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Wednesday, October 20, 2010

My special carbon footprint

Does it ever bother you to see the alarming amounts of polythene and plastic we use and chuck away like there is no tomorrow? For me, it mostly does. But for the rest of the time, I just use and chuck it away without an ounce of concern.


Forget all the cows belching carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, forget the factories in developing countries coughing out smoke and mass producing non-biodegradable products, forget the vehicles in third world countries emitting toxic gases without any regulations, forget the shiploads of garbage and sewage they dump into the oceans. Those are what the experts like to bring to our attention. And when they talk about such things that don't seem to affect our today and tomorrow, we just turn a blind eye and a deaf ear because, really, who cares about some melting glacier in the Arctic or some species going extinct? I don't even believe that in my lifetime, any serious harm can come to me out of this much-hyped topic of global warming. All I care for mostly is keeping myself happy, entertained, fed and paid.

BUT,
If I stopped and just looked at myself carefully, I see the grocery bags that I don't care to recycle, the chargers and computers I keep running all night for nothing, the fuel I burn as I drive around for fun, the lights and airconditioning that I let run for nothing, the newspapers I just crumple and throw away, the gallons of water I let run waste as I soap the dishes and brush my teeth, just to name a few. These things bug me on a very subtle level and it is easy to drown that voice of righteousness, when comfort and convenience dangle promises of luxury and sophistication.

I try to tread as softly as I can on this earth, whenever I can, so my footprint is not too deep. Certainly, more can be done.

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