Dr K Vijayalakshmi 
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We are living in a state of paradox - on one hand we experience great momentum in terms of innovative thinking and application of principles of sustainability. We seem to have better understanding of the issues at hand and solutions for many of them. 

On the other hand, sustainability management efforts by an infinitesimal per cent of population is grossly outbalanced by  growing consumerism.  To take a recent example, while a small section of environmental groups and  some students were celebrating World Earth Day, most of their peers were busy perpetuating extravagant, wasteful, lifestyles. 

The more the material possessions in the market the greater  the craving of the younger generation. We have now reached a stage where we cannot imagine life devoid of mobile phones, television, refrigerator and all other electronic gadgets for recreation and communication; in other words, plastic, aluminum and lead have become indispensable to our day-to-day life – all substances harmful to environment. 

While the use of such gadgets may improve the quality of life, their inbuilt obsolescence or the “throw away” culture that we are imbibing is certainly a cause for concern since it only adds to the burden of hazardous waste. 

Unsustainable consumption and production practices are stupendously gaining momentum. We, as a society, are indifferent to the consequences of our actions and we certainly do not hold ourselves unaccountable. What we don’t realize is that while we are bent on the destruction of the natural resource base and the life support systems gifted by nature, the repercussions are just waiting to hit us back. 

In our bliss of ignorance we are not even aware that we are responsible for the tragic loss of lives and property during the latest tsunami or many of the natural calamities that have taken place in recent years. We removed the natural bio-valves that nature bequeathed to us to protect us from these natural disasters. We have been constantly encroaching into these natural safety nets. We build five star hotels and beach resorts and exploit the biological safeguards for short term commercial benefits.

 Environmental degradation means lower degree of quality of life, higher costs of living, lack of resilience for withstanding calamities in the future and the poor becoming extinct. Yes, the rich who can afford life support systems will survive but that life at best may be termed “ life half dead”. 

For, who is ultimately paying the price?  It is the weakest sections of society, the plants, the trees, the birds, all who cannot speak for themselves. The voiceless, the children yet to be born, to both the rich and the poor will all be paying the price. While we often indulge in postmortem, how can we be preemptive and proactive? How do we internalize sustainable lifestyles? How do we make preventive action popular? How can we introduce systems and processes to make each one of us accountable for the ecological footprints we are responsible for?  The biggest challenge for us is to reach out to people with the same powerful impact as corporate advertising. We need to think innovatively, dramatize our communication, our messages, so that it hits our target audience squarely. 

As we celebrate more than a decade of CLEAN-India operations, it is time for us to ponder on these challenges. We can sustain our modest efforts to bring orderliness and sustainability only by internalizing practices that make us accountable for the degree of consumption of products, services we use and by perpetuating low material intensive lifestyles. 

We need to do away with perverted subsidies and pricing policies that do not make polluters pay. It is also becoming clear that no amount of policies can bring the desired change. What we have to ensure is that sustainable life styles do not call for effort or cost. Steps towards this could include exorbitant high pricing for unsustainable materials and an all out effort to making sustainable living fashionable and admirable.  

While macro policies are very important, equally significant is the micro level local action.  CLEAN-India should establish small scale, self accountable, communities that will take up such initiatives. CLEAN-India has to devise ways to be more effective, demanding and impactful. We need to wage a war against extreme consumerism if we are to save this planet for future generations.q

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