Ethical Man

I brought back with me from India a newspaper cutting, from a quality daily rag called the Mumbai Mirror. It caught my eye as it was about a BBC Newsnight presenter by the name of Justin Rowlatt (link to BBC mini-site here: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/programmes/newsnight
/ethical_man/default.stm)

In spring 2006, Justin was set the challenge of spending a year leading a more ethical life, with the aim of reducing his family's carbon footprint. He and his wife got rid of their car, converted to cloth nappies for their young children, switched the laundry eco-balls, started composting...His blog makes interesting reading and is full of good ideas and tips, from a man keen to 'do his bit', and to see how feasiible this would be to sustain on a long term basis. I'd recommend a browse.

The Mumbai Mirror ran a two-page spread about his efforts, predicated on his recent trip to Mumbai to see if he could encourage a local family to change their habits to more eco-frinedly ways. It has to be said that India is something of an eco disaster zone: poorly regulated urban development, ever-increasing traffic with no mitigation in terms of emmissions limits, and massive urban populations, many of whom have no access to clean water, toilets or secure housing. Recycling seems to be pretty much unheard of: in the rush to embrace Western ways (the McCulture) 'progress' seems to be all that matters, regardless on the impact on the environment/population. I know that in the West we have a litany of errors to answer to in this regard, but it seems sad that rapidly developing nations don't look at those with a view to avoiding repeating them.

So it was with much interest that I read the article. Rowlatt was tasked with given a middle class Mumbai family an 'eco makeover' to see if they could take steps to reduce theri carbon footprint. The family was similar in size and age to Rowlatt's own, and whilst they were not prepared to give up their car (high temperatures and humidity make public transport an almost unbearable experience in the summer months), they were amenable to making some changes (sadly the article doesn't go into much detail). Interestingly, Rowlatt also spent time with a different family whom the newspaper claims have zero carbon emissions: the wife, before her recent marriage, lived in one of Mumbai's many slums and the usage of public 'toilets' was extolled as something we could learn from in the West...

The Mumbai Mirror's top tips for reducing Indians' carbon footprint are resonant with those put forward here:

1. Consume only locally grown/produced food and avoid meat
2. Reduce car usage to a minimum
3. Switch to energy saving lighbulbs
4. Put your air conditioning at 25 degrees C of higher (the flip side of our 'turn your thermostat down by one degree' I guess)
5. Avoid using your tumble drier
6. Take the train to your next holiday destination

I'm not sure if the irony was realised by the printers, but immediately below these tips was an ad for a low-cost Indian airline...ha!