Go Green - With Fewer People

On the occasion of World Environment Day, a lot has been said about the methodologies one can adopt to halt carbon emissions. All these steps seem to change our environment but our jobs, as Al Gore rightly says, depend on not changing them. So is the task really so formidable? One thing is for certain that our future is a function of our current actions. Every small step taken en masse would lead to lead to desirable or catastrophic results either way. If one would probe into the seriousness of global warming, one may find that its so-called caveats are indeed worth introspecting upon. Steps like planting a tree, or car pooling are too small compared to what one major personal decision of an individual can bring about. And that decision is to stick to having one child only.

India is a land of young people, which means more bachelors and young married couples than any other country. Today being the 2^nd most populated in the world, we are growing at around 1.6 crores every year. To the outside world, we may pose as 1.2 billion opportunities thereby attracting FDI, but to our economy we are countless mouths to be fed with our valuable and depleting natural resources. One may notice that the root of global warming lies in industrial production and utilization of resources in an inefficient manner. The more the population of a country, the more it has to produce and thus more pollute. Contrastingly fewer wants may not necessarily lead to lesser revenues as India being low on consumerism could start getting seriously export-oriented in nature.

Every newborn brings along with it a long list of necessities that needs to be fulfilled in the course of its lifespan. The industry produces products in response to these wants. With modern lifestyles improving, the output seems to grow each year as we head towards adopting western culture. We could swear on our motherland to not add any additional burden to this existing ecosystem by having more than one kid. Although this decision will have moral and emotional barriers, this simple yet prudent step could act as a huge savior in the future. Imagine the drastic decrease in the demography if this decision is taken collectively! Instead of government enforced mass sterilization drives, a simple tax waiver would act as a huge incentive for years to come to every individual. Today this option may seem a bit harsh, but could spell a disaster otherwise. Wisdom is to act in present rather than in hindsight.

After all, what is the point in making the future of both your kids bleak, when you have the current opportunity to make at least one’s bright.