Back to the Basics - Environment Day

It was sad that while I was planting some trees on this environment day I saw trees being felled in my neighbour's farm. When I confronted the guy (who probably lives on money made by cutting trees and selling the wood) his immediate response was that there are millions of trees that are being cut around the world and that he is not the only one who is doing it. It was very disturbing. We need to change the mindset of such people. This guy definitely understands that trees are renewable since he pointed me to other saplings and mentioned that they would grow back. The sad part is he is leaving it to nature for re-planting while he should be the one making the effort. On this environment day I cannot but emphasize the 3As philosophy of Sunderlal Bahuguna: Austerity (‘‘we should consume less’’), Alternatives (‘‘every problem has a solution and it’s near you. So fulfill basic needs from your surroundings’’) and of course, Afforestation (‘‘tree farming will solve many problems’’). I want to take this opportunity to drive the point home of the Story of Stuff. We cannot continue a linear system of growth (population and consumption) indefinitely on planet earth with limited resources. We need to go back to the basics and rethink and redesign our lifestyle to a more sustainable one.