is India. Moreover, public transport overall sucks big time. Maybe the Volvo’s in a city like Bangalore are not too bad an option, but walking to the bus stop is a battle in itself. I’d have to side step uncouth people on the street, not to mention the garbage, and unfortunately, animal dung, for India is not known for its civic hygiene. Moreover, what about the smell of urine that pollutes literally every road. And I mean literally, not figuratively the way most people confuse the words!

Then there’s saving fuel...I turn off the engine at traffic lights. We try to recycle as much as possible...I sell old paper, plastic, etc., carry my own shopping bag around...the last one is easy to do since stores are now charging a fee for shopping bags.

I don’t print if I can help it. I use old paper to scribble. I can’t help but use tissue in the bathroom; it’s just so much cleaner. I put a full load of clothes in the washing machine. I use wastewater from the RO filter to water plants.

I try hard. However, when I see people around me not caring at all, I wonder if my little contribution even makes a difference. I wonder why the Government doesn’t enforce Go Green! more. It’s easy to launch a campaign, but hard to make people follow it unless it’s enforced.

Even if we reduce the use of paper, we’re still contributing to pollution of the environment in so many other ways, like commuting, using electricity, plastic packaging, etc.

My question is, if we Go Green! in some ways aren’t we still polluting in other ways anyway? If yes, then why Go Green! at all??? Then, how do I Stay Green?