Climate change and decline of social responsibility

The two subjects, ‘Climate Change’ and the decline of social responsibility are connected. Some important questions raised with reference to these areas are:

i. How do we take appropriate action to prevent billions of hectares of land that may recede in their nutritional value?

ii. How do we prevent the huge wastage of water that is already a reality?

iii. How do we prevent the waste of food and aspire to achieve more food productions?

Equally important as ‘Climate Change’ is economic change. For instance, it is projected that there will be 9 billion people on the earth reaching out towards a growth that should be inclusive. These aspirations need resources for future sustainability. Printing money and harbouring ambitions of high GDP growth cannot achieve this. Printed money cannot be thought of as a true resource. The resources provided by the earth and their proper allocation is what constitutes true resources. For instance, the newspapers of 22nd March 2010 reported that the IPL is allocating 3550 crores towards its growth. This money will be borrowed from the banks and the banks will provide this money in what they call the ‘incremental credit growth’. Can this be labeled as a productive allocation of resources? This is true of the ESOPs, which are shed on the future generations. This burden is also a result of printing money. The two culprits are asset inflation and the obsession with GDP growth.

(my guide and guru Mr. Chandrakant Sampat shared this with me and I thought that I should reiterate what he said and inturn share it with you)

SUCCESS DOES NOT HAPPEN IN ISOLATION

There was a farmer who grew superior quality and award-winning corn.

Each year he entered his corn in the state fair where it won honour and prizes.

One year a newspaper reporter interviewed him and learnt something interesting about how he grew it. The reporter discovered that the farmer shared his seed corn with his neighbours'.

"How can you afford to share your best seed corn with your neighbours when they are entering corn in competition with yours each year?" the reporter asked.

"Why sir, "said the farmer, "didn't you know? The wind picks up pollen from the ripening corn and swirls it from field to field. If my neighbours grow inferior, sub-standard and poor quality corn, cross-pollination will steadily degrade the quality of my corn.

If I am to grow good corn, I must help my neighbours grow good corn."

The farmer gave a superb insight into the connectedness of life. His corn cannot improve unless his neighbour's corn also improves. So it is in the other dimensions!

Those who choose to be at harmony must help their neighbours and colleagues to be at peace. Those who choose to live well must help others to live well. The value of a life is measured by the lives it touches.

SUCCESS DOES NOT HAPPEN IN ISOLATION. IT IS VERY OFTEN A PARTICIPATIVE AND COLLECTIVE PROCESS.

So share the good practices, ideas, new learning's with your family, team members, neighbours.