5.3 Carbon-Based Economies Will Eventually Prove Cataclysmic
159
there is an inclination and money to visit beautiful tourist places in India and abroad,
but only a few have time to visit thermal, hydel, and nuclear power stations nor are
such visits supported by the governments for fear of criticism. There is a noticeable
decline in the environmental and climate movements that we all witnessed in 1960s,
1970s, and 1980s. This attitudinal change is a clear indicator that:
i. Prosperity is directly proportional to desire for replacement of manual work
with machines most of them driven by energy derived from fossil fuel.
ii. As the prosperity expands its network, bigger and ostentatious machines will
be replaced by smaller more sophisticated ones that are energy efficient.
iii. Prosperity has brought in lavish lifestyle with more cars and two wheelers and
less travel by public transport. Poor and inefficient public transport system
discourages its use by citizens and therefore individual car/vehicle ownership,
though undesirable, is preferred.
iv. The middle class prefers vehicles that are cheap, use diesel/gas, and is low on
maintenance.
v. There is a tendency to use old vehicles (more than 15 years) that devour
enormous quantities of fuels.
vi. Commercial interests invariably have short payback period (5–7 years) on
their investment and no carbon-reducing interventions can be achieved in this
period. Moreover, none has time and patience to wait for 50–70 years or for
the welfare of posterity.
vii. Prosperity, propensity, and lack of self-restraint has generated so much waste
products that is almost impossible to recycle; that is being burnt regularly to
generate obnoxious gases such as dioxins and furans.
viii. Climate mitigation is not about tree planting alone. There is a general belief
in India that merely planting trees will minimize climate-related disasters and
therefore natural forests can be conveniently diverted for economic development. Governments after governments have announced planting of billions of
trees in every state, especially during monsoon, but most of these trees fail to
survive.
ix. There is a general belief in India that tree planting is a low-priced activity that
can be performed by all and sundry. The truth is tree planting is a highly scientific activity starting with seed collection, storage, transport, germination rate,
growth rate, branch angle, canopy size, height and shape, disease resistance,
root-shoot ratio, health of soil including moisture, water retention, infiltration
rate, carbon, nitrogen and microorganism, overall lifespan, and so on. In some
countries the health of each tree is regularly monitored through sophisticated
equipment costing millions of dollars, and necessary interventions are made
if necessary. In other words, low-priced and unscientific tree planting whether
inside natural forest or outside will not sustain the test of time.
x. Except for a few isolated incidents, nowhere in the country there has been a
demand by the electorate against stopping global warming actions and activities. On the contrary, there have been many instances where the constituency
demanded for diversion of forested lands for personal and societal gains.
159
there is an inclination and money to visit beautiful tourist places in India and abroad,
but only a few have time to visit thermal, hydel, and nuclear power stations nor are
such visits supported by the governments for fear of criticism. There is a noticeable
decline in the environmental and climate movements that we all witnessed in 1960s,
1970s, and 1980s. This attitudinal change is a clear indicator that:
i. Prosperity is directly proportional to desire for replacement of manual work
with machines most of them driven by energy derived from fossil fuel.
ii. As the prosperity expands its network, bigger and ostentatious machines will
be replaced by smaller more sophisticated ones that are energy efficient.
iii. Prosperity has brought in lavish lifestyle with more cars and two wheelers and
less travel by public transport. Poor and inefficient public transport system
discourages its use by citizens and therefore individual car/vehicle ownership,
though undesirable, is preferred.
iv. The middle class prefers vehicles that are cheap, use diesel/gas, and is low on
maintenance.
v. There is a tendency to use old vehicles (more than 15 years) that devour
enormous quantities of fuels.
vi. Commercial interests invariably have short payback period (5–7 years) on
their investment and no carbon-reducing interventions can be achieved in this
period. Moreover, none has time and patience to wait for 50–70 years or for
the welfare of posterity.
vii. Prosperity, propensity, and lack of self-restraint has generated so much waste
products that is almost impossible to recycle; that is being burnt regularly to
generate obnoxious gases such as dioxins and furans.
viii. Climate mitigation is not about tree planting alone. There is a general belief
in India that merely planting trees will minimize climate-related disasters and
therefore natural forests can be conveniently diverted for economic development. Governments after governments have announced planting of billions of
trees in every state, especially during monsoon, but most of these trees fail to
survive.
ix. There is a general belief in India that tree planting is a low-priced activity that
can be performed by all and sundry. The truth is tree planting is a highly scientific activity starting with seed collection, storage, transport, germination rate,
growth rate, branch angle, canopy size, height and shape, disease resistance,
root-shoot ratio, health of soil including moisture, water retention, infiltration
rate, carbon, nitrogen and microorganism, overall lifespan, and so on. In some
countries the health of each tree is regularly monitored through sophisticated
equipment costing millions of dollars, and necessary interventions are made
if necessary. In other words, low-priced and unscientific tree planting whether
inside natural forest or outside will not sustain the test of time.
x. Except for a few isolated incidents, nowhere in the country there has been a
demand by the electorate against stopping global warming actions and activities. On the contrary, there have been many instances where the constituency
demanded for diversion of forested lands for personal and societal gains.