The moment you switch on the television or flip through your newspapers, one cannot fail to ignore the concept of climate change or the ongoing Copenhagen summit. There are so much of talks about India’s steps on energy cuts. There is substantial bombarding of terms like emission targets, carbon reduction targets and so on. When one reads through these news, it appears that everyone is on a war footing to save this planet. It appears that every educated individual may be taking conscious and fruitful efforts to save the cities from getting submerged or stopping the icebergs from melting. But is that the ground reality?

However when you step out on the roads and look into numerous vehicles creating those traffic snarls, you will realize that none of these so called educated professionals driving their cars seem to have heard about car pooling. I am sure that many of them must have started from the places and are traversing the same route, yet they prefer to flash their individual cars or may not believe in giving lifts for the very purpose of boosting their egos. In these days, where we have double income couples, people love to flash individual cars for each and every family member. Travelling by public transport may be sign of degradation for them. I am sure that these people love to lecture on global warming and so on.

We talk of decreasing greenery and like to complain about the pollution when it affects us and our families’ health, but how many of us can say that they have planted trees or saplings other than for the purpose of beautifying their flats or living spaces. Today we have certain residential societies imposing fines on residents having potted plants on their window sills or balconies lest the dripping water spoils the exteriors of their buildings.

At office or home, how many of us make a conscious effort to switch off unnecessary lights or devices like computers, televisions or ACs. At home, most of us take those steps just to avoid mounting bills that one has to shell from his or her pocket. But that same person may not bother to switch off the mains of his PC when he signs off. He may also not take an initiative to switch his monitor when he is not working on his machine. Maximum of us are not bothered about the reams of paper which we use.

We all like to talk about the depletion of ozone layers caused by tetrafluorocarbons released from air conditioners or refrigerators. However, we like to work in office atmospheres where the temperature may be freezing cold. People like to wrap woolens, yet no conscious effort is taken to switch off the AC. Nevertheless, we must also admire the efforts of various organizations to opt for green buildings for whatsoever reasons.

Of course, collective steps are being undertaken. Yet people either shy away from taking any bold steps -- they might be either ignorant or are reluctant to take any initiatives. I would prefer to call reluctant because neither of us are not ready to let go of our simple comforts. We are not ready to neither conserve nor recycle water. This will go on till we are faced with a situation wherein a heavy fine is imposed on us.

Sometime back, I heard about a case where the society members had rejected a proposal of the committee to install rain water harvesting system on the grounds that such water was unfit for consumption.

Looking at this and many such cases I wonder, irrespective of the initiatives taken or announcements made about climate change, whether our next generations will actually see any winters during Christmas or will they get petrol to drive their vehicles.