Going Green

Going Green? Think Again! The Nordic countries pioneered the concept of green marketing. The idea as originally postulated was to exercise caution in using natural resources. Today, going green is fashionable irrespective of the industry one may be in. Many organizations seem to be doing more for the environment than doing business itself, if their advertisements are anything to go by. While any effort to protect and preserve the environment is to be lauded, consider the following:  Automobiles are supposed to be high on the “polluting devices” list. Yet, carbon emissions from automobiles account for only 13% while emissions from livestock and the food chain (particularly meat and meat products) account for 18%. Please remember this the next time you bite into your favorite fast food.  Every retailer worth the name encourages you to use paper bags instead of plastic. “Say No to plastic” is the new slogan. How many of you are aware that size for size, a paper bag consumes four times the electricity during its manufacture compared to a plastic bag? A paper bag is hardly re-usable while a plastic bag can be re-cycled and re-used. Better still, why not carry a jute or cloth bag the next time you go to the supermarket?  Organic foods have become a craze, a fad, a trend – take your pick. What you may not know however is that many toxic substances and chemicals are permissible under the garb of organic farming. The next time you take pride in paying twice the price for an organic product, think again.  Alternate sources of energy hold the key: Fact is that in emerging economies like ours, alternate sources generate a miniscule portion of our requirement. Wind is still very expensive and quite useless when there is no wind. We are yet to develop reliable batteries for storing electricity for subsequent use. Nuclear has a stigma attached to it. Even the developed countries do not wish to take the risk of micro-reactors buried deep underground that cost a fraction of conventional reactors and that can supply energy to a mid-sized city. Solar cars anyone? Where are the 200 feet wide roads please?  Artificial Christmas Trees are better than conventional ones: Conventional trees can be converted to wooden chips, used as fuel to warm up homes or recycled back into the environment. Artificial trees cannot do any of these. Last year, Americans bought 30 million artificial trees and 92% of them came from one country – China. One would hardly associate that country with green. Red would be more like it. Still thinking of going green? After all, it is your world, as much as anyone else’s.

I think growing tree will help go green, it would be better if each one of us grow one tree per head. This will help to reduce the global warming to some extent. 

Thanks....