What Stops Us From Living An Environmentally Sustainable Lifestyle?

 

The demand for environmentally sustainable products has increased drastically over the recent years. The UN Climate Summit of 2019 and youth led movements such as Fridays For Future, spreading awareness about climate change and the need for a climate emergency, have encouraged Indian consumers to make a conscious shift in the products they buy.

Retailers selling organically grown rice, pesticide-free vegetables and fruit that are not genetically modified have seen a rise in customers, as have manufacturers of clothes made from khadi and sustainable cotton.  Organic stores selling cruelty free and vegan products with the added bonus of paper or cloth packaging instead of plastic have also become popular.

However, if the environment has become an issue for concern enough for the masses to start buying eco friendly products, why have unsustainable and ecologically harmful industries (fast food, make-up) not seen a reduction in their urban clientele?  Why is the full shift to a zero waste lifestyle not on the cards for most, especially those who can afford it?

Apart from the fact that several eco-friendly products are expensive or inaccessible, what are some of the other reasons that this increasing awareness and concern for the environment is not followed by an urge to implement daily cautionary or remedial measures to that effect?

As those who live environmentally conscious lives are aware, there are several ways to reduce one’s carbon footprint, and many alternative options to replace unsustainable practices in our daily lives. These include: recycling paper and plastic, rain water harvesting, thrift shopping, minimal use of plastic, composting kitchen waste and using public transport. Several of these options are actually more cost effective than their unsustainable counter parts. For example, buying second hand is not only environmentally sustainable but also economical.

A study conducted in 2019 found that 65% of the population has intentions to switch to eco-friendly products but only 26% actually act upon those intentions. (1)

The intention-action gap, or the difference between what one says they want to do and what one actually does, is a flourishing phenomenon, aided and abetted by our consumerist economy and our need for economic and technological advancement.

Returning to the question of why the majority is still reluctant to make the switch, many argue that the reason is lack of convenience. For example, it is significantly easier to use plastic disposable cutlery as opposed to carrying your own stainless steel lunchbox when placing a takeaway order from a restaurant. It is easier to put all your waste in the same plastic bag and throw it out, without the hassle of segregating the waste into wet and dry or into compostable and recyclable piles. Out of sight, out of mind appears to have become the motto in our anthropocentric world.

Perhaps another reason is the fear of the unknown. Having been used to a fast-paced life with single use products, needing to suddenly be conscious of your every purchase and its impact, can be disconcerting to say the least. On top of that, having to switch to using products, of which you know next to nothing, having never seen advertisements about them in the media, can be frightening and off-putting.

But could one major factor be the lack of immediate outcome? Or the idea that one is changing easy but wasteful aspects of one’s daily life and adopting sustainable but time consuming practices that need adjusting to; but without seeing discernable results?

For instance: I have recycled my waste diligently for three months, avoided products with excessive plastic packaging, and used soapnut powder for dishwashing and laundry instead of detergent that is harmful for the earth. But there is no difference as far as I can see. Has the state of the earth improved because of my contribution? 

It is a natural human tendency to want to see results now. This is instant or immediate gratification, which refers to the need to succumb to the temptation of a brief reward rather than wait for a delayed but better outcome. 

In this case, what one may want to see is proof that the new and uncomfortable shifts that one has made, have borne fruit.

Or perhaps our newly adopted consumerist attitude, where we constantly upgrade to better and easier products and practices that are less time consuming and require less effort on our part, has become synonymous with the idea of development or even evolution. Suddenly returning to “old fashioned” and natural ways of living may be perceived as a sort of regression in this evolving and forward thinking world.

Having access to new information at the tips of one’s fingers and watching new trends replace each other in the market every few days have only cemented both these behaviours in us and makes moving away from these habits considerably difficult.

The second major factor could be the human fear of insignificance. What difference will I make by switching to eco friendly practices? I am one in nearly 1.380 billion in my country, and one in 7.8 billion in the world. I am just one; what possible difference could I make?

This, coupled with a lack of immediate outcome could probably explain the reluctance several have to participate in protest marches and online campaigns that fight against ecocide, loss of biodiversity and most recently, against Draft EIA 2020. 

The futility of it all sometimes may paralyse even the most concerned of us. It’s far easier to sit at home and switch off the news channels. It feels nicer to be significant at home than be “insignificant” in a fight for the planet.

The reality is, however, that our species as a whole is certainly not insignificant and our impact has been huge and detrimental, as has each individual carbon footprint. By 2030, the systematic damage of decades in the name of development and comfort will become irreparable. (2) 

We should start somewhere, and soon. And ideally, sustainability, like charity should begin at home, with the smallest, easiest of shifts (using a bamboo toothbrush instead of a plastic one) and then quickly progress to more sustainable shifts that take longer to get used to.

There is also an increased likelihood of people adopting sustainable practices if someone they know has made the shift. Hopefully, this is reassurance that our efforts are not entirely insignificant. 

To conclude, as Greta Thunberg said: “Sometimes we just simply have to find a way…. I’m sure the moment we start behaving as if we were in an emergency, we can avoid climate and ecological catastrophe. Humans are very adaptable: we can still fix this. But the opportunity to do so will not last for long. We must start today. We have no more excuses.” 

(1)

https://hbr.org/2019/07/the-elusive-green-consumer 

(2) https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=&ved=2ahUKEwiB1anghvDqAhVSeH0KHSXMAS0QFjAAegQIBBAB&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.un.org%2Fpress%2Fen%2F2019%2Fga12131.doc.htm&usg=AOvVaw0hFW4LJe-3kiBjZdl1zkgg 

Theme: Love

Here are a series of short poems I wrote for a college assignment for a subject called Love, Life and Poetry.

Writing poetry for an assignment is a tricky business. You are called upon to deal with themes you may have no experience with. You are called upon to make a sculpture with material you've never worked with. Luckily you have chisels and other familiar tools (in this case words) to make the process easier.

Working with a new theme like romantic love was a learning process to say the least. I talked to people, read books, and watched movies to understand how I could translate the feeling of experiencing romantic love to paper, in an authentic yet accessible manner. I wanted to move away from the usual characteristics of love poetry: praising one's lover, listing all their physical attributes, etc. I also did not want to write about another common style of love poetry: viraha (separation) but instead, I wanted to look at what one looks forward to in love, what questions one has about love, and what one fears most about falling in love.


1.

 The Dream of You

Some nights, when I close my eyes

I find you, faceless, formless

And I know you.

Like I know myself. Perhaps better.

We sit side by side, on banks untravelled

And talk.

Of stories and silences. Of poetry and possibilities.

And I whisper to myself,

"This is what people write songs about."

One day, I will see you,

You will have a face, a form.

We will move in tandem,

Swaying to the steps of a dance only we both know

Synchronising and separating,

Rotating round and round each other,

All the while standing still.

And I will whisper to myself,
"This is what people write songs about."

2.

What is love?

Is it a touch, 

a glance, a word?

a whispering of sweet nothings, of sentiments unheard?

Is it when two persons lock eyes,

glimmering with shared laughter 

at affectations and inanities?

Or is it,

while traversing life’s twisted road,

the one cobblestone I skipped?

3. 

If love called to me, would I answer?

Could I tell it apart from deceit?

Would I recognise it if it were dancing in front of me,

Wearing a top hat and a tea cozy?

If it beckoned to me with red eyes and forked tongue

Would I let the apple juice touch my throat?

If love sang to me, of horizons and hope

Would I raise naked ears and a wrecked heart?

Or would I lose myself in what it’s not

And fail to sense it, when it comes?

----------------------------------------------------

(the last one has a few mythological allusions/ references. Hope you got them! Especially you, my fellow Lit heads)

Why Has The Boys’ Locker Room Controversy Become a Competition Between the Sexes?

5.5.2020

Within few hours of the hashtag #boyslockerroom going viral on Twitter and Instagram, there were few people who posted stories supposedly exposing one of the women who had posted about the group, Anuvaa, as having made racist and homophobic comments on people as well as vulgar comments on men. Several men started asking if this is what feminism means, to shame men unabashedly but to blame men for doing the same.

Then the hashtag #girlslockerroom began trending, with people, mostly men and boys, citing incidents of male harassment and asking if that was okay and why no one was talking about it. Others were accusing women of posting about this issue as a ploy to garner more Instagram followers.

Some other users pointed out that the people who rose quickly to the defense of men and went from saying #NotAllMen to #NotOnlyMen, had stayed silent when the atrocities of the boys’ locker room conversations were being discussed online. They also questioned the fact that very few men compared to women were seen speaking up against the issue.

Rape culture in India, where rape and sexual harassment are normalized due to the country’s take on gender stereotypes and sexuality, has been flourishing comfortably for several centuries.

Victim blaming, saying “she posted the picture so she must have wanted the attention” and trivializing rape or abuse with the infamous “boys will be boys” dismissal are only two of the many characteristics of rape culture.

But when did using male harassment as retaliation to these or indeed any allegations of female harassment become part of India’s already thriving rape culture?

Why is there always the assumption that a woman speaks out about abuse only for attention? 

And why when a specific case of female harassment is being discussed, the fact that men are harassed too, have to be brought up?

It probably is due to decadent gender roles present in society, which have grown more rigid with time. The idea taught and re-taught is that the so-called fairer sex is the weaker sex and that masculinity needs to be constantly proven by putting the woman in her place, especially if she makes any effort to rise from her society-given position. 

For instance, the term “locker room talk” itself is problematic, considering that it is used to describe sexual comments and jokes that men supposedly make and take part in when alone together. The patriarchal idea that a man has to be strong and unbreakable could be one more reason why many cases of male harassment don’t see the light of day, as showing weakness is a sign of femininity.

Also, with the advent of media, cinema and pop culture and the reiteration of these ideas it offers, it has become far easier to justify and dismiss violent or predatory behaviour towards women. Majority of Indian films portray heroes stalking girls till they agree to go out with them, sometimes even after they refuse. This, as we know, not only encourages boys to think stalking is acceptable, but encourages girls to think being stalked is okay, that it is just part of the courting ritual. 

Some of the women who have tweeted about the boys' locker room issue, say they are afraid that they may be raped or have acid thrown at them for speaking publicly about this. 

Yet one of the major complaints seems to be concerning male victims not getting coverage and female abusers not facing fire.

What we must keep in mind is that going public about the contents of that group chat and tweeting or posting against those boys or in support of the women they objectified is not to trivialize male sexual harassment or to say that women are incapable of abusing another.

If men also are abused, shouldn’t there be more support and understanding from their part when a woman is on the receiving end? Why has it become a sort of competition between the sexes?

Then the Internet saw a tidal wave of tweets and posts in defense of the girls’ locker room, that it was staged. This was then followed by the argument that if that was so, who can prove that the boys locker room group was real? One of the boys was allegedly wrongly accused of being part of this controversy, and committed suicide.

Feminists were accused of being man-haters; the Delhi Commission for Women of being partial; and all men of being rapists. Threats were being thrown around again and all sorts of allegations made. Social media was now clearly divided: sexism, feminism and pseudo-feminism.

But when did this small-scale war between the sexes become the priority?

It all boils down to patriarchal standards that Indian society sees the need to uphold and maintain.

The fact that so many people instead of expressing outrage at the shocking actions of teenage boys, either said not all men abuse women or kept silent till a woman was exposed as being racist and homophobic, whereupon they only focused on women who shame, only goes to show that even the rapidly rising feminism is still no match for ingrained patriarchal perceptions and behaviour.

The fact that some people thought it was okay for male harassment to take place, and that female abusers don’t need to be punished also goes to show that our very outdated perceptions of gender –that a man has to remain strong while a woman is always weaker- have caused us to forget humanity, in the need to maintain what has become a very unnecessary and oppressive tradition.

The danger that stems from this sort of competition as it were, is that in engaging with it, we deviate from the issues at hand: abuse, rape and cyber harassment.

Bringing to light yet another case of cyber abuse directed at women should not spiral into a tug of war, where it becomes about proving which sex is wrong, but should see both men and women uniting against abusers regardless of their gender.

And the ink runs out

18.1.2020

And the ink runs out

Leaving me stranded

With words still pouring out

Of my eyes, ears and mouth.

I am frozen, as if caught unaware

The openings are jammed with imaginary stoppers.

My words are pushed back inside my head, as if crammed in a miniscule room.

My words are growing claustrophobic, confused at the sudden end to the free flow.

They are falling over each other inside my head.

Getting tangled, fighting among themselves,

And finding no escape, disintegrating.

Inspiration, followed by a sudden, familiar urge to write,

Momentary joy, cut short by a gentle fading of ink on paper;

I am growing desperate,

The words cry out to be freed and not curbed.

And the ink has run out

Leaving me caught

At this crucial moment, when after hours of testing and trying,

And feeling my way around the swirls of emerging literary creation,

I could finally taste it.

Could decorate its frame with words I had selected,

Feelings I had created,

Combinations I had concocted.

Then the rich flowing blue faded to a pale imitation.

The words cry out one final time:

A plea to be freed,

To see light,

To exist independent of me.

But I, not the creator, only the middleman, am forced to ignore,

While I attempt to breathe colour back into the pen.

In those fleeting moments, the door shuts,

The storm passes, the word walls crumble.

It is gone, my dreamlike creation,

Into an abyss more elusive than memory,

And I am left grasping

At fast fading thoughts, lean ends of words and pale phrases.

I shake my pen one final time in the rhythm of the drumming in my aching head,

An unnamed sadness takes over.

I scribble absentmindedly on my paper,

And look down at the large swirls of rich blue.

Ink.  

Petrichor

17.1.2020

Today while watering the plants, I allotted one minute for the ritual inhalation of what only the dictionary would call petrichor. If you do not immediately associate this posh word with its meaning that is the smell that emerges from damp soil after rain, I do not blame you at all.

I could allot only one minute to this highly enjoyable part of my evening, because I needed to ponder over the word petrichor and how someone whom we won’t curse now, when making the lexicon, didn’t even stop to consider what an ill assorted pair the word and its meaning would make.

 The smell of damp soil after rain evokes more than just childhood memories. It represents the eternality and indestructability of nature.

The rich throaty smell of moisture that emanates from the carefully clotted soil in each pot outside my house can be found anywhere, in any land; and it will smell the same. There is a soothing comfort that this phenomenon (I can call it no less) provides that appears in many forms: after rain, and after sprinkling water on soil.

This is why I had to question the place of the word petrichor in the idyll of its meaning.

If it were a sublime manifestation of the cosmos, call it petrichor by all means; but since it is a comforting, motherly embrace of a smell, it should ideally deserve an earthy name not an exotic one.

So I did a bit of poking around and discovered that the word petrichor comes from the Greek words petro and ichor. Petro means “related to rocks” and ichor is the golden blood that runs in the veins of the Greek gods. This still sounded inappropriate so I had to follow it up with some thinking and reconciling.

Though I cannot fully reconcile myself to the word petrichor, I don’t resent it as much as I used to. It still appears unnecessarily exotic but, with my eyes closed, the word petrichor does have a romantic feel to it.

Earlier, I mentioned the permanence of the smell of rain on soil, and now that I think of it, petrichor does seem to resonate with that aspect of its meaning, even though its exoticization of the familiar comforting smell of monsoon is not appreciated.

Still, I think in my mind, I can soften the hard angles of this word by focusing on what it means and signifies: a soothing moment of coexistence with nature.

By The Changing Tide

16.1.2020

Open the window to a time

When fears and tears were only words.

Scrabble through the walls of mist,

To arrive at a land that doesn’t exist.

Flip through the pages of two decades,

Stir the dregs of times forgotten,

And the laugh shells that the tide brought in.

Unravel the years of thoughts, and smiles

Balled up into forgotten paper,

Thrown unheeding into silent attics

Where even its echoes whisper.

Hang the twine up on the walls,

And catch the laughter before it falls

And splinters into shards of glass.

Knot the ends of unforgotten times

And hide them in the hems of rhymes

So that they tinkle when you walk.

Finger the frayed ends of the threads

Of all the disheartening things anyone said.

Tie the kind words together

And prise the songs from each other.

Piece the poems side by side

And stitch a quilt so wide and fine,

That each thread glimmers line by line.

And lay it out by the new wave

For the changing tide to take away.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------

This was written as a reflection on the eve of my 20th birthday. I had a few hours to go and way too many memories to reconcile with, ideas to ponder over and words to say. There was also the awareness that I was saying goodbye to not only a whole year of my life, but a phase. And phases are strange things; before you know it, one has passed and before you can prepare yourself, you have been swept into another one. Much like the changing tide.

Why Fan Fiction Makes Sense

15.1.2020

You read a book, you delve into the world the author has spread out for you, then you join the characters in the journeys they take and in the end, when they undergo a transformation of some kind, you are with them the whole time, and with them, a part of you changes too.

If you’re in luck, the book has a sequel and another sequel, and you can stay with those characters you love as they grow. But, what when the series or the book is over? Rereading, as we have learned, is not the same.

Enter fan fiction.

I discovered fan fiction on the Internet and was pleasantly surprised by the staggering amount of writing people have contributed to each fandom. I remember typing in names of every series or book I could think of, and never being disappointed as there were at least a couple of entries for even the most obscure of books.

Though of course, nothing can ever beat reading a real, live book with its own, original plotline and characters, I often turn to fan fiction sometimes when I’d like to have some definite “proof” of my favourite characters’ lives post the events of the book.

I first started reading fan fiction because of all the unresolved threads that existed in the Harry Potter universe that I needed to see to their ends. I stuck to canon, K- rated fan fiction of course, stories that were written in a style similar to J.K. Rowling’s, and then eventually started writing some.

I’ve been told that fan fiction is not real writing. I would argue that though fan fiction might not be original –in terms of characters and places- when it comes to the plot and other nuances it is as challenging and rewarding to navigate, as it is when one writes an original piece.

I feel that though the characters may not be original, the scenarios you create are still yours. And most importantly, the task of telling your tale and intriguing the reader is still up to you.

I have also found that at times when I have no inspiration or simply don’t feel like writing, fan fiction helps take my mind off the fact that I have nothing original to say. I also ensure that I keep writing and experimenting with words and ideas through writing fan fiction, even if the characters are not mine.

Also, after reading books that have endings that distress me or do not satisfy me, I often turn to fan fiction for some sort of closure. I also read or write fan fiction while taking breaks from really heavy books as well.

However, like every other thing on the Internet, fan fiction too is a bottomless abyss and the temptation to neglect real books and original writing for reading and writing fan fiction can become a reality. Thankfully, for me at least, the idea of a new, hitherto untraveled book has always been alluring and my sincere hope is that it always will.