AFTER WORD

The Solar system has its elliptical plane 63 degrees out of the Milky way galactic plane, and that is why we see the Milky way as a river in the sky, and not as a bright line along part of the horizon. This is perhaps due to the collision of the Sagittarius Dwarf galaxy with the Milky way galaxy, billions of years ago. The Solar system could also have once been a part of the Sagittarius galaxy, then captured by the Milky way galaxy. The effects of the variation in the cosmic dust clouds caused as ripples of varying density in the outer regions of the Milky way galaxy by the recurring collisions of the dwarf Sagittarius galaxy, on our solar system, which is passing through a dense section today, are being recognized now as also being greatly responsible for Global warming and Climate change.

Now getting down to what we humans can do to ensure that our efforts to maintain an acceptable life style, for our ever growing population do not lead to any tipping point into an ecological catastrophe. Of course we look at tipping points that may be reached by our actions and hence, can also, be avoided by our actions, this capability may also, help us react better to, and help mitigate the efforts of those tipping points which are not in our control and not caused by our actions.

To enable a proper recognition for the need for such appropriate actions, without being carried away by idealistic and impractical simplicity, we should study the writings of two authors who have very comprehensively covered the many issues from a somewhat different prospective, to offer a better depth of perception.

1. ‘Rational Optimist’ – by Matt Ridley, and
2. ‘The God Species‘ – by Mark Lynas

The optimism of Ridley allows us to view the recommendations of Lynas more objectively and adopt them more enthusiastically with the confidence that we can make a difference. The nine ‘planetary boundaries’ that Lynas refers to, are presently only guidelines as a great deal more studies need to be undertaken to arrive at more specific boundaries / limits, but they do make good guidelines to work with and allow for better demarcation as we learn more. His recommended actions are practical and the ‘eco-warriors’ of the ‘Green’ movement would do well to direct their efforts to better understand how to measure the effects objectively and work for their implementation in a time bound manner.

We also, need to look at the effect of our life-style on the environment as a global phenomenon and seek to treat it on a per capita basis, not on the selfish per Country basis, which says well we reached this level of life style first and you cannot also, seek to do so, hence, the burden falls on you. This attitude is not equitable, if the developed countries seek to get the developing countries to also, join the environmental band wagon, then they should freely share the technologies to use the more polluting sources of energy in a less polluting way, and also subsidize the costs of renewable energy and power equipment, as the resulting benefit is then shared equitably by ALL.

– JAI BHARAT! -JAI HIND! –

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