Prudence in consumption can bend the curve towards sustainable future

Mohiuddin BabarbrLife today is not as it were in the yesterdays. It is often said that today is better than tomorrow and truly, such a statement is not carrying any tone of scepticism rather a reflection of the stark realities embracing us every moment.brThe cycle of time has brought forth development to mankind spearheaded by brisk exploitation of human intelligence and talent in inquisitiveness, innovations and of course, in endeavours to meet aspirations of any kind towards comfort and enriched lifestyle. However, in the pursuit of development, there have been momentous gains but perilous losses as well which of course surfaced only after the progression of progress made. Our life is much better today in terms of our needs met and in the expanse of comfort. Interestingly, the quest for meeting our needs and comfort continues indicating that our future will have an outlook far different than what it is today. It certainly has a justified bearing since man has been searching for opportunities to use its talent and skill since the very beginning of civilisation whether or not wisdom and conscience have been duly considered. brToday, worries about our future dominate strongly and deeply in our minds and thoughts. Despite the significant progress made in all fronts, we continue to be engrossed in seeking ways and means for sustainability of our life and living. Through interplay of intelligence, aspirations and innovations we have conquered another planet, we have ensured mobility by developing communications, we have increased life expectancy, we have cultivated more food to feed the growing population, and so forth. There can be a plethora of examples to attest that we have progressed in bringing a difference in our lifestyle and the change rolls on. Yet we live with worries. Though scepticism does not yet reign our thoughts, we do not seem to be much optimistic of better tomorrows.brThere is much talk about the climate change. With evidences of dire truth being projected every day, our worries for future seem to be precipitating fast. There is of course a school of thought which rejects the negative consequences of climate change and hold on the fact that it is a natural phenomenon. However, this is widely contested and the school watching the effects of climate change hammers the blame on human activities. This could not be debated as the activists whether political, social, scientific or academic have been successful in bringing to surface the inconvenient truth of the visible or invisible negative impacts of climate change. brDeeply linked to our worries of sustainability is, in fact, our aspirations for lifestyle. While our patterns of consumptions run away from habitual needs, these are strongly commanded by the incredible quest of our greed let loose by innovations and availability. As a result, we are consuming more than our need and that the magnitude of waste is in the upscale trend. In fact, the economics of production and consumption is no more need-based but that of created needs. brIt is undeniable that human economic activities have put the ecosystem into a web of risks that range from disruption in its normal functioning to substantial reduction in their potentials for productivity. In a report recently, the environmental group WWF has warned that the current global consumption levels could result in a large-scale ecosystem collapse by the middle of the century. It warned that if demand continued at the current rate, two planets would be needed to meet global demand. The Living Planet Index, prepared by the group, stated that the global consumption and resource use footprint exceeds the earth's bio-capacity . It summed up saying that the earth has already gone into an ecological debt. With the global population growing and the pattern of our consumption in its current pace, there is no doubt there will be a further dent in our ecology and that the debt would continue to be in a soaring curve.brHowever, there is a good point that we have begun to audit our deeds in the past and that we are, in fact, seriously engaging ourselves in pursuits to redesign our actions in as many fronts. It is obvious that challenges would scale up in the days ahead and that these would be widely ranged from meeting the needs of food, water, energy and else. At the same time, human intelligence and skill would definitely be engrossed in maneuvering such challenges and bring about solutions to overcome those challenges even if temporal. brHowever, what is worrying is that we are engaged in too much loud crying about the present and foretelling a grim picture for the future. Perhaps, the younger generations today are already being brainstormed to think about their future as that of gloom and doom. We should be addressing the present more prudently so that the curve of our socio-economic progress can bend towards ensuring sustainable future and that the new generations remember us fondly in engraved gratitude. brAuthor is a senior executive in a multinational company, CSR activist and Broadcaster. E-mail babar.mohiuddin@gmail.com