so how's the weather been?

Actually, the weather's been pretty good in Dehradun I would say. It rained in plenty last few weeks, and then we had a few warm days, and it rained again today, although it was more of a tropical downpour. The weather's cool again; although I think it'll probably get hot again tomorrow.

See, this rain's nice for all of us, but it just isn't normal. There's supposed to be a summer for the most of this world, and with this erratic weather I have been seeing all over the world, I am beginning to wonder if global warming's really going to hit us a lot earlier than most of us anticipate.

I'm somewhat of a pessimist when it comes to Mother Nature. I just don't trust the human race to really get on its ass to try to save the world. For one, the developed world hasn't been changing its lifestyle at all. Oil's at an all time high, and yet the US government does not seem to be in any hurry to find a long term, sustainable solution. In fact, what does George Bush do? He will go to Saudi Arabia and ask them to raise their output. Chrysler and its group brands have been offering petrol subsidies to its consumers. The message from the American government and the American industry is clear - don't stop living the American way because oil is at USD 135.

Whatever changes that are being brought in the developed world are the changes that these societies have been forced to adopt. Now I see there is talk in the US about saving, a concept that was completely non-existent in that country till a few years ago. Now people are maybe beginning to feel that the government will probably not be able to take care of them when they grow old.

In fact, I feel Europe will be more affected because of maybe cultural factors. They are a very protected society, and for some reason, I feel that they are going down on research and innovation, which, in the past few decades, has been an exclusive domain of the United States and Japan. I think I could probably take Germany as an exception here.

As for the developing world, I am very, very sad to see the road they seem to be taking. It seems India does not want to learn any lessons from the past. In fact, India is not known to learn any lessons from the past. The America of today is reeling under financial strain because of its extravagant, materialistic lifestyle, and the Indian society is more than happy to adapt the same, without any qualms or any inhibitions at all.

We all have heard real life stories of farmers reeling under debt because they are unable to pay it in time because of various reasons, but the new Indian who is unable to pay his/her loan is not an entrepreneur or a farmer, but an urban consumer who simply can't keep up with his/her lifestyle. People today, especially the youth, are too busy living the western life to think about anything else. I relate this to an addiction. When its new, the addict will go all out.

When the west accuses India of saying it is not doing enough to save the environment, and India says it has every right to bring prosperity to its people, I really don't know what stand to take. I agree, India has a right to bring prosperity to its people, but I believe India can also be at the forefront of a sustained environmental revolution. We can live happy, we can consume all we want, but not in the way the developed countries consume, but we can be environmentally responsible at the same time.

Our electricity infrastructure is in doldrums. Most of it is lost, there is always more demand than production, and many new giant fossil fuel based projects are planned. Yet at the same time, I have heard scientists say that most of India's hydroelectric production capacity is yet to be tapped. This is something we can focus on.

Our rivers are dying, and they need to be protected. There need to be a massive drive to enforce proper waste disposal mechanisms, proper waste water treatment, effluent waste treatment, and a massive, massive, water harvesting and preservation campaign at all levels. We need to do this for ourselves, not for anybody else. So what if we have a 110 crore people, if we plan, there will still not be a water problem. Bring about rainwater harvesting in all parts of the country. Establish massive recycling plants for urban waste, make a sincere effort to preserve our rivers and natural resources, and I am sure we will be much happier people.

But how many decision makers will think like this? How does one bring out a change in the perception of our decadent society? These are very difficult questions, and thinking about the most obvious answers to them is what makes me a pessimist.