Why do we need to have environment sense? Because we are not alone on this planet earth. We coexist with other human beings, vegetation, animals, oceans and their resources, forest and it wealth, hills and mountains with their companionship, water sources and their gifts, etc. But, they are not there just for us. They have their own identity and existence. We may use them for our need, not for our greed!
Most often greed overpowers us. Selfish interest has promoted industries whose effluent pollutes water sources. ‘Clean the Ganga’ Project is an unending project. That is where money flows into the pockets of the politicians. The project has to be kept alive for political reasons too. Avarice for accumulation of wealth prompts people to destroy forests and cause draught and flood. Lack of civility makes people spit and spill around, shit and litter around. Smokers don’t bother whether their spiralling smoke contaminates the lungs of those nearby.
You see staircase landings in government offices spluttered with pan spit decorations. Will those gentlemen spit the same way in their homes? Animals can roam around in public roads and deposit their shit all over. Why blame the cows and bulls? Our animal sense has overpowered us. Public property is no man’s property. Hence, destroy it. Remove fans from trains and take home. Steal taps from railway latrines and make a safe exit. Public parks are littered with plastics, waste paper, waste food, etc., inviting monkeys, crows and vultures.
Some eat monkey nuts and throw peals in the compartment. If anyone objects, he is confronted with an angry stare. Once, when I suggested that the peals could be collected in a paper and thrown into waste box, I was asked, ‘what is your problem?’ Thank God I was not beaten up. The area was such that anything can happen. Often sense and sensibility take a backseat. People loot forest wealth and blame poor Adivasis who collect firewood from the forest.
A lady travelling in a tram with a small pup in Holland had a silent message. Unaware of the surroundings, the pup defecated. The lady slowly opened her handbag, took out some toilet paper and collected the shit, cleaned the floor and folded the paper and put it in her handbag. Later she would deposit it in a waste box or waste pit or flush it out. My Indian colleague remarked, ‘if this happens in India, the owner of the dog, without caring a shit and leaving the shit alone, will shift with his dog to a new location in the next compartment.
No wonder bike riders spit with a splash, bus passengers shoot their mouth out from the high pedestal for the beneficiaries on foot, and the insensitive youngster pollutes the surroundings with his loud music. If ever you raise your voice, you might be asked, ‘where the hell are you from?’ I have had spittle on my head from a bus passenger, on my face from a bike rider. Don’t talk of culture. Don’t talk of civility. Unless you want to invite a few blows on your face.
So, talking of clean environment means this and much more. Let us not give sense and sensibility a back seat when it comes to protecting and promoting a healthy environment.