A reservoir in Hungary exploded this week, flooding a town with several meters of toxic sludge that caused four deaths and many chemical burns. Preventing disasters like this is exactly what environmentalists are paid for.
Some four years back, everyone advised that a bachelor in Environmental Sciences is inevitable for a successful life. Before taking the plunge, I dreamt of a multinational job with a starting salary three times that of my dad's, perhaps emerging as a Pakistani Rachel Carson or Christiane Amanpour covering environmental disasters. An Oscar-winning documentary on Climate Change, like the "Inconvenient truth", would have been very encouraging too.
Environmental Science is a synergy of various subjects; everything is included, from Biotechnology, which contains DNA models of genetically modified crops to taxes, tariffs and property rights in Environmental Economics an exam in which most of us tried to cheat. From billions of tons of fertile soil lost by the Himalayas to the deteriorating indoor air quality, we studied it all. One of the professors was hypochondriac. She was obsessed with the female reproductive health and the disasters it attracts. She also had this rare gift of linking death, cancer and amputation with even the most little everyday habits (like mistakenly eating a poisonous fungus while chewing the end of a pencil).
All this information starts producing guilt. Almost all of Earth's environmental tragedies, no matter how often we blame the cows, are caused by humans. From whipping out entire rain forests (Latin America) and generating deserts in mere four years (China), to heaps of trash in the center of the Pacific, we did it all. Our everyday actions and habits are persistently contributing to this muddle. The plastic bags we use every day can be swallowed by fish and turtles. The piles of synthetic waste we contribute daily, 75% of the time remains untreated and hazardous. No fairies or Twilight vampires come down to wash it away. Go to river Ravi, you will see how this trash persists, causing illnesses, land waste and biodiversity loss. So now, when you remove that plastic sandwich wrapper, please wonder.
Much of environmentalism is based on choice. We persistently choose between green and non-green options. But this is very confusing. Consider buying a purse. A long-lasting leather bag has taken up cattle feed (we have a food shortage) and other natural resources. Meanwhile, it has required chemicals for manufacture and produced hazardous gases. Kasur a town of leather tanneries is one of the most contaminated places on Earth. But a rexene bag, though cheaper is also fully manufactured, non-biodegradable, gives out fumes and arguably very green. A bus is greener than a rickshaw, but traveling on one is a nightmare. Even my childhood fancy of having twelve children has been trampled by Earth's diminishing carrying capacity, productivity, and resources.
Human culture isn't environmentally friendly. We use various shampoos, body washes and gels that eventually drain in the water bodies, causing ecological perils. We wash our entire households and workplaces with substances that include toxins, acids and alkalis, and banned pesticides. A liquid exterminating all bugs in our kitchen also damaged our body when absorbed. My mother bypasses my environmental sermons and devotedly spatters buckets of clean water (which 1 billion people lack) and toxins to clean our perpetually dusty veranda. Despite all my instructions, household helpers forget to turn the taps or lights off when they leave.
The dream job in a multinational will have to wait for the recession to end, and environmental concern to emerge in the corporate and private sector. I am no more interested in repeating what Al Gore or Carson already did. Pakistan's ecological crisis needs a more innovative answer one documentary won't help.
Just last month, my colleague had a son. Mother Earth might not allow me a dozen kids, but it can't stop me from playing with the ones already around.
This piece was first published in The News.
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