Hmm.. Sometime I really wonder.. Why did I come to US to study sustainability? Affluence and abundance cannot teach economy of use.
My teacher in class throws out a question on sustainable lifestyle and when all are silent, he goes on to talk about a mexican market where you get food in a plate made of leaves...!! Oh my God!! I cannot help smile at the irony...Sustainability is there everwhere in India, more out of compulsion than out of choice.
American create so much waste-toilet paper, paper for cleaning kitchen and mopping floor, paper plates, paper cups, plastic spoons, plastic forks, diapers. Thorwing food away is no big deal. The other day a teacher is explaining to a student that window air-conditioners could be more economical than central air-con for homes. We always do that in India. Just turn on the air-con where we need it and go without heating in winters!!
They talk about natural ventilation and cross ventilation as if they were things of the next generation..Maybe people have come a full cirle. they have tried making air-tight building and pumped then with conditioned air 24 hours and seen they dont work. We are just begininning to do it and will learn out lesson in good time.
Maybe I should gift my teacher a 'patte ka dona' :)
