For those of you who are unfamiliar with the title of this post, I'd suggest that you have a look at the following clip:
Or the following clip:
Now do you get it?
The documentary film "An Inconvenient Truth" created quite a stir amongst the elite intelligentsia in the West when it was released. Former VP of the US, Al Gore has highlighted something very poignant said the "enlightened ones".
So Al Gore and the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change managed to bag the coveted Nobel Peace Prize for their efforts!
Hey! Gore managed to get one even before his illustrious boss, Bill Clinton! Kudos to Mr. Gore!
And we Indians can't help tom-toming the fact that an Indian scientist R.K. Pachauri was heading the IPCC when it was awarded the prize! Some of our "intellectuals" would rather claim that it is Dr. Pachauri and not the organization that he headed that was awarded the prize! (The Nobel Prize Certificate mentions only Gore and IPCC, though!)
And to project ourselves as "responsible" Indians, the media is abuzz with environmental messages, programs, activism and what not!
The common man must forgo one hour of power supply everyday to do his bit for the environment they say; for only then he is green, or earth-conscious, if you will!
Hey! My city gets 8 hour power-cuts everyday! So that must mean I am the most earth conscious amongst them all, huh?
What irks me the most in all this debate is the selective morality being paraded as responsible behavior!
Since times immemorial the Indian farmer, worker, laborer and the academic have known this fact for a certainty that excessive use of fossil fuels, non-renewable sources of energy and rapid industrialization at the cost of the forest cover has only one destined outcome: the earth screwed up for good!
The elite has always chosen to disregard the "uneducated" bourgeoisie middle and lower class thought as something very passé!
Now that the West has recognized the same, all of a sudden it is gospel and one dare not deny it!
Suddenly "organic farming" is the way to go! Oblivious to the fact that the Indian farmer has been advocating for the increased use of natural fertilizers and manure even during the Green Revolution boom brought about by chemical farming, the new age greens would rather buy organic foods certified by the West! The same was unthinkable before, for then organic meant crops grown using manure and compost, and that was filthy, wasn't it? Now that the West endorses the same and calls it "organic", it is suddenly trendy and the right way to go!
The launch of the Tata Nano car gave many of the elite intelligentsia "nightmares". They claim that the affordable, fuel-efficient, low-emission, small car is going to ruin the environment in a big way! But what I (and many like me) would disagree on, is the thought behind this apparent concern!
The common man must forgo one hour of power supply everyday to do his bit for the environment they say; for only then he is green, or earth-conscious, if you will!
Hey! My city gets 8 hour power-cuts everyday! So that must mean I am the most earth conscious amongst them all, huh?
What irks me the most in all this debate is the selective morality being paraded as responsible behavior!
Since times immemorial the Indian farmer, worker, laborer and the academic have known this fact for a certainty that excessive use of fossil fuels, non-renewable sources of energy and rapid industrialization at the cost of the forest cover has only one destined outcome: the earth screwed up for good!
The elite has always chosen to disregard the "uneducated" bourgeoisie middle and lower class thought as something very passé!
Now that the West has recognized the same, all of a sudden it is gospel and one dare not deny it!
Suddenly "organic farming" is the way to go! Oblivious to the fact that the Indian farmer has been advocating for the increased use of natural fertilizers and manure even during the Green Revolution boom brought about by chemical farming, the new age greens would rather buy organic foods certified by the West! The same was unthinkable before, for then organic meant crops grown using manure and compost, and that was filthy, wasn't it? Now that the West endorses the same and calls it "organic", it is suddenly trendy and the right way to go!
The launch of the Tata Nano car gave many of the elite intelligentsia "nightmares". They claim that the affordable, fuel-efficient, low-emission, small car is going to ruin the environment in a big way! But what I (and many like me) would disagree on, is the thought behind this apparent concern!
To quote an excerpt from Wikipedia on this issue:
The ecology focused German newspaper die tageszeitung feels that such concerns are "inappropriate" as the Tata Nano has lower emissions compared to the average Volkswagen, and that developing countries shouldn't be denied the right to motorized mobility when industrialized countries should be looking to reduce their emissions and usage of cars.
And Swaminathan A. Aiyar of the Swaminomics fame, wrote the following in his article:
The ecology focused German newspaper die tageszeitung feels that such concerns are "inappropriate" as the Tata Nano has lower emissions compared to the average Volkswagen, and that developing countries shouldn't be denied the right to motorized mobility when industrialized countries should be looking to reduce their emissions and usage of cars.
And Swaminathan A. Aiyar of the Swaminomics fame, wrote the following in his article:
"RK Pachauri, head of the Inter-governmental Panel on Climate Change, is getting nightmares because of the Nano, Tata's Rs 1 lakh car. Sunita Narain of the Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) says that it isn't the Nano by itself but cars overall that give her nightmares. The villains in my nightmares are neither the Nano nor cars overall, but stupid government policies that subsidise and encourage pollution, adulteration and congestion.
Sanctimonious greens call the Nano disastrous because of its affordability— millions more will now clog roads and consume more fossil fuel. This is elitism parading as virtue. Elite greens own cars, but cannot stand the poorer masses becoming mobile, since the consequent congestion will eat into the time of the elite!
More logical would be a protest against big cars that use more space and fuel, or highly polluting old cars. Instead, green hypocrites aim at a new car with the lowest cost, best mileage and least emissions.
The Nano will not burden us with too many cars. India has very few cars per person by world standards. London and New York have ultra-high car densities, yet have clearer air than Delhi. Our problem is too many bad policies, not too many cars."
Well, you decide! When we have no qualms on allowing major fuel vampires -- Formula -1 cars to race in India in the near future just to cash in on the sports and tourism boom, it smacks of elitism when we deny the access to affordable personal transportation to the common man!
None of the "elite intelligentsia" bat an eyelid on the recent trend of expensive, high-end luxury cars making inroads into the Indian markets. No! That is celebrated as a sign of the booming development of the Indian economy and the arrival of "Brand India" if you will.
Nobody bothers about the environment when a Toyota Landcruiser or a Mitsubishi Pajero is imported by the conscious greens. (Apparently, these beasts consume a lot less fuel than a tiny Nano, huh?)
I can recall another anecdotal incident similar to this.
Low cost carriers were introduced in India by a hitherto unknown company called Air Deccan in 2003. It was not a new concept; but was heavily borrowed from the same introduced by the US carrier Pacific Southwest Airlines way back in 1949. But it was welcomed with open arms by the common man. There were consequences. Low-cost carriers posed a serious threat to traditional "full service" airlines, since the high cost structure of full-service carriers prevents them from competing effectively on price - the most important factor among most consumers when selecting a carrier.
Within months, some of the major luxury carriers suffered losses and decided to either float their own no-frills airlines, or cut back on the luxury component in their regular domestic flights to cut fare costs! Suddenly, the rustic dhoti-clad villager was finding it possible to fly like the well-suited babus down in the city; and due to the fare cuts in the luxury airliners, he, too, could fly business class!
And this was anathema to the elite intelligentsia; within a year, there were protests and awareness campaigns being floated around! Suddenly, it dawned on the elite that excessive use of airlines increased the levels of pollution and greenhouse gases and what not! People were discouraged from switching over to airlines from their usual modes like trains and buses for the sake of the environment!
What bull, I ask you!
Which is worse, 50 to 100 passengers flying one way in a luxury Boeing Dreamliner, or even the Concorde (now defunct), or 200 passengers flying both ways in a low cost flight with the same amount of fuel? (The concerned greens would say the latter, of course!)
Thankfully, the will of the masses prevails and the low cost airlines are here to stay! And if that gives the concerned greens nightmares, Tough!
With due thanks to Peter Casier for the following comic:
None of the "elite intelligentsia" bat an eyelid on the recent trend of expensive, high-end luxury cars making inroads into the Indian markets. No! That is celebrated as a sign of the booming development of the Indian economy and the arrival of "Brand India" if you will.
Nobody bothers about the environment when a Toyota Landcruiser or a Mitsubishi Pajero is imported by the conscious greens. (Apparently, these beasts consume a lot less fuel than a tiny Nano, huh?)
I can recall another anecdotal incident similar to this.
Low cost carriers were introduced in India by a hitherto unknown company called Air Deccan in 2003. It was not a new concept; but was heavily borrowed from the same introduced by the US carrier Pacific Southwest Airlines way back in 1949. But it was welcomed with open arms by the common man. There were consequences. Low-cost carriers posed a serious threat to traditional "full service" airlines, since the high cost structure of full-service carriers prevents them from competing effectively on price - the most important factor among most consumers when selecting a carrier.
Within months, some of the major luxury carriers suffered losses and decided to either float their own no-frills airlines, or cut back on the luxury component in their regular domestic flights to cut fare costs! Suddenly, the rustic dhoti-clad villager was finding it possible to fly like the well-suited babus down in the city; and due to the fare cuts in the luxury airliners, he, too, could fly business class!
And this was anathema to the elite intelligentsia; within a year, there were protests and awareness campaigns being floated around! Suddenly, it dawned on the elite that excessive use of airlines increased the levels of pollution and greenhouse gases and what not! People were discouraged from switching over to airlines from their usual modes like trains and buses for the sake of the environment!
What bull, I ask you!
Which is worse, 50 to 100 passengers flying one way in a luxury Boeing Dreamliner, or even the Concorde (now defunct), or 200 passengers flying both ways in a low cost flight with the same amount of fuel? (The concerned greens would say the latter, of course!)
Thankfully, the will of the masses prevails and the low cost airlines are here to stay! And if that gives the concerned greens nightmares, Tough!
With due thanks to Peter Casier for the following comic:
Endgame: Practicality shall always rule over empirical morality!
