Eco Speak - Living with as little consumption as possible

From Parinita Purohit.

I remember being introduced to the concept of ‘Being Eco-friendly’ as a kid. One of the first things I did to contribute was to collect all the milk packets from my own home, and go from door to door in my colony to collect everyone’s milk packets (about sixty doors). Pleased with my collection I would then beg my father to take me to the recycling plant. Though I could not sustain this throughout the year for various reasons, I know I tried.

Today I am more sensitized to living with as little consumption as possible. I try and do everything I can to help, though I cannot live without plastic and without wasting, I try to use the least and waste even lesser - Be it using cloth bags for daily shopping, or CFL bulbs for light, minimal usage of water etc. If nothing else, it works for my conscience.

Switching off the lights is a good habit to have but one should understand that CFL bulbs and tube lights consume more electricity to start up, and hence should not be frequently turned off and then on, because that will use up more power

If we call ourselves educated, and literate, it is simply not excusable to turn a blind eye to the oncoming catastrophe that we are creating. It is understandable that we cannot drastically change our lifestyles, but a little bit of judicious use and planning, will only help.

We need to delve in to this with a sincere interest and openness to an attitude of minimalism. It is important to realize the implications of our lifestyles and choices. We need to be more conscientious to feel for where we live and for the future members of our species. We simply need to be a little more human than we have been so far.