Catalyzing changes in attitudes and behaviour towards environmental issues

There is an increasing evidence that the existing public policies and consumption behaviour is leading to global warming , climate change,air pollution , water pollution  and other  adverse effects. Despite this , march towards  unsustainable development continues unabated .

What should be done?If we aim to win the battle for sustainable development  , we have no choice but to change the attitudes and behaviour of millions of people towards environment .Although environmental problems are of global concern , the public attitudes towards ways of dealing with them  is different for different nations.

          Two studies conducted in this  regard, one  called Climate Change in Indian mind , conducted in 2011  by Yale Project on Climate change ,and the other conducted in 2014, called: “ Attitudes Towards Environmental Issues:Empirical Evidence in Europe and the United States”by  Darina Peycheva, Jana Pötzschke, Theron Delano Hall and Hans Rattinger.. The  study  on India was   conducted in November and December  2011 by the Yale Project on Climate Change Communication  in collaboration with Globescan ,with Principal  Investigators Anthony Leiserowitz, Ph.D. ,Yale university and Jagdish Thaker ,Ph.D.   George Mason University.  A  research team from Yale University, Globescan Incorporated and C-Voter conducted a national survey of  4,031 Indian adults ,using a combined urban and rural sample .Overall , the survey cum study   gave , among others , the following important findings  regarding attitudes of Indian public :

Global warming awareness and beliefs:

1.Only 7% of respondents said  they knew a lot about global warming , while 41% had either  never heard of it  , or said “I don’t know”.

2.When given a short definition of global warming , however , 72% said  that they believe it is happening .

3. 56% said it is   caused mostly by human activities , while 31% said it is  caused mostly by natural changes in the environment.

4. 61% said they are worried by global warming   and 67% said   the issue is important to them personally.

5. Large majorities said global warming   will harm future generations (67%), plant and animal species (67%), people in India (66%), people in their own community (62%) and themselves and their own family(57%).

6. 50% said that they have   already personally experienced   the effects of global warming , while 43% said  that global warming is already harming  or will harm people in India  within the next ten years.

The above findings indicate the need to make Indian public  more aware about global warming , its causes, harmful effects.Support for climate and energy policies:

1.41% of respondents said   the Government of India should be   doing more to address global warming.

2.54% said that India should be   making a large or moderate-scale effort to reduce global warming even if   it has large or moderate economic costs.

3. 38% said that India should reduce   its own emissions of the gases that cause global warming immediately  , without waiting for other countries, 18% said that India should reduce its own emissions only if rich countries go first, 13% said that  India should reduce its own emissions only if all other countries of the world  reduce their emissions at the same time , and 13% said that India should not reduce its emissions under any circumstances.

4.70% favoured a national programme   to teach Indians about global warming.

5.675 favoured a national effort   to help local communities   build check dams to increase local water supplies;

6. A majority of respondents favoured a variety of policies to waste   less fuel , water and energy even if increased costs;

7. A majority of respondents said that   environmental   protection either improves economic growth   and provides new jobs (35%) or has no effect on economic growth or jobs(16%).

8.53% said that protecting   the environment is more important , even if it reduces economic growth, while 28% said that  economic growth is more important, even if it leads to environmental problems.

The above findings indicate that Indian Public expects a lot more to be done by Government of India  for making policies to address global warming and other environmental issues.It should make policies to protect environment even if these reduce economic growth. 

Trust in different messengers:

1. Scientists were the most trusted sources of information about global warming (73%) , followed by news media (69%), environmental organisations (68%) ,and their  own family and friends (67%).

2. Government and religious leaders were trusted  by about half the respondents.

This indicates increasing role of scientists, media, NGO’s and governments in dealing with environmental issues, in Indian context.

The other study  related to attitudes towards environment in Europe and  the United States by Darina Peycheva and others  came out with more specific findings as below:

 1.Which environmental issues are of the  greatest concern at local level, the study  shows  that the issues are different in different countries.However , if we try to point out the   main environmental concern in the world , it will be pollution of rivers , lakes and oceans –equally high number of Americans (94%), Europeans(95%) and Turkish people (98%) identified these as very serious or somewhat serious.

 2.Attitudes of Elites  vs. Attitudes of general public:

      Elites have a different perspective on the importance of environmental issues than their respective public. Only 10% of  the surveyed American  elites  define climate change  as the biggest challenge to transatlantic community.

  3.General attitudes   towards environmental issues.:

 The number of those willing to cut their standard of living or to pay higher prices   or taxes in order to protect the environment  is extremely limited.47% Americans are more likely to pay  much higher prices to protect  the environment that Europeans (27%).Further 70% Americans favour paying  15 dollars per month per household in order to reduce greenhouse gas emissions

The Role of main stakeholders  in the area of environmental issues:

4.There is a strong consensus that government should pass laws to make ordinary people   protect the environment.For Europeans , it is mainly the national government that should be held responsible for fighting  climate change.Americans   and Europeans tend to agree that   climate change can only be addressed effectively   at the international level.78% of European citizens  and 53% Americans  share this view.

5. Policies and instruments applied in the area of environmental issues:

Almost 90% of Europeans agree   that the EU should urgently put   new policies in place  to reduce  greenhouse gas emission by at least 20% by 2020.

  Increasing   energy efficiency in EU by 20% by 2020 is supported by almost 60%  of Europeans. Increasing the share of renewable energy  in the EU by 20% by 2020 is supported by 56% 0f Europeans.60% of Europeans tend to support the statement that the share of nuclear energy  should be reduced as it poses  safety problems like nuclear waste , or the danger of accidents. The Europeans point out that   small businesses and households should   receive financial support to make   their energy consumption more efficient.

     It is important that we in India  get more such  surveys and research conducted by universities of repute and share the results with policy makers , media , NGOs, , educational institutions and common citizens  so that better support for meeting the challenges posed by  environmental issues is created in the state and in the country.

(This article was published in the magazine Tree Take , Lucknow  in its July 15,2016 issue.)

Works of Love by Soren Kierkegaard

Works of Love by Soren Kierkegaard

1.Title                Works of Love

2.Author             Soren Kierkegaard

3.Publisher         Harper Perennial Modern Thought

4.Translator        Howard and Edna Hong

5.Foreword        Georgr  Pattison

4.Copyright        Howard Hong @1962

5.ISBN               978-0-06-171327-9

6.Format             Paper Bound

7.Page Count      378

8.Price                US $ 15.99

9.Genre              Philosophy

10.Rating           *****
                George Pattison   of Oxford University in his Foreword of July 2008  says: ”Works of Love is a book to be read and reread , pondered and  practiced. . . .It is a kind of  book that can change your life. Read it –but then ‘go and do likewise’ “.I totally agree with Pattison’s words of advice.

              The book is divided into two parts.Part One  deals with the three types of love .Erotic  love , Friendship , and  love for your neighbour. Obviously , the first two are preferential while the third is equal for all neighbours. The first two are by our choice while the third in a mandate ;”You shall love your neighbour”.

               Part Two deals with  what are the Works of Love that one is expected to do .

As the headings of various chapters in Part Two suggest , the list of Works of Love is as below :

1.Love Builds Up.

2.Love  Believes All Things  and Yet Is Never Deceived.

3.Love Hopes All Things  and Yet Is Never Put to Shame.

4.Love Seeks Not Its Own.

5.Love Hides  the Multiplicity of Sins.

6.Love Abides.

7.Mercifulness a Work of Love,Even if It Can Give Nothing And Is Capable of Doing Nothing.

8.The Victory of Reconciliation  in Love  Which Wins the Vanquished.

9.The Work of Love in  Remembering  One Dead.

10.The Work of Love in Praising Love.
 Soren Kierkegaard in his preface  of 1847 says that  “These are Christian  reflections;therefore they are not about love  but about the works of love.”Also “no act can be pleasing there  unless it is an act of love.”

He says that one must believe in love .The presumptuous practicality wants to deny the existence of love .In Christianity , to love is duty and erotic love , friendship  are really another form of self-love.”But the road to hell is paved with good intentions”.

                    The love relationship is a triangular relationship  of the lover , the beloved , love (but love is God.).Therefore to love another person  means to help him  to love God  .To be loved means to be helped to love God. Love is a matter of conscience and it is so only when  love is from a clean heart and out of sincere faith. Christianity has indifference towards friendship.

                        To love a person just as you see him , with all his imperfections and weaknesses, when he is utterly changed , when he no longer loves you.To love is to remain in infinite debt;the infinitude of the debt is the bond of perfection.Owe no man  anything . But nevertheless , be in debt of love to one another.

The ten types of works of love above   that Kierkegaard has listed are  explained as below :

1.Love  builds up. It is patient and willing to serve. Love builds up by pre-supposing that love is present in the other person .

2.Love believes all things. To believe nothing is the beginning of being evil since  faith is precisely the good in a man , which does not come through great knowledge.

3.Love hopes all things. Never in  unlovingness give up a person  or give up hope for him , for it is possible that  even the most prodigal  son can still be saved , for it is possible that  the most embittered enemy , alas , he who was your friend , it is still possible that he can again become your friend ;it is possible that  he can be raised up again; it is still possible that  the love which has  turned cold can burn again—therefore , never give up any man , not even at the last moment; do not despair. No, hope all things! Hope all things ;give up no man , for to give him up  is to abandon  your love for him –and if you do not give it up , then you hope. But if you abandon your love for him , then you yourself cease to be a lover.

4. Love seeks not its own .For the true lover does not love his own individuality. Quite the opposite, in others he loves “their own”. The lover has understood that  in truth the greatest , the only benediction one man  can accomplish for another is to help him stand alone , to become himself , to become his own.

5.Love hides the multiplicity of sins .Lover does not attempt to discover any sins in the  other .He shuns slander, back-biting , rumour , gossip , scandal-mongering and manufacture of lies. He hides other’s sin in silence , in a mitigating explanation , in forgiveness. The best way to hide the sins is by forgiveness .Forgiveness takes vitality away from sin; but to withhold   forgiveness  nourishes sin .True lover  forgives, he forgets ,he blots out sin. Forgive and you will also be forgiven .The forgiveness which you give ,  you also receive.

6. Love abides. Love never fails. There is no misunderstanding which sooner or later  will not be  conquered by  his abiding, there is no hate that  ultimately  will not have to give up  and yield to his abiding—in eternity if not sooner. In erotic love , one cannot be  unconditionally faithful. Therefore the erotic love does not abide ;it is not eternal.

7. Mercifulness is a work of love , even if it has nothing to give and is able to do nothing .

8. The victory of reconciliation in love .Work of love is to   set the other free  from being humiliated , to set him free  from thinking dejectedly about the forgiveness which he needs.

9.The work of love in remembering one who is dead, is a work of the most unselfish love , the most faithful love .The one dead is not the one who changes ,it is the one living who changes. Remember one dead  and learn  in just this way  to love the living disinterestedly , freely and faithfully.

10. The work of love in praising love .In order to be able to truly praise love , there is a need for inward  self-denial  and outward  sacrificial disinterestedness.

  Kierkegaard concludes as follows: ”To love human beings is still the only thing  worth living for .;without love , you really do not live; to love human beings is also the only  salutary consolation  of both time and eternity.” Love is one of the central aspects of existence  And also, ”Why do you see the speck that is in your brother’s eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye?” Avoid speaking the wrongs of others towards you , about the speck in your brother’s eye .

 I admire Kierkegaard for his remarkable depth and clarity. He was undoubtedly  one of the great thinkers of 19^th century , and the greatest Philosopher  born in Denmark. He has demonstrated in this book that  love saves us from isolation  and unites us with one another and with God. The ten major types of works of love and their essence  help us to realise the meaning of love. For those who like serious reading , I recommend this book .It has the potential to change the lives of its readers.

Promoting a Tree Plantation Drive

"Trees are poems that Earth writes upon the sky.We fell them and turn them into newspapers that we may record our emptiness." -Kahlil Gibran
We need to plant trees to preserve ecology and environment , to prevent climate change and global warming,to preserve and sustain life on earth."The symbolism "--and substantive significance  of planting a tree has universal power in every culture and every  society on Earth  and it is a way for individual men , women and children to participate in creating solutions  for the environmental crisis" -- Al Gore, 2007 Nobel Prize Winner. " A society grows great when old men plant trees whose shade they know  they shall never sit in"-Greek Proverb.
   Though there is some awareness among people to plant trees voluntarily, it is necssary to accelrate the pace of planting trees to avert the impending crisis of global warming  and climate change.This can be done successfully by organising  periodic tree plantation drives.
        In empowering the public , a drive also empowers the governments by providing proof that  addressing climate change is not a political risk.Far from it , it is perhaps the most popular move  of our time , with electorates  right behind leaders who take significant action  on a transition to low carbon socielty.Plantation drive responds to a need  and common yearning to solve the environmental crisis and to be a part of the solution .We just don't get our hands dirty  but it gladdens our hearts  and connects us to other eco -citizens around the world.
       We in the Forest departmrnt of Uttar Pradeh organised a very unique Tree Plantation drive  in 2007 to plant  10 million saplings on a single day(31 July 2007) as apart of a bigger world-wide drive organised by UNEP and called "Plant for the Planet.The Billion Tree campaign".United Nations Environment Programme(UNEP) published a book in 2008  with the title "Plant for the Planet.The Billion Tree Campaign.An Album"(ISBNN:978- 92-807-2896-5).
                 Many features of Uttar Pradesh campaign  of July 31, 2007 should be followed by any one  who wishes to organise such a drive.It is important that all governments in states of India  organise one massive plantation drive  during the Monsoons.But to do large-scale plantation  during Monsoons it is important to do  the advance planning and other ground work.
      UNEP described in the above quoted  quoted booklet this achievement as a world record  set by India , and  Guinness World Records  Ltd  also  recorded it  as a world record in the form of  a certificate as below:                         Guinness World Records
                                                              Certificate
"The most trees  planted in one day is 10,000,000 in an event organised by  the Uttar Pradesh Forest Department  across the State of Uttar Pradesh on  31 July 2007."
                                                                    . . . . . . . . . . . . ..Guinness World Records Ltd.
The UNEP booklet says the following:
"Billion Tree Campaign
World record set by India in July, 2007".
Mr. Achim Steiner , Executive Director of UNEP and Under Secretary General , United Nations wrote:"The precise number of  people mobilised  awaits  compilation.It is worthy to note ,however that 6,00,000 people including school children  in Uttar Pradesh , India  planted 10.5 million trees  in a single day of July 2007."
 It may be mentioned that the UNEP  acknowledged that a number of regional and national governments  organised the most massive plantings.India found mention in the top plnating countries.India , Japan , the Bolivian Republic of Venezuela  were reported to have planted 11 million  saplings each .It is a matter of pride that  out of 11 million trees planted by India  in Billion Tree campaign  , 10.5 million trees were planted  only by Uttar Pradesh on July31 , 2007. A part of credit goes to  personalities like Al Gore , Prof Wangari Maathai  of Kenya (the Nobel Peace Laureate)."When we plant trees , we plant the seeds of peace and seeds of hope." -Prof . Wangari Maathai.
   The greenest day of calendar in India  and a tree planting record  by 6,00,000 volunteers. 10.5 million trees planted by Uttar Pradesh in a single day.The Forest Department of Government of Uttar Pradesh , the most populous state of India  succeded in planting 10.5 million trees in a single day on 31 July , 2007.This ambitious project in which 6,00,000 people participated , was meant to raise  the awareness of  the residents of the State towards the importance of tree-planting  and the vital role of trees in correcting ecological imbalances , removing the environmental pollution  and increasing tree cover.The decision to launch this unique operation  was taken at the government level.
               The saplings were planted by school children , the local population , farmers , industrial units, government departments and the forest department .The object of the exercise was to make  tree plantation a people's participatory activity with people from a vast cross-section of  society participating in the planting  os saplings at 9320 sites  across the seventy districts of the State.Of these 43.72% were farmers ,38.01% were educational institutions' sites , 9.14% forest department's sites,6.33% other government departments' sites and the remaining sites were of other institutions.The planting activity on all sites were  photographed and authenticated.For this , 18,640  independent authenticators were mobilised.
                  The pits for planting were dug in advance  and the plants to be planted  were transportted to the sites  in order to be planted in one go on 31 July 2007 . The entire activity was carefully sequenced  and detailed guidelines were prepared in the form of a booklet  and widely circulated.The whole effort of planting over ten million saplings  on one day was co-ordinated centrally  from the State capital at Lucknow.Detailed plans were prepared  which included the details of the sites  along with GPS based locations , the species of saplings to be planted , the source of saplings  as well as the name of   site co-ordinators , photogrphers and videographers.
              In India , 31 July 2007 was an auspicious day  as it represented the first day  of Shrawan , according to the Hindu  calendar. The exercise gave a boost to  the Billion Tree Campaign . Organisers  also recalled that  the theme of World Environment Day 2007 was "Melting Ice-A Hot Topic" and the Forest Department of Uttar Pradesh  helped the issues  of  global warming , expansion of tree cover  and carbon sequestration.
 There was large scale  participation by many citizens  and institutions by way of  contributions in kind  for meeting the cost of plants , their transportation , payment of photographers , etc.In many places , the officers /staff of  the forest department  had voluntarily donated  salary os a day for this purpose.
 The essentials of any tree plantation drive  are as below:
(1). Role of Forest Department
(a).As co-ordinator.
(b).As supplier of saplings.
(c).Technical know how in  choice of species , planting and post-planting  care.
(2). Mobilse the local communities  to participate in the campaign .Category of participants could be :
(a) Private individuals.
(b)civil society and NGOs.
(c).Local and national government.1) Forest Department .2)Other Government Departments.
(d) Farmers.
(e)Private companies
(f) Community groups.
(g).Schools and other educational institutions.
(h).Children and youth.
(i)Media.
(j). Others.
(3).A few leading  media houses  be made partner  so that through media  campaign , others can be motivated  to join.Media includes newspapers , TV channels , FM channels and magazines.
(4).Point out plant species  most fit for area.Right trees for the right place -- so that such trees  transform both lives  and landscapes.Plant local species  to restore the area's original biodiversity.
(5).Sapling distribution at new outlets.
(6) Publicity for new outlets  for making saplings available.
(7).Giving the gift of saplings.
(8).Arrangement for funds  through government and company funds  under Corporate Social Responsibility.
(9).Bucket farming for those who live in flats.
(10).SMSs be sent enblock through bulk SMS providers.
(11).Utilizing the lessons learnt from the previous campaigns.
(12)Involving celebrities to promote  campaign and to plant one  sapling.Superstars  from the world of fashion , music and media  should also plant saplings.
(13) Plantation  drive as an activity for environment education .
(14)NGOs may have the following  role to play:
(a).To co-ordinate with Residents' Welfare Associations  and Market Associations.
(b).To co-ordinate with Eco clubs in schools and colleges for massive plantation.
(c).To train people ,particularly children to plant trees properly.
(d).To identify a nodal plan in each association /school  to work with.
(e).To assess the number of saplings required as also the species which will be required.
(f).The NGOs can be advised to identify and adopt old/heritage trees growing in and around the  cities.For this , they will take the help of financial institutions  and co-operative sector.
(15).In urban areas , Residents' Welfare Associations may   perform   the following roles:
(a).Informing the residents of the tree plantation drive.
(b).Collecting saplings from Forest nurseries.
(c).Gathering volunteers for planting .
(d).Identifying places for planting.
(e).Co-ordinating with NGOs and governmental agencies  and chalking out programme for plantation  in their respective colonies.
(f).Ensuring proper protection  and regular watering of plants.
(16).Role of Municipal Corporations , Housing Boards and Development Authorities in providing sites for plantation in parks , green belts and round abouts..
(17).Role of Horticulture Department:Providing saplings from horticultural nurseries  and giving technical know how.
(18).Role of Rural Development Department  in motivating village panchayats  and other rural local bodies.
(19).Role of banks and other financial institutions  in sponsoring tree guards and other fencing materials.
 (20).Last but not the least .Tree Plantation Drive must pledge  to involve every resident of the State  as a part of his or her fundamental constitutional duty.
The above is not an exhaustive list , but if followed in spirit,it will result in a highly successful tree Plantation Drive.
(This article was published in June 15,2016 issue of the magazine Tree Take, Lucknow, UP, India.)

Ambition ,The secret Passion by Joseph Epstein

1.Title of the book:Ambition , The Secret Passion

2.Author               :Joseph Epstein

3.Publisher            :Elephant Paperbacks ,Ivan R.Dee,Inc.,Publisher ,Chicago

4.Copyright           :@1980 ,Joseph Epstein

5.ISBN                   :0-929587-18-9

6.Format                 :Elephant Paperback

7.Page count           :312

8.Price                       :$ 18.90

9.Genre                   : General

10.Part of Series       :No

11.Rating                  :***

Is it good to be ambitious? Or does  ambition fuel self-promotion and  getting ahead ?Why are some persons more ambitious while others are not? These are some of the questions which led me to this book. 
       Epstein defines ambition as the fuel of achievement.But he also says:"If life is to be more spiritual , more tender-minded and large- hearted , ambition clearly must go.Or so it is said."But in the same breath , he also says that  "If people are to retain  the energy that ambition can give --and as Dreiser writes in Sister Carrie ,"there is nothing so inspiring in life  as the sight of a legitimate ambition , no matter how incipient"-then a clearer view is needed about what ambition is and what it entails."
     "Moderation", says la Rochefoucauld ,"is languor and idleness of the soul , ambition is its activity and energy". But neither , it must be added , is ours an age noted for moderation.The middle class has from the beginning run on ambition .In the end , forming our own destiny is what ambition is about.
Epstein's examples of  eminent Americans  Benjamin Franklin , Henry Ford , Edith Wharton , F. Scott Fitzerald, Adlai Stevenson, Rockfeller, Guggenheim, and Kennedys  make a fascinating reading to illustrate how they achieved their secret passion (ambition).
   Epstein in his book  gives a spirited defence of ambition  which has been given a bad name by some.To discourage ambition , says Epstein , "is to discourage dreams of grandeur and  greatness".But he says  nothing    original in support of his stand .The  book is a broad sweep but he catches nothing  to  show. In many cases the fuel of achievement has also been the engine of destruction.Though the book is full of many interesting sides of eminent personalities , and  perhaps  that makes it  worthwhile to read , it lacks intellectual substance to clearly convince us what it says .Most of the spiritual books  guide us to be moderate and less ambitious . Epstein has tried to make a case for ambition   but has not really succeeded.
           "Thinking about ambition ", he says ," has caused me to disregard  the notion that our final judgment  about the men and women of history  hangs on the question of whether  we should like to dine with them".

Multiple Perspectives on Biodiversity

Biological diversity or biodiversity  means the variety of life on Earth.It is the variety  between all species of plants , animals and micro-organisms and the ecosystems within which they live and interact.Biodiversity and its conservation are important for economic as well as for non-economic reasons.For example , green plants  remove Carbondioxide and release Oxygen  into the atsmosphere.This helps to keep the environment  fit and healthy for human  life.This cannot be  quantified in economic units  but is extremely important.At the same time , economic arguments also provide compelling reasons for conserving biodiversity.

Different species of plants , animals , and micro-organisms provide us with food , medicines, fuel,building materials,fibre for clothing  and industrial products.Many species have cultural , aesthetic and intrinsic values.For example, Blue Whales and Giant Pandas have intrinsic values.Other services performed by ecosystems include:1.Protecting areas from soil erosion , floods and other harmful  weather conditions.2.Reducing the risk of local and global climate change.3.Recycling nutrients.4.Pollination and biological control.5.Controlling pollutants.6.Monitoring the health of environment.

 There are several threats to biodiversity , as described below:1.Over exploitation of natural resources.   2.Habitat loss and  fragmentation.3.Poaching.4.Illicit felling.5.Pollution.6.Climate change and Global warming.7.Growth of human population.8.Hunting and illegal trade.9.I.A.S. (Invasive Alien Species)10.Lack of efficient protection to threatened species.11Oil spills.12.Coastal/agricultural development.13Land diversion 14.Encroachment.15.Fuel wood removal.16.Grazing.17.Forest fires. All these threats have to be dealt with in order to conserve biodiversity at local and global levels.Under Article 51A of Indian Constitution ,it is the fundamental duty of every citizen of India  to protect and improve  the environment including forests, lakes,rivers and wild life and to have compassion for living creatures.India enacted The Biological Act ,2002 on February 5,2003 to provide for conservation of biological diversity,sustainable use of its components, and fair and equitable sharing of benefits arising out of the use of biological resources, knowledge and for matters connected therewith.The conflict between biodiversity and competing values are  substantial.A broader understanding of implications of biodiversity   conservation  is  needed for resource management decisions.Managers need ways to evaluate the effects of their decisions  in regional as well as in global context of biodiversity conservation .

  Education is indispensable element for achieving  sustainable development(UN , 2002).The need to  impart  biodiversity education at all levels  has been felt   at all international initiatives.As per Unesco :”Education for Sustainable Development allows every human being to acquire the knowledge, skills, attitudes and values necessary to shape a sustainable future. 

  Education is indispensable element for achieving  sustainable development(UN , 2002).The need to  impart  biodiversity education at all levels  has been felt   at all international initiatives.As per Unesco :”Education for Sustainable Development allows every human being to acquire the knowledge, skills, attitudes and values necessary to shape a sustainable future. Education for Sustainable Development means including key sustainable development issues into teaching and learning; for example, climate change, disaster risk reduction, biodiversity, poverty reduction, and sustainable consumption. It also requires participatory teaching and learning methods that motivate and empower learners to change their behaviour and take action for sustainable development. Education for Sustainable Development consequently promotes competencies like critical thinking, imagining future scenarios and making decisions in a collaborative way.Education for Sustainable Development  requires far-reaching changes in the way education is often practised”

   The word ‘Perspective   means  a particular  way of  considering something.   Accordingly , there are a number of perspectives on biodiversity.For example, gender inequality perspective focuses on the number of women engaged in the study of biodiversity as compared to men, and such other issues.

Multiple Perspectives   from which biodiversity can be considered for educating students  are as below:

1.Scientific Perspective.

2.Historical Perspective.

3.Geographic Perspective.

4.Human Rights Perspective.

5.Gender equality Perspective.

6.Values Perspective.

7.Cultural Diversity Perspective.

8.Sustainability Perspective.

1.A scientific perspective is based on  collecting , analysing and interpreting empirical data about  natural cycles and phenomena.A scientific perspective is assumed to be context free.

 2.A Historical perspective helps learners how biodiversity issues have been addressed over extended periods of time as well as in the present.Using evidence from past and current situations , learners can  understand how local and global communities  have made biodiversity management  decisions  and the implications of those decisions.

3.Geographic perspective:This perspective enables readers  to understand how  biodiversity issues appear and recur  across a region,country,continent  or Earth.By studying geographic scale   of a problem , we get deeper insights into the origin of the problem  and potential solutions.

4.Human Rights perspective:Learning how quality of life  can be affected by  the relative health of biodiversity.This requires that  biodiversity is understood  not as a purely  economic good  but also as a social or cultural good.All societies need biodiversity  to maintain a quality of life  consistent with universal  human rights .Projected needs of future generations should also be considered , with planning for future use  and growth as integral  components of  sustainability decisions.

5.Gender Equality perspective:Learning how gender roles ,social and cultural  practices affect decision making  at different levels  and  in using and protecting  biodiversity at different levels.How technology may have changed the context for  gender related roles .For example,technology has replaced  the need for  physical strength in  completing many tasks.

6.Values perspective: learning   about  biodiversity across different values , with the goal of finding  a consensus  position or action .

7.Cultural Diversity Perspective:Biodiversity issues may  be interpreted through unique world views  that are created through aesthetic  or cultural ways of knowing.A cultural perspective  is often a unique perception  associated with  a particular  community.A cultural diversity  perspective considers  the role of biodiversity  in the cultural  community’s world view

8.Sustainability perspective:We consider the interactions  between  the biodiversity , economics and society  to ensure sustainability for ecosystems and people  today and for future generations.

The above are eight different perspectives identified by Unesco , through which students can effectively learn an important subject like biodiversity.We can use various methods to educate students about multiple perspectives on biodiversity.

1.Viewing a documentary film  through different perspectives and sharing insights gives the entire class a multiple  perspective of the issue.

2.Reading the same case study  focusing on a particular biodiversity topic.The students can analyze the case through the lens of a specific perspective, and then share findings with their peers.

3.The students  may  take up a  local community biodiversity project, investigate it deeper  into what it means at  global level through a variety of perspectives.Using their own community as a case study  is likely to  help students fully grasp the concept of biodiversity


In the absence of widespread agreement  on a philosophical approach  and measurable results that  describe the values of  natural systems  , resource managers have  turned to public participation in their decisions in an effort to reach some sort of public consensus.Partly because of the  requirements for  public participation   under the  Environment Protection Act,there is now a substantial  literature  on ways to  improve this participation .Analysis of alternatives, including economic valuations , might help to reduce  the gap between  contrary perspectives.Structured deliberation  that involves  stakeholders in these  decisions and is supported by analysis will be useful in defining  boundaries and directions.For such a  informed decision making , it is important to catch citizens young and teach them the important subject of  biodiversity from as many perspectives as possible.In Uttar Pradesh,it can help us understand and find solution to the problem of pollution of Ganga river water , especially by  over 400 leather tanneries at Kanpur.We may understand better the global implications of declaring Pilibhit forests as Tiger Reserve.We may also analyze and decide better the Eco-sensitive Zones  around different Protected Areas, especially the one around Okhla Bird Sanctuary near Delhi.
(This article was published in the magazine Tree Take , Lucknow in its issues dated May 15,2016.)

Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad

I  first read this slim (118 pages)  classic novel(first published in 1899)  in May ,2005.I read it again  recently in June ,2016.The reason for reading again was that when I tried to remember the  remarkable character of  Kurtz   from this book ,I  could not .I found that it was completely  erased from  my memory  . And it was worth it because I realized for the first time how brilliant and great   Joseph Conrad was as a novelist. The book   is a peep in the interiors of human psyche.It is set  during the era of imperialism  when the Company with offices  located in Brussels(Belgium)  controlled  the ivory trade  and ruled over the natives in Africa. Darkness is real unknown of the jungle   as well as the darkness that hides within the human heart and also pervades the society.

               It is the story of   Mr   Kurtz, a first class ivory agent in the forests  on the banks of Congo in  Africa. He was   an exceptional man in many ways   , of the greatest importance to the Company.” His soul was mad. Being alone in the wilderness, it   had looked within itself   , and by heavens! I tell you   ,it had gone mad. I saw the inconceivable mystery of a soul that knew no restraint, no faith and no fear   , yet struggling blindly with itself.”

But Mr Kurtz had another   side of his identity. I quote   :” Mr. Kurtz lacked restraint  in the gratification of his various lusts.  .  . .Whether he knew of this deficiency himself  I can’t say .I think the knowledge came to him at last-only at the very last. But the wilderness had found him out early , and had taken on him  a terrible vengeance  for the fantastic  invasion. I think it had whispered  to him things about himself which he did not know , things of which he had no conception  till he took counsel with this great solitude –and the whisper had proved  irresistibly fascinating .It echoed loudly within him  because he was hollow at the core . .  .”

The wilderness helped him to know   the darkness inside him   , more so because he was hollow at the core. Many exceptional people   , what to say about the ordinary folks  , are hollow  as well as dark inside .Conrad   tells us about the nature of evil. How fragile civilized behaviour can be  , how  sometimes civilizes persons easily slip into  brutality. Even persons with  excellent motives and apparently unblemished character  can fall into evil ways. But Conrad is not sure  if this falling into brutal behaviour  is  because their soul becomes corrupted , or because  there is some supernatural  source of evil.Quote1:”The belief in supernatural source of evil  is not necessary ;men alone are quite capable of every wickedness. Quote2,( which contradicts quote 1) is as follows: ”I saw on the ivory face  the expression of sombre  pride, of ruthless power , of craven terror—of an intense and hopeless despair. Did he live his life again  in every detail of desire, temptation and surrender  during that moment of  complete knowledge ?He cried in a whisper  at some image , at some vision –he cried out  twice , a cry that was no more than a breath :’The horror!The horror!”

The news of the sudden death of Mr Kurtz reaches Marlow through a boy.Suddenly the manager’s boy  said in a tone  of scathing contempt—“Mistah Kurtz—he dead”.

T S Eliot in his poem the hollow men    quotes this line and  says: ”Remember us –if at all-not as lost, Violent souls ,but only ,As the hollow men ,The stuffed men”.Joseph Conrad   shows a remarkable understanding  of life as also of  Mr Kurtz. That is why this book  is a masterpiece .

         “  …. .Destiny .My destiny! Droll thing life is—that mysterious arrangement  of merciless logic  for a futile purpose. The most you can hope from it  is some knowledge of yourself –that comes too late –a crop of unextinguishable  regrets .I have wrestled with death. It is the most unexciting contest you can imagine. It takes place in  an impalpable greyness ,with nothing underfoot , with nothing around , without spectators, without clamour, without glory , without the great desire  of victory , without the great fear of defeat , in a sickly atmosphere of  tepid scepticism , without much belief in your own right , and still less in that of your adversary. If such is the form of ultimate wisdom , then life is a greater riddle  than some of us think it to be.”

          “This is the reason why I affirm that   Kurtz was a remarkable man .He had some thing to say. He said it. Since I had peeped over the edge myself ,I understand better the meaning of his state, that could not see the flame of the candle , but was wide enough to embrace  the whole universe , piercing enough to penetrate  all the hearts that beat in the darkness. He had summed up –he had judged “The horror!”

               “ He was a remarkable man. After all, this was the   expression of some sort of belief, it had candour, it had conviction, it had a vibrating note  of revolt in its whisper, it had the appalling  face of a glimpsed truth-the strange commingling of desire and hate.”

               “   And it was not my own extremity  I remember best-a vision of greyness without form  filled with physical pain , and  a careless contempt for  the evanescence of all things-even of this pain itself! No! it is his extremity  that I seem to have lived through. True, he had made that last stride, he had stepped over the edge  , while I had  been permitted to draw back my hesitating foot. And perhaps  , in that is the whole difference, perhaps all the wisdom , and all truth, and all sincerity, are just compressed into  that inappreciable  moment of time  in which we step over the  threshold of the invisible. Perhaps!”

  “  I like to think my summing-up would not have been a word  of careless contempt. Better his cry-much better. It was an affirmation , a moral victory  paid for by innumerable defeats, by abominable terrors, by abominable satisfactions .But it was a victory !That is why I have remained loyal to Kurtz  to the last , and even beyond when a long time after I heard once more , not his own voice , but the echo of his  magnificent eloquence thrown to me  from a soul  as translucently pure  as a cliff of crystal.”

               At places  , Conrad  has left the crucial information unstated. For example  , between Marlow’s rescue of Kurtz and Kurtz’s death ,  the two had many significant conversations .But Conrad has not cared to inform us of those conversations.

              In a world  getting increasingly dominated by  multinationals and international organisations  , sending  their  officers in developing countries , we need to realize that every one of us  has  some darkness in our hearts  and every one is susceptible and fallible to corruption and evil. Conrad warns us to protect ourselves from such horrors. Though he said it in 1899 , his words are still relevant today .That is what makes this book a masterpiece .Please do  read it , if you have not read it so far.

The Purpose Driven Life by Rick Warren

The book is divided into 40 brief chapters.The reader has been asked to read only one chapter a day.She is also asked not just read the book but underline it  and write  readers' own thoughts in the margins.This is the best way to clarify thoughts.There is covenant which reader is asked to sign .It says that:" With God's help , I commit the next 40 days of my life to discovering God's purpose for my life."

 Bertrand Russel ,atheist  is quoted;"Unless you  assume a God , the question of life's purpose is meaningless".
  It says that we exist because God wills us to exist.Our purpose can be revealed by our creator.Life is really about living for God , not for ourselves.God planned our birth , how long we will live, the exact places where we should live.We discover the purpose of life only when we make  God the reference point of our lives.Real security can be found in our relationship with God.
                 This life is a preparation for the next.You will spend more time on the other side of death,in eternity .There are eternal consequences of every thing that you do on earth.This life is a preparation for the next..
               Remember that your days on earth are numbered.Do not get too attached here, to the things of this world.Never focus on material success.Adopt eternal values.Stop acquiring material wealth and start appreciating spiritual things.We bring glory to God  by worshiping Him.Worship is to be motivated by  love,thanksgiving  and delight,and not as duty.It is your responsibility to love other believers.The more you develop Christ like character , the more glory you will bring to God.Serve others with all your strength,energy and all your spiritual gifts.Tell others about God.Live the rest of your life for God's glory.Don't have your own goals.Live for god.God made you for His purpose.
          Work becomes worship when you dedicate it to God and perform it  with awareness of His presence.Do the following activities as if you were doing it directly for Jesus:
Talking, sleeping , bathing , getting ready , working , walking , listening to music,reading , writing and meeting people.
  The smile of God is the goal of your life.Love God,know God , spend time with God.Suffer and sacrifice for good change.Surrender is intense warfare against our  self-centered nature.Surrender to God and not to any one else.Include God in every activity ,every conversation and every thought.Prayer lets you speak .Meditation lets God speak.Have a desire to know God above all else.
 Relationships must have priority in your life above every thing.Invest time in relationships.Care for their practical needs.Do not write people off.God wants you to love real people, not ideal people.
       Real community takes place in small groups.Carry each other's burden.Do not let people give up in despair.Forgive them.Never hold grudges and bitterness.Forgiveness must be immediate.Forgiveness is letting go of the past.
Do not gossip about  your fellow members.Meet together regularly and as a habit.Spend time with people.Share meals.Pray about your relationships.Take the initiative to resolve a conflict.Do not blame .Do not condemn , insult ,and don't be sarcastic. Emphasize reconciliation and resolution .Bury the hatchet.Restore the broken relationships.
  Focus on the growth of one another's character.Confront those who gossip. Do not listen to gossip about third person .
You were created to become like God.God wants you to be Godly.God’s goal for you is character development.God is much more concerned about your character than about your career.Take your spiritual growth seriously.

                 Replace lies with truth.Read scriptures for at least 15 minutes daily.Apply principles into practice.Have a discussion group and discuss your applications in the group.Keep on doing what is right. Do not give up.

            Attraction becomes lust when you begin to dwell on it.Monitor your media intake.Have a friend  or a small group as your accountability partner.

              To give up a habit , you have a lot to unlearn.Keep a spiritual journal and record spiritual insights in it.

               You were put on earth to make a contribution  and to serve God.When you serve others , you serve God.Service is not optional.Stop making excuses for not serving.Serve others unselfishly.Serve with passion. Serve even when it is inconvenient.Service is an attitude.

            Do things for which you feel passion.Do not waste your life doing a job you do not like.Keep on growing in your knowledge and understanding.

               Be a servant , not a servant leader.Be content with obscurity.You cannot serve both God and money. Do not flaunt your connections , don’t namedrop.

    You were made for a mission.      

Share your story .Your story is unique.If you don’t share it , it will be lost for ever.Write  the story of all your important experiences, lessons  and insights.Insights about God, relationships, problems and  temptations .Spread the Good News.

                    Keep a balance between the five purposes of life:

1.Love God with all your heart.

2.Love your neighbour as yourself.

3.Go and make disciples.

4.Have fellowship.

5.Grow to maturity through discipleship.

Serve God’s purpose in a contemporary way.

                      In short , it is a religious book  but written for the  contemporary world.Though  mainly written for  the followers of Christianity, it can be read with profit if you follow any other religion , or are even an atheist.

Will Power by Roy F.Baumeister and John Tierney

The book Willpower shares the research in the study of self control by the pioneering research psychologist Roy F. Baumeister.

The book is based on scientific study and discovers that willpower has a “physical basis and operates like a muscle.” Baumeister, based on his research writes-Effort to control our   emotional reactions  ,or faking these, depletes our willpower. Stress depletes our willpower. When we resist a temptation , we exercise willpower, and it gets depleted. This reduces our ability to control  a new temptation .We give in more readily  if we have already fended off earlier temptations , particularly if the new temptation comes soon after a pervious one.

 Through various experiments , researchers have demonstrated two lessons:

1. We have finite willpower that becomes depleted as we use it.

2. We use the same stock of willpower for all manner of tasks.

Therefore, we should focus on one project at a time. In stead of making a list of resolutions  , a better plan is to make one resolution and stick to it . Heatherton's    research provided confirmation that glucose is a vital part of willpower. We should avoid any meeting or test  that will strain our self control. Similarly  , sleep deprivation has been shown to impair the processing of glucose, which produces immediate consequences for self-control and decision-making. Eating less also impacts the willpower. Since dieters are short of glucose levels, they find temptations hard to resist.

 The  Zeigarnik  Effect says that uncompleted tasks and unmet goals tend to pop into one's mind. They tend to reduce willpower. If we make and write down  a plan for  uncompleted tasks ,then the minds are cleared and  Zigarnik  Effect is eliminated and concentration is enhanced.

  Decision fatigue: Making too many decisions also depletes our willpower and makes us vulnerable to temptation. When we shop till we drop, our   willpower drops too. It takes  willpower to make decisions , and so the depleted state makes people look for ways to postpone or evade decisions. In a court, the prisoners who happened to appear just before the  food break  had only 15% chances of getting parole  while those  who came right after the food break  had around a 65% chance  of getting parole. Once decision fatigue sets in , people including Judges  tend to settle for the recommended option .

  Monthly planning leads to much higher improvements in grades than the daily planning. It is good to set a variety of short-term and long-term goals. The goals need to be monitored. Recording is not enough. It is crucial to analyze as well.

 Willpower is a muscle that can be strengthened .Self-control turns out to be most effective when people use it to establish good habits and break the bad ones. We should use our self-control to form a daily habit, and we will produce more with less effort in the long run. For example, a writer must write everyday to form a good writing habit.

  

 Instead of squandering our willpower on a strict diet, we should eat enough glucose to conserve willpower , and use our self-control  for more promising long-term strategies. The more carefully and frequently we monitor our -self  , the better we control our -self. In one study , those who kept a food diary lost twice as much weight as those who used other techniques. So for losing weight we can weigh our-self daily. People who weighed themselves every day were much more successful at keeping their weight   from creeping back up. For making better decisions healthy food is required into our body.

A rested will is a strong will. Changing our routines makes it easier to break bad habits. Setting aside time to do one and only one thing  at a time  helps improve our will power.

              The book is based on evidence and research , and throws a new light on how to use and strengthen our will .I recommend you to read it.

Room by Emma Donoghue

This novel of 401 pages is   a page turner. Despite its   very dark   setting , Room comes out as a  life affirming and uplifting  work. It has made full use of imagination and has a powerful language. It is the story of   how love  between a mother and her child is born , nurtured and survives  despite all odds. A   room can be your world, and outside can be as unreal   as a story. After reading this book  , you  begin to look at the world from a different point of view , and that view lingers for a long time.

                 The book is narrated by a five year old boy Jack   who has spent his life so far  locked in one small 11feetx11ft shed,(Room),  along with his mother Ma.He has never set a foot outside. The Room is actually a prison  with Old Nick holding the key. Ma was kidnapped and has been kept in the room  against her will for seven years.She gives birth to Jack in this very room. Jack interestingly does not feel trapped.He is happy in his tiny universe. Room in this way, is both a jail and a haven. Jack’s whole world is Room .Jack thinks that  TV shows things that live on a planet inside the TV. The other  things of   his  world (Room ) are Floor, Bed , Duvet , Wardrobe, Rug ,Wall which have their gender too.                   
                                             To Jack, there is no outside, just “Outer Space,” glimpsed through a sliver of skylight and on TV. Gradually, the reality of the situation filters through: during the day, the boy and his mother practice screaming; in the dark, she flashes a lamp on and off. On certain nights, a man(Old Nick) enters, through a steel door, and the boy hides in the wardrobe, counting the creaks of the bed.   When the boy first sees the sunset: “I watch God’s face falling slow slow, even orangier and the clouds are all colors, then after there’s streaks and dark coming so bit-at-a-time I don’t see it till it’s done.”  

                   For Jack  Outside  is  rain, wind, germs and people touching him ; for Ma it’s relations with her parents, now separated.. There’s a brilliant television interview, too, with Ma skewering the interviewer at every turn. “You breastfed  him. In fact, this may startle some of our viewers, I understand you still do?”We see Ma only in Jack's adoration, but clearly she's an extraordinary woman, setting aside her own anguish to nurture the joy that Jack takes in their little world.  Ma is   trapped in a room with a small child she  loves.  How can she broach the subject of escape without shattering Jack's perfect harmony? And how will Ma ever establish the separation that must take place for Jack to develop into his own person, to comprehend the startling fact that he's not the only other person who exists  for her.  

                   The book was inspired by the true story of Elisabeth Fritzl, an Australian woman who had been imprisoned in her father’s basement  for twenty-four years .During this time , her father repeatedly assaulted  and raped her.She eventually bore him seven children  and had one miscarriage.Three of her children , one daughter and two sons had been imprisoned with their mother for the whole of their lives until rescue.  "I'd say it was triggered by it. The newspaper reports of Felix Fritzl [Elisabeth's son], aged five, emerging into a world he didn't know about, put the idea into my head. That notion of the wide-eyed child emerging into the world like a Martian coming to Earth: it seized me."(Emma Donoghue  in The Guardian).                                                                         

                      "Room" appeals to a larger audience.  Jack expresses a poignant mixture of  wisdom, love and innocence  that will make you ache to save him .In fact what does it mean to save Jack?Is it  delivering him to the outside world or , is it  keeping him preserved  forever?    You need to enter this small, harrowing place prepared only to have your own world expanded.

Room was shortlisted for Booker Prize. I recommend you to read this unsual  but brilliant  novel.