Be the Change You Want to See in the World

I found a speech delivered at MIT with the same title by Dr. R.K.Pachauri, the Director General of Tata Energy Research Institute (TERI). I remember seeing him on Turning Point, the science awareness programme on Doordarshan that was hosted by Girish Karnard. The Q&A section handled by Prof Yash Pal.

I went through the speech and have compiled some of the interesting and thought provoking statistics he has cited.

"The second half of the 20th century has seen unprecedented growth,registering a seven fold increase in collective GDP over a period of 50 years. But accompanying this grand global achievement lies a reality that implies some serious problems for the human race. Firstly, the pursuit of narrow economic goals as measured by growth in personal income and spending power has created a tunnel vision in human decisions, particularly on the part of those who are in a position to influence the course of future global trends...."

"Kenneth Boulding, an economist observed,' It s doubtful whether 200 years ago the richest country had a per capita real income more than five times that of the poorest...Today the difference between per capita income for the richest countries and for the poorest is of the order of 1 to 50 rather than 1 to 5...' "

In an issue of Financial Times magazine, the cover bore the question " 'How do the super-rich spend their money?' Below this title,the cover page states that ONE BIllion dollars could buy
- 9 million bottles of Krug Grand Cuvee Champagne or
dig 1.5 million fresh water wells,
- 500 tonnes of Beluga caviar or
enough maize seed to keep sub-Saharan Africa self-sufficient for a year,
- 170,000 facelifts or
200 million textbooks for the poorest children in the world.'"

Pachauri focusses his talk on three critical areas: food security, sustainable energy and climate change.
" Symtoms of the growing threat to global food security are seen in some recent developments. World grain stock trebled between 1950 and 1996, and in the following seven years harvests remained unchanged through 2003. In the fial four years of this period production turned out to be lower than consumption, with the deficit reaching almost 100 million tonnes in 2002 and 2003. Consequently , world stocks of food grains dropped to their lowest level in 30 years. Fortunately with good weather and the effects of higher prices in the market,production rebounded with a 124 million increase in 2004, but all of this was consumed, leaving no surplus added to existing stocks. One major reason behind these global developments has been the significant and progressive decline in China's grain production, which reached a peak of 392 million tonnes in 1998 and dropped to 332 million tons in 2003. "

"According to the 2004 report of the UN convention to combat desertification," Since 1990, it is estimated thatsome six million hectares of productive land have been lost every year due toland degradation.... Yet the costs associated with inaction in regards to desertification are estimated at one to three percent of developing countries' GDP."

"....The shift towards personalized vehicular tansportation is also creating serious repurcussions. The two million cars sold in 2003 are estimated to have caused paving of 40000 hectares of land. If china reaches Japan's automobile ownership pattern of one car for every two persons then it would have a total of 640 million cars, compared to 16 million today..."

" Agricultural security would also depend on how we manage the earth's stressed water resources. The greatest opportunity lies in improving agricultural practices and reducing water losses associated with the production of food, because 70% of the water consumed in human activities goes to agriculture. Currently, 1000 tonnes of water are on an average utilized for producing only one ton of food...."

"India surpassed the US in 1997 to become the largest producer of milk in the world."

"An estimated number of 425 million homes or approximately 2.1 billion people have no access to electricity. Of these, 600 million are in Africa, 500 million in China,400 million in India 500 million in the rest of Asia and 100 million in Latin America. The challenge is to create institutional, technological and financial solutions by which the bulk of those not receiving electricity today are able to do so largely through the use of renewable resources, such as wind, solar and modern biomass. This is the area where the developed world has to be the change that it wants to see in the rest of the world."

" The International Energy Agency (IEA) estimates that by 2030 the production of oil in OPEC middle east would need to go up from around 19 million barrels a day to over51 million barrels a day."

Dr. Pachauri concludes his speech by quoting Lord John Browne of BP," The detailed science of climate change is still provisional. There are many things we don't know. But science always is provisional and in business, we're used to working in circumstances where we don't know all the facts for certain." Pachauri comments on Browne,' He is trying to be the change that he wants to see in the world. Would other businesses in the developed world so the same ? If they do, then would governments be far behind? I would leave you with that question. Thank you! '

This speech reminds me of "An inconvenient Truth" and " The Day After Tomorrow" that constantly prompt you and me to mull over the raging climate change crisis.....

Be the Change You Want to See in the World- Mahatma Gandhi