A Tree Can Save the World
description
Transcript of A Tree Can Save the World
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A Tree Can Save The World
Sadhguru
Copyright 2012 Isha Foundation
First Edition: December 2012
ISBN: 978-81-87910-59-6
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any
form without the written permission of the publisher, except in the
case of brief quotations in critical articles and reviews.
For comments and enquiries regarding the book please contact:
Published by:
Isha Foundation
Velliangiri Foothills,
Semmedu (P.O.),
Coimbatore 641 114, INDIA
Tel: 91-422-2515345
Email: [email protected]
Website: www.ishafoundation.org
http://ishadownloads.com
-
1 2
INTRODUCTION
-
3 4
This book is a call to action. Sadhguru, the founder of Isha
Foundation and the massive environmental movement Project
GreenHands, outlines the role that individuals, corporates
and governments can play in controlling and reversing
ecological degradation. Making it clear that when it comes
to ecological work, it is not somebodys work, it is everybodys
work, Sadhguru links the responsibilities of people, business
and governance to address the problem with both short-term
action as well as long-term vision.
Humanity and life on the planet are fast approaching the
point of no return. The decisions we make today will create
our childrens future. We hope this book moves you to make
the right decisions and begin by planting at least one tree,
because believe it or not, a tree can save the world.
What kind of world will our children have to deal
with in the future?
The World Bank recently released their report on climate
change titled, Turn Down the Heat, which suggests that
unless human beings take action to reduce their impact on
Mother Earth, the world is likely to be warmer by more than
4C (7.2F) in the next hundred years. This will not be the
end. Further warming of over 6C (10.8F) will follow in the
centuries to come.
This warmer world will be radically different from ours. The
heat waves of today, such as the 2010 heat wave that struck
Russia killing 55,000 people and destroying 25% of their
harvest, will be the new norm. Extreme weather patterns
which cause dry areas to get drier and wet areas wetter, will
proliferate. Rising sea levels could put a hundred million
people at risk of coastal flooding every year. Perhaps worst of
all, within forty years, global warming could leave us with less
food per person. English Publications Isha Foundation
http://ishadownloads.com
-
3 4
This book is a call to action. Sadhguru, the founder of Isha
Foundation and the massive environmental movement Project
GreenHands, outlines the role that individuals, corporates
and governments can play in controlling and reversing
ecological degradation. Making it clear that when it comes
to ecological work, it is not somebodys work, it is everybodys
work, Sadhguru links the responsibilities of people, business
and governance to address the problem with both short-term
action as well as long-term vision.
Humanity and life on the planet are fast approaching the
point of no return. The decisions we make today will create
our childrens future. We hope this book moves you to make
the right decisions and begin by planting at least one tree,
because believe it or not, a tree can save the world.
What kind of world will our children have to deal
with in the future?
The World Bank recently released their report on climate
change titled, Turn Down the Heat, which suggests that
unless human beings take action to reduce their impact on
Mother Earth, the world is likely to be warmer by more than
4C (7.2F) in the next hundred years. This will not be the
end. Further warming of over 6C (10.8F) will follow in the
centuries to come.
This warmer world will be radically different from ours. The
heat waves of today, such as the 2010 heat wave that struck
Russia killing 55,000 people and destroying 25% of their
harvest, will be the new norm. Extreme weather patterns
which cause dry areas to get drier and wet areas wetter, will
proliferate. Rising sea levels could put a hundred million
people at risk of coastal flooding every year. Perhaps worst of
all, within forty years, global warming could leave us with less
food per person. English Publications Isha Foundation
http://ishadownloads.com
-
5 6
A TREE CAN SAVE THE WORLD
-
7 8
We are living in a time when we have to think of
protecting the things which have always nurtured
us. The planet always took care of us, but for the first time in
the history of humanity, we have to protect this planet which
has nourished thousands of generations of human beings.
None of those people ever thought that a day would come
when we have to take care of the planet. If you look at it in
terms of its age, we are like a week-old infant talking about
saving the mother. But thats the reality. We enjoyed the
bounty of what this planet has offered us, but we have lived
so blatantly in the last hundred years that a time has come
when the just-born infant has to talk about the mothers
wellbeing, not the other way round.
It is no longer a myth. The facts are clear. If we carry on the
way we are going right now, it is a disastrous path and the
planet is in for a very serious turndown in the way it functions.
Fortunately, probably like never before, the number of people
aware of this progressing calamity is at its highest. Thats
a good sign. People are talking about it, but unless we
bring about a fundamental change in the lifestyles that we
have adopted, talking about climate change will be
a wasteful effort.
Right now, large populations around the world are striving
to achieve the comfort and wellbeing that one segment of
the population has achieved for itself. According to the Living
Earth statistics, human beings today are consuming one-and-
a-half planets worth of resources. And nations like India,
China, and many other countries are aspiring to develop
themselves. What module are they following? Everybody
wants to become like the United States. Everybody wants to
have the lifestyle that an average US citizen is living. That is the
aspiration, and everybody, either knowingly or unknowingly,
is working towards it. The Living Earth Report says that if
all the seven billion people on the planet find access to the
comforts and conveniences that an average American citizen
has, we would need four-and-a-half planets to sustain us.
But we have only one. We are surviving only because there is
a disproportionate situation.
The world is going on only because of the unfortunate in the
world that half of the population who are hungry and living
under trees or bridges. If everybody on the planet becomes
fortunate, the world will end in ten or fifteen years time.
The planet has enormous capability to recoup from the
damage that it goes through, but for that to happen, we
have to allow a certain amount of time. Either we consciously
handle this or Mother Earth will do it for us in a cruel manner.
This possibility is looming in front of us, but we are still in a self-
destruction mode. I am not making this out to be a doomsday
prediction, but it is important we realize the gravity of what
we are facing.
http://ishadownloads.com
-
7 8
We are living in a time when we have to think of
protecting the things which have always nurtured
us. The planet always took care of us, but for the first time in
the history of humanity, we have to protect this planet which
has nourished thousands of generations of human beings.
None of those people ever thought that a day would come
when we have to take care of the planet. If you look at it in
terms of its age, we are like a week-old infant talking about
saving the mother. But thats the reality. We enjoyed the
bounty of what this planet has offered us, but we have lived
so blatantly in the last hundred years that a time has come
when the just-born infant has to talk about the mothers
wellbeing, not the other way round.
It is no longer a myth. The facts are clear. If we carry on the
way we are going right now, it is a disastrous path and the
planet is in for a very serious turndown in the way it functions.
Fortunately, probably like never before, the number of people
aware of this progressing calamity is at its highest. Thats
a good sign. People are talking about it, but unless we
bring about a fundamental change in the lifestyles that we
have adopted, talking about climate change will be
a wasteful effort.
Right now, large populations around the world are striving
to achieve the comfort and wellbeing that one segment of
the population has achieved for itself. According to the Living
Earth statistics, human beings today are consuming one-and-
a-half planets worth of resources. And nations like India,
China, and many other countries are aspiring to develop
themselves. What module are they following? Everybody
wants to become like the United States. Everybody wants to
have the lifestyle that an average US citizen is living. That is the
aspiration, and everybody, either knowingly or unknowingly,
is working towards it. The Living Earth Report says that if
all the seven billion people on the planet find access to the
comforts and conveniences that an average American citizen
has, we would need four-and-a-half planets to sustain us.
But we have only one. We are surviving only because there is
a disproportionate situation.
The world is going on only because of the unfortunate in the
world that half of the population who are hungry and living
under trees or bridges. If everybody on the planet becomes
fortunate, the world will end in ten or fifteen years time.
The planet has enormous capability to recoup from the
damage that it goes through, but for that to happen, we
have to allow a certain amount of time. Either we consciously
handle this or Mother Earth will do it for us in a cruel manner.
This possibility is looming in front of us, but we are still in a self-
destruction mode. I am not making this out to be a doomsday
prediction, but it is important we realize the gravity of what
we are facing.
http://ishadownloads.com
-
9 10
Our economic activity is no longer on a small scale. It has
become significant enough to break the planet. Science and
technology have empowered us in such a way that we are no
longer small, two-legged animals. We are a mega-power. Once
you become powerful, you have to be careful. If you were
a small little ant, you could have walked on anybody. There
wouldnt be any problem. But if you become an elephant, you
must be very careful where you put your foot. Technology has
made humanity into real giants. We are hugely empowered.
Now, how we walk is very important. Otherwise we will
uproot everything.
We need to understand that empowerment without the
necessary sense of responsibility can be a major disaster. We
expected governments and businesses to take the necessary
action and reverse the environmental degradation. But for a
variety of reasons political, military or economic they are
not too eager to initiate the essential steps in that direction.
So, individual human beings have to take action. How?
People who are living in developed countries are consuming
an abnormal level of energy. How much can an individual
consume and still keep the planet sustainable is something
all of us have to consider. Are we at least willing to switch off
a light bulb when we dont need it? Are we willing to walk
to our offices instead of driving even that short distance?
Individuals can do these simple things.
This will not solve the whole problem, but they will bring
in more awareness. Once ecological awareness becomes
a popular thing, it will become an incentive for economic
leaders to devise businesses around it. When being green
becomes popular, green will pay. Once it pays, people will
devise businesses around it and invest money to develop more
eco-friendly methods of doing things. But one of the simplest
things that all of us can do wherever we are in the world is to
plant at least a few trees wherever it is possible. That is the
simplest thing we can do.
This is what we are doing in South India right now. We started
a project called Project GreenHands (PGH), which is now the
largest movement in the country. Our objective is to raise the
green cover in the South Indian state of Tamil Nadu to thirty-
three percent. When we started the project, Tamil Nadu had
only 16.5% green cover. I did some rough calculations and
we found that if you plant 114 million trees in about six to
eight years time, then in fifteen years time, you would have
33% green cover. When I said, We need to plant 114 million
trees, peoples eyeballs rolled and they said, Sadhguru, so
many! How? I asked them, What is the population of the
state? In Tamil Nadu, we had a population of 62 million
people at that time. So I said, If all of us plant one tree, take
care of it for two years, and plant one more tree, its done.
If we have to do it as an organization, it is an uphill task.
If everybody takes it up, it will just happen. Everybody can
plant one tree and take care of it, isnt it? Even a beggar
on the street is capable of doing this. It is not a question of
affluence or capability. It is just that we have never thought
like this because we always think, Is it my work? People keep
asking me, Sadhguru, you are a mystic. Why are you planting
a tree?
http://ishadownloads.com
-
9 10
Our economic activity is no longer on a small scale. It has
become significant enough to break the planet. Science and
technology have empowered us in such a way that we are no
longer small, two-legged animals. We are a mega-power. Once
you become powerful, you have to be careful. If you were
a small little ant, you could have walked on anybody. There
wouldnt be any problem. But if you become an elephant, you
must be very careful where you put your foot. Technology has
made humanity into real giants. We are hugely empowered.
Now, how we walk is very important. Otherwise we will
uproot everything.
We need to understand that empowerment without the
necessary sense of responsibility can be a major disaster. We
expected governments and businesses to take the necessary
action and reverse the environmental degradation. But for a
variety of reasons political, military or economic they are
not too eager to initiate the essential steps in that direction.
So, individual human beings have to take action. How?
People who are living in developed countries are consuming
an abnormal level of energy. How much can an individual
consume and still keep the planet sustainable is something
all of us have to consider. Are we at least willing to switch off
a light bulb when we dont need it? Are we willing to walk
to our offices instead of driving even that short distance?
Individuals can do these simple things.
This will not solve the whole problem, but they will bring
in more awareness. Once ecological awareness becomes
a popular thing, it will become an incentive for economic
leaders to devise businesses around it. When being green
becomes popular, green will pay. Once it pays, people will
devise businesses around it and invest money to develop more
eco-friendly methods of doing things. But one of the simplest
things that all of us can do wherever we are in the world is to
plant at least a few trees wherever it is possible. That is the
simplest thing we can do.
This is what we are doing in South India right now. We started
a project called Project GreenHands (PGH), which is now the
largest movement in the country. Our objective is to raise the
green cover in the South Indian state of Tamil Nadu to thirty-
three percent. When we started the project, Tamil Nadu had
only 16.5% green cover. I did some rough calculations and
we found that if you plant 114 million trees in about six to
eight years time, then in fifteen years time, you would have
33% green cover. When I said, We need to plant 114 million
trees, peoples eyeballs rolled and they said, Sadhguru, so
many! How? I asked them, What is the population of the
state? In Tamil Nadu, we had a population of 62 million
people at that time. So I said, If all of us plant one tree, take
care of it for two years, and plant one more tree, its done.
If we have to do it as an organization, it is an uphill task.
If everybody takes it up, it will just happen. Everybody can
plant one tree and take care of it, isnt it? Even a beggar
on the street is capable of doing this. It is not a question of
affluence or capability. It is just that we have never thought
like this because we always think, Is it my work? People keep
asking me, Sadhguru, you are a mystic. Why are you planting
a tree?
http://ishadownloads.com
-
11 12
When it comes to ecological work, it is not somebodys work,
it is everybodys work. Everybody who breathes on this planet
must plant a tree because a tree is not an outside entity. What
you inhale they exhale, what we exhale they inhale. This
relationship is something that we cannot do without. As long
as you breathe, you must take care of the environment. If you
are such a yogi that you dont breathe, or you are dead and
you dont breathe, then we can leave you alone. Everybody
else must plant and take care of trees because a tree is like
an external lung for you. Only one half of your lung is in
your body, the other half of the lung is hanging out there in
the tree.
The essence of Project GreenHands has been to bring this
experience and understanding in people, where their
relationship with trees need not be taught to them. It is felt
and experienced. It is something that every human being has
to realize and respond to. This is not work that you need to
do. Just like you tend to your own body or to your children,
a tree is also very much a part of your life. It is in bringing
this feeling into the minds and hearts of people that PGH
has become such a wonderful success in Tamil Nadu today.
Close to 16 million trees have been planted till now. This has
not happened because of some great force. We started this
movement and involved millions of ordinary people. It is the
peasants, farmers, housewives, and school children who have
done this amazing work.
It is very important that we create responsible movements
because today, the world is largely democratic. Political
leadership depends on common people who cast their votes.
Businesses may have money, but people have the vote, which
is why they can influence governments. It is very important
that we build a movement which can put enough pressure on
businesses and law-makers so that the necessary things are
done. Normally, activists take a very violent, anti-somebody
kind of mode.
When you are an ecological movement, you are not against
anybody, you are for everybody. That is the reason you take up
ecological work. You are for every life on the planet, not just
human beings. You want the insects and the worms to live well
too, because you understand that our lives are not separate
from each other. Our life is an integrated and connected life.
How healthy the worms are today will determine how healthy
we are tomorrow. Only somebody who is for all life can
take up ecological work. But till now, most eco-movements
have mostly been against somebody. This has to change.
Eco-movements and the activists have to grow into a different
level of activism.
More than the trees we have planted, one thing we are proud
of is that PGH has happened phenomenally well because
of peoples support which has in turn bred so many other
movements, which is a wonderful thing. Now the government
of Tamil Nadu itself is trying to outdo us! This is what is
needed it should become a part of everybodys life. Even
now, it is reaching the schools and children are talking about
it. Once children start talking about it, they will not let their
parents be something else. They will make them eco-friendly.
All these things have to be done, not as a solution, but to
become a movement that in turn brings in the necessary laws.
http://ishadownloads.com
-
11 12
When it comes to ecological work, it is not somebodys work,
it is everybodys work. Everybody who breathes on this planet
must plant a tree because a tree is not an outside entity. What
you inhale they exhale, what we exhale they inhale. This
relationship is something that we cannot do without. As long
as you breathe, you must take care of the environment. If you
are such a yogi that you dont breathe, or you are dead and
you dont breathe, then we can leave you alone. Everybody
else must plant and take care of trees because a tree is like
an external lung for you. Only one half of your lung is in
your body, the other half of the lung is hanging out there in
the tree.
The essence of Project GreenHands has been to bring this
experience and understanding in people, where their
relationship with trees need not be taught to them. It is felt
and experienced. It is something that every human being has
to realize and respond to. This is not work that you need to
do. Just like you tend to your own body or to your children,
a tree is also very much a part of your life. It is in bringing
this feeling into the minds and hearts of people that PGH
has become such a wonderful success in Tamil Nadu today.
Close to 16 million trees have been planted till now. This has
not happened because of some great force. We started this
movement and involved millions of ordinary people. It is the
peasants, farmers, housewives, and school children who have
done this amazing work.
It is very important that we create responsible movements
because today, the world is largely democratic. Political
leadership depends on common people who cast their votes.
Businesses may have money, but people have the vote, which
is why they can influence governments. It is very important
that we build a movement which can put enough pressure on
businesses and law-makers so that the necessary things are
done. Normally, activists take a very violent, anti-somebody
kind of mode.
When you are an ecological movement, you are not against
anybody, you are for everybody. That is the reason you take up
ecological work. You are for every life on the planet, not just
human beings. You want the insects and the worms to live well
too, because you understand that our lives are not separate
from each other. Our life is an integrated and connected life.
How healthy the worms are today will determine how healthy
we are tomorrow. Only somebody who is for all life can
take up ecological work. But till now, most eco-movements
have mostly been against somebody. This has to change.
Eco-movements and the activists have to grow into a different
level of activism.
More than the trees we have planted, one thing we are proud
of is that PGH has happened phenomenally well because
of peoples support which has in turn bred so many other
movements, which is a wonderful thing. Now the government
of Tamil Nadu itself is trying to outdo us! This is what is
needed it should become a part of everybodys life. Even
now, it is reaching the schools and children are talking about
it. Once children start talking about it, they will not let their
parents be something else. They will make them eco-friendly.
All these things have to be done, not as a solution, but to
become a movement that in turn brings in the necessary laws.
http://ishadownloads.com
-
13 14
Without the necessary laws, there is no solution. It is only
cosmetic. We can do it for our satisfaction, but that is of no
use. We have to see that a solution happens because even
if I plant a 100 million trees, that is just six days worth of
deforestation on our planet. They will pull it down in six days!
To plant 100 million trees takes a lot of money, a lot of effort:
travelling all over the place, putting the seeds in the ground
and supporting their growth it takes a lot. Then for the
tree to grow, it takes another five to ten years to become
a reasonable thing that you can call a tree. And that can be
removed in six days. In some way, it does not make any sense
to go through all this only to have someone uproot it, but we
still have to plant. We cannot give it up. We have to plant and
work for the solution, but it is silly to create a small solution
for a huge problem and think it is a solution. What we are
doing 114 million trees sounds so big and fantastic, but it is
still a small solution. It is a silly way to approach a problem. It
is like sending an ant to fight an elephant. But at least an ant
is going, and we believe the brave ant will inspire.
Expecting everybody to change by themselves is not realistic.
Strict laws have to be made which consider ecological
concerns. Laws will not come unless there are strong,
responsible, ecological movements which are oriented
towards solutions, and not in trying to beat somebody down.
Movements always have an enemy. But there is no enemy
here except ourselves. We are the enemy. With this, we must
develop large movements which are also action-oriented
because just taking the movement onto the street is not
going to help. It must be action-oriented to gain respectability
in the world and at the same time it must be a large-scale
movement. Only then can we change the laws. Right now, the
problem from nation to nation is this attitude, Okay, I am
willing to change the law and restrict my country, but what
about you? You are not willing to do that. You want to benefit
from my laws. Nobody is going to do it. Who is to bell the cat
is the whole problem because internationally, there isnt any
one body which can enforce these laws.
At one time, we were building the United Nations to a point
where if something really needed to be done in the world,
the United Nations could say so. But that has been lost in
the last ten to fifteen years and now there is no one body.
Every nation is talking about self-interest. If nations talk of
self-interest, the individual will also talk of self-interest.
So who should bell the cat? To determine this, it must be
a worldwide movement.
Movements should learn to connect and become an
international movement so that there will be enough pressure
on the governments to have them change the laws. All the
laws that need to be changed will not change in one day. It
is continuous work. In our lifetime, we must change at least
those laws which are destroying the environment at a very
rapid pace. For example, we can make a law so that the 100
million trees that we plant dont go waste in six days time.
We cannot stop industries from roaring. They have to roar,
but we can make this law. Like this, we can plan out which
laws need to be brought in twenty-five years, and bring them
in step by step, so that it does not hurt us too quickly. People
will not take it if you bring in too much of a drastic change.
The change has to be gradual, giving people enough time
http://ishadownloads.com
-
13 14
Without the necessary laws, there is no solution. It is only
cosmetic. We can do it for our satisfaction, but that is of no
use. We have to see that a solution happens because even
if I plant a 100 million trees, that is just six days worth of
deforestation on our planet. They will pull it down in six days!
To plant 100 million trees takes a lot of money, a lot of effort:
travelling all over the place, putting the seeds in the ground
and supporting their growth it takes a lot. Then for the
tree to grow, it takes another five to ten years to become
a reasonable thing that you can call a tree. And that can be
removed in six days. In some way, it does not make any sense
to go through all this only to have someone uproot it, but we
still have to plant. We cannot give it up. We have to plant and
work for the solution, but it is silly to create a small solution
for a huge problem and think it is a solution. What we are
doing 114 million trees sounds so big and fantastic, but it is
still a small solution. It is a silly way to approach a problem. It
is like sending an ant to fight an elephant. But at least an ant
is going, and we believe the brave ant will inspire.
Expecting everybody to change by themselves is not realistic.
Strict laws have to be made which consider ecological
concerns. Laws will not come unless there are strong,
responsible, ecological movements which are oriented
towards solutions, and not in trying to beat somebody down.
Movements always have an enemy. But there is no enemy
here except ourselves. We are the enemy. With this, we must
develop large movements which are also action-oriented
because just taking the movement onto the street is not
going to help. It must be action-oriented to gain respectability
in the world and at the same time it must be a large-scale
movement. Only then can we change the laws. Right now, the
problem from nation to nation is this attitude, Okay, I am
willing to change the law and restrict my country, but what
about you? You are not willing to do that. You want to benefit
from my laws. Nobody is going to do it. Who is to bell the cat
is the whole problem because internationally, there isnt any
one body which can enforce these laws.
At one time, we were building the United Nations to a point
where if something really needed to be done in the world,
the United Nations could say so. But that has been lost in
the last ten to fifteen years and now there is no one body.
Every nation is talking about self-interest. If nations talk of
self-interest, the individual will also talk of self-interest.
So who should bell the cat? To determine this, it must be
a worldwide movement.
Movements should learn to connect and become an
international movement so that there will be enough pressure
on the governments to have them change the laws. All the
laws that need to be changed will not change in one day. It
is continuous work. In our lifetime, we must change at least
those laws which are destroying the environment at a very
rapid pace. For example, we can make a law so that the 100
million trees that we plant dont go waste in six days time.
We cannot stop industries from roaring. They have to roar,
but we can make this law. Like this, we can plan out which
laws need to be brought in twenty-five years, and bring them
in step by step, so that it does not hurt us too quickly. People
will not take it if you bring in too much of a drastic change.
The change has to be gradual, giving people enough time
http://ishadownloads.com
-
15 16
to understand why such a change has been made, before
bringing in the next one.
Right now, I dont see such seriousness in the world. We are
still trying to look eco-friendly in front of somebody else. We
are not looking at the drastic phase that ecology is in right
now. We have not realized that if we do not take corrective
action right now, we will pass on a legacy we will be ashamed
of. It will be a legacy that our children will accuse us of and
hate us for.
We are not even looking for solutions yet. People are saying
recycling and alternative power generation techniques will
help. Yes, it will help, but in a very minor way. All the wind
and solar power systems put together produce less than two
percent of the power requirement in the world. I am not
trying to beat it down, but having windmills and solar systems
is more entertainment value than real value. It is still very
essential, because even two percent is very big, but this will
only slow down the disaster. Thats like we dont want the
disaster to happen in our lifetime, but we want to gift it to
our children.
A point will come where it will not be a choice anymore. When
that happens, turning around will not be easy. It will be at the
cost of millions of lives. Not just human lives, there are more
precious lives on this planet than human lives. Studies show
that if all the insects on the planet die, life on this planet has
a little more than twenty years before everything disappears.
If the worms on this planet die tomorrow morning, the life
upon this planet has only eight years left. But if you and me
disappear, the planet will flourish.
In our mind, we think the life upon this planet is human-
centric. But in natural terms, the worms, insects, birds and
animals are far more important than human beings. We as
human beings have become the controlling power, so we
are beginning to think that we are the most important life.
This mind-set has to change. We need to recognize and see
ourselves and every life, as life; not seeing you as you and me
as me. Unless humanity begins to recognize life as life, there
is no solution. Right now, all Corporate Social Responsibility
(CSR) and ecological solutions are oriented towards making
human life a little better. Using recycled paper is fine, but
that is not the point. If you want to save the ecology, the
bio-activity on the planet has to rise, and for that to happen,
laws are needed.
Right now, the first lobby which opposes any such law is
definitely the business lobby. However, businesses can play a
key role if there is a change of heart in them because the way
businesses have grown, lawmakers have to listen to businesses.
Unfortunately, except for a few exceptions, businesses are not
thinking beyond this years balance sheet. There are many
who are going beyond that, but still not enough to find a
solution. There is enough ecological awareness for cosmetic
appeal, but not enough awareness and movement in the
world for a solution. This has to change.
However, if you bring in strict environmental laws, many
businesses may sink and disappear. We know this by experience.
In Tamil Nadu, the city of Tirupur is a major clothing and
stitching center. If you dug a well anywhere around Tirupur,
you would get multi-colored water, depending on the color
http://ishadownloads.com
-
15 16
to understand why such a change has been made, before
bringing in the next one.
Right now, I dont see such seriousness in the world. We are
still trying to look eco-friendly in front of somebody else. We
are not looking at the drastic phase that ecology is in right
now. We have not realized that if we do not take corrective
action right now, we will pass on a legacy we will be ashamed
of. It will be a legacy that our children will accuse us of and
hate us for.
We are not even looking for solutions yet. People are saying
recycling and alternative power generation techniques will
help. Yes, it will help, but in a very minor way. All the wind
and solar power systems put together produce less than two
percent of the power requirement in the world. I am not
trying to beat it down, but having windmills and solar systems
is more entertainment value than real value. It is still very
essential, because even two percent is very big, but this will
only slow down the disaster. Thats like we dont want the
disaster to happen in our lifetime, but we want to gift it to
our children.
A point will come where it will not be a choice anymore. When
that happens, turning around will not be easy. It will be at the
cost of millions of lives. Not just human lives, there are more
precious lives on this planet than human lives. Studies show
that if all the insects on the planet die, life on this planet has
a little more than twenty years before everything disappears.
If the worms on this planet die tomorrow morning, the life
upon this planet has only eight years left. But if you and me
disappear, the planet will flourish.
In our mind, we think the life upon this planet is human-
centric. But in natural terms, the worms, insects, birds and
animals are far more important than human beings. We as
human beings have become the controlling power, so we
are beginning to think that we are the most important life.
This mind-set has to change. We need to recognize and see
ourselves and every life, as life; not seeing you as you and me
as me. Unless humanity begins to recognize life as life, there
is no solution. Right now, all Corporate Social Responsibility
(CSR) and ecological solutions are oriented towards making
human life a little better. Using recycled paper is fine, but
that is not the point. If you want to save the ecology, the
bio-activity on the planet has to rise, and for that to happen,
laws are needed.
Right now, the first lobby which opposes any such law is
definitely the business lobby. However, businesses can play a
key role if there is a change of heart in them because the way
businesses have grown, lawmakers have to listen to businesses.
Unfortunately, except for a few exceptions, businesses are not
thinking beyond this years balance sheet. There are many
who are going beyond that, but still not enough to find a
solution. There is enough ecological awareness for cosmetic
appeal, but not enough awareness and movement in the
world for a solution. This has to change.
However, if you bring in strict environmental laws, many
businesses may sink and disappear. We know this by experience.
In Tamil Nadu, the city of Tirupur is a major clothing and
stitching center. If you dug a well anywhere around Tirupur,
you would get multi-colored water, depending on the color
http://ishadownloads.com
-
17 18
of the t-shirts they were making on that day. When the
government enacted a law that made it compulsory to recycle
and purify the water before releasing it, many dyeing units
just died. Hundreds of businesses sank. This does not mean
that environmental laws are against business. The reason these
businesses sank is because they were running on ramshackle
infrastructure. They were trying to make a business out of
nothing. Yes, that is enterprise, but even enterprise has to
stand on four legs. Those enterprises which are tottering on a
single leg will all fall. And that has to happen, we cannot help
it. If you change the landscape of business, some will suffer,
some will drown, but some will immediately adapt and learn to
do business in the new atmosphere that we create. Somebody
should have the courage to create the new atmosphere.
It is because our concern for ecology is recent that we think
a law is impossible; a law is very much possible. We can say,
This is how you must take care of your river. If you have a
tree in your house, this is how you must take care of it. If
there was no law as to which side of the road you should
drive, we would be driving all over. Nobody would be able to
move. This is what is happening with ecology because it is a
new concern. Making laws on many levels is most important.
It is not in the hands of business alone, but business can play
a significant role. Corporations can make a business out of
ecological solutions and that is important, because only then
would the solutions be sustainable. We are talking about
sustaining the ecology, but first of all, the business has to
sustain itself. In that sense, it is best that every ecological
solution becomes a kind of business. Only then will it be
sustained over a period of time. Otherwise, people will just
do CSR and be satisfied with it. If you look at CSR, though
there are a few companies that are doing it differently, most
corporates just allocate a small percentage of their profit. CSR
does things for awareness but it will not create a solution. It
cannot create a solution. If you just add up all the CSR amounts
in the world, it is peanuts. You cannot change the world with
that. Whats more, CSR is not sustainable because you may be
doing CSR today, but the next person who takes over may not
be interested in doing it.
Instead of doing CSR, those companies which are already
eco-oriented must do their business more aggressively. For
example, PGH works with one of the largest wind turbine
manufacturers in the world. I keep telling them, Invest in
bio-energy and solar energy, and put everything on your
wind-turbine land. Just do business. Dont do service. Leave
the service to me, because only then will you do it large
scale. Otherwise you will do it only upto a certain point. We
have presented various ideas to them. They can create solar
villages. If the village is in a wind tunnel, they can make small-
scale wind turbines for each village and provide power to the
village at a lower cost. If it powers the village, all the villagers
will support them. Businesses like this can be worked out on
various levels which are beneficial to the local people, so that
they will support and sustain this whole movement towards a
more eco-friendly way of doing things.
What about the other businesses whose business is not
ecology? The engine is roaring somewhere. They know it
causes damage to the ecology but you cannot stop the engine.
http://ishadownloads.com
-
17 18
of the t-shirts they were making on that day. When the
government enacted a law that made it compulsory to recycle
and purify the water before releasing it, many dyeing units
just died. Hundreds of businesses sank. This does not mean
that environmental laws are against business. The reason these
businesses sank is because they were running on ramshackle
infrastructure. They were trying to make a business out of
nothing. Yes, that is enterprise, but even enterprise has to
stand on four legs. Those enterprises which are tottering on a
single leg will all fall. And that has to happen, we cannot help
it. If you change the landscape of business, some will suffer,
some will drown, but some will immediately adapt and learn to
do business in the new atmosphere that we create. Somebody
should have the courage to create the new atmosphere.
It is because our concern for ecology is recent that we think
a law is impossible; a law is very much possible. We can say,
This is how you must take care of your river. If you have a
tree in your house, this is how you must take care of it. If
there was no law as to which side of the road you should
drive, we would be driving all over. Nobody would be able to
move. This is what is happening with ecology because it is a
new concern. Making laws on many levels is most important.
It is not in the hands of business alone, but business can play
a significant role. Corporations can make a business out of
ecological solutions and that is important, because only then
would the solutions be sustainable. We are talking about
sustaining the ecology, but first of all, the business has to
sustain itself. In that sense, it is best that every ecological
solution becomes a kind of business. Only then will it be
sustained over a period of time. Otherwise, people will just
do CSR and be satisfied with it. If you look at CSR, though
there are a few companies that are doing it differently, most
corporates just allocate a small percentage of their profit. CSR
does things for awareness but it will not create a solution. It
cannot create a solution. If you just add up all the CSR amounts
in the world, it is peanuts. You cannot change the world with
that. Whats more, CSR is not sustainable because you may be
doing CSR today, but the next person who takes over may not
be interested in doing it.
Instead of doing CSR, those companies which are already
eco-oriented must do their business more aggressively. For
example, PGH works with one of the largest wind turbine
manufacturers in the world. I keep telling them, Invest in
bio-energy and solar energy, and put everything on your
wind-turbine land. Just do business. Dont do service. Leave
the service to me, because only then will you do it large
scale. Otherwise you will do it only upto a certain point. We
have presented various ideas to them. They can create solar
villages. If the village is in a wind tunnel, they can make small-
scale wind turbines for each village and provide power to the
village at a lower cost. If it powers the village, all the villagers
will support them. Businesses like this can be worked out on
various levels which are beneficial to the local people, so that
they will support and sustain this whole movement towards a
more eco-friendly way of doing things.
What about the other businesses whose business is not
ecology? The engine is roaring somewhere. They know it
causes damage to the ecology but you cannot stop the engine.
http://ishadownloads.com
-
19 20
All of us need the engine to roar, but businesses have to ease
the throttle a bit on the law-makers. If businesses have to
exist, people have to live. If people have to live, the ecology
has to be good. We have to run the economy a little more
gently, both upon the humanity and upon the ecology.
There is a whole lot of research work and data available which
shows that we can run the economy of a state just by growing
trees in so many different ways. It is just that the first ten years
will be a challenge. But we can definitely make tree-growing
into a very profitable business. We can do it by growing fruit
trees, through forestry, through all kinds of eco-oriented
tourism, with bee-cultivation, bird and animal breeding
there are so many things one could do. We have worked with
some farmers who have seen that forestry is more profitable
than agriculture in certain kinds of land. They have taken
to it and they are very happy. They are earning much more,
and they are saving the planet they have the satisfaction of
doing something worthwhile. There are so many things we
can do, but all these things can take off only if there are laws
and financing.
Unfortunately, there is ambitious business going on on the
planet. There is no visionary business. In my experience, many
companies do not see the possibilities. When I tell them,
Please support us, we want to plant 114 million trees, they
ask, Will you plant it in my state, will you plant it in my
factory? Ecological work is not about my part of the world
and your part of the world. Wherever it is planted, everybody
will benefit from this. Tree planting is most useful only if it
happens from the equator to thirty degrees latitude. This
means India, segments of Africa, Asia and America are the
places to plant. That is where you find maximum benefit.
We have approached just about everybody in the airline and
automobile industries. We worked out intricate plans for
them where the pollution that a car would release in the next
ten years is taken care of by the tree we plant. The cost of the
trees can be divided between the manufacturer, the dealer
and the customer. It is a question of a few dollars. I am sure
the customer will be willing to pay, knowing fully well that
when he drives, he is compensating for what he is using up.
But these plans havent gone anywhere. They have considered
it and considered it. They seem to be considering it forever.
We are in a mode where humanity as a whole has still not
faced reality the way it is. This is the unfortunate way of
humanity that disaster has to strike, only then they will know.
This could be true for the larger humanity. But the more aware
humanity, humanity which is in positions of responsibility and
power, this part of humanity has to act now.
It is very important that we get these things in the right
perspective. When I look at very highly placed people, they
have no clue about even the simple ecological statistics that
are available to everybody and are published every day in
the newspaper. Just about everywhere in the world, people
holding very responsible positions are not even conscious
about it. It is shocking that many law-makers and others have
never even bothered to acquaint themselves because they
are busy with something else. It is very important that it sinks
into everybody because the rate at which we are biting at the
http://ishadownloads.com
-
19 20
All of us need the engine to roar, but businesses have to ease
the throttle a bit on the law-makers. If businesses have to
exist, people have to live. If people have to live, the ecology
has to be good. We have to run the economy a little more
gently, both upon the humanity and upon the ecology.
There is a whole lot of research work and data available which
shows that we can run the economy of a state just by growing
trees in so many different ways. It is just that the first ten years
will be a challenge. But we can definitely make tree-growing
into a very profitable business. We can do it by growing fruit
trees, through forestry, through all kinds of eco-oriented
tourism, with bee-cultivation, bird and animal breeding
there are so many things one could do. We have worked with
some farmers who have seen that forestry is more profitable
than agriculture in certain kinds of land. They have taken
to it and they are very happy. They are earning much more,
and they are saving the planet they have the satisfaction of
doing something worthwhile. There are so many things we
can do, but all these things can take off only if there are laws
and financing.
Unfortunately, there is ambitious business going on on the
planet. There is no visionary business. In my experience, many
companies do not see the possibilities. When I tell them,
Please support us, we want to plant 114 million trees, they
ask, Will you plant it in my state, will you plant it in my
factory? Ecological work is not about my part of the world
and your part of the world. Wherever it is planted, everybody
will benefit from this. Tree planting is most useful only if it
happens from the equator to thirty degrees latitude. This
means India, segments of Africa, Asia and America are the
places to plant. That is where you find maximum benefit.
We have approached just about everybody in the airline and
automobile industries. We worked out intricate plans for
them where the pollution that a car would release in the next
ten years is taken care of by the tree we plant. The cost of the
trees can be divided between the manufacturer, the dealer
and the customer. It is a question of a few dollars. I am sure
the customer will be willing to pay, knowing fully well that
when he drives, he is compensating for what he is using up.
But these plans havent gone anywhere. They have considered
it and considered it. They seem to be considering it forever.
We are in a mode where humanity as a whole has still not
faced reality the way it is. This is the unfortunate way of
humanity that disaster has to strike, only then they will know.
This could be true for the larger humanity. But the more aware
humanity, humanity which is in positions of responsibility and
power, this part of humanity has to act now.
It is very important that we get these things in the right
perspective. When I look at very highly placed people, they
have no clue about even the simple ecological statistics that
are available to everybody and are published every day in
the newspaper. Just about everywhere in the world, people
holding very responsible positions are not even conscious
about it. It is shocking that many law-makers and others have
never even bothered to acquaint themselves because they
are busy with something else. It is very important that it sinks
into everybody because the rate at which we are biting at the
http://ishadownloads.com
-
21 22
cake, there will be no cake left in twenty-five years. Humanity
as a whole must learn to eat the cake slowly. Another thing
is we must be able to produce more cake out of less dough.
Another thing is we need to reduce the number of mouths
which want to eat the cake.
One thing we need to understand is that all ecological
problems have come because of irresponsible reproduction
among human beings. With medical advances, we are now
capable of seeing that every child who is born survives, in most
countries. Though it still needs to be worked upon in many
countries, the infant mortality rate has been considerably
brought down. On the other hand, medical sciences have
postponed our death, which means that our reproduction
should be much more conservative and conscious. But we are
refusing to postpone birth. We have, to some extent, but at 7
billion people it is not an effective postponement.
Without reducing human population, there is no solution.
Whatever you do, people will gobble it up. Instead of trying
to reduce human aspirations, it is better to reduce our rate of
reproduction. It is a much simpler thing to do. In a few villages
in Tamil Nadu, we suggested that villagers take a voluntary
oath that this year will be a no-conception year in this village.
Just enjoy your honeymoon, dont make babies. These kinds
of initiatives will take a lot of effort to implement but if we
dont control the population, whatever you do will go waste
because the United Nations estimates that the population in
2050 will be 9.5 billion.
At 9.5 billion, all of us will have to live with forty percent
less resources than we are right now enjoying. When I say
resource, I am not talking about gold, diamonds or oil. I am
talking about water, food and air to breathe. Can you even
imagine forty percent less air to breathe? So either we control
our population now consciously, or a time will come when we
will have to put a meter on your nose. We will have to charge
you for how many breaths per minute you take. And those
who cannot pay That is why I said we want to give a legacy
of disaster to our children.
The problem is not small, but some people in a resigned way
say, Nature will correct it. Yes, for sure it will correct it.
The correction will be reducing the human population. But
whenever human populations are reduced, you dont see it
as a solution; you see it as a disaster. Mother Earth is not even
supposed to flex her muscles; she is not even allowed to stretch
her hands or legs. If she does something, a hundred thousand
people will die because human beings are everywhere. She
cannot even sneeze. If a volcano erupts, right there people
have built towns around a live volcano! We are too many.
We are wonderful, but we are too many. We need to reduce
our wonderfulness.
If all the countries in the world take it up that they will reduce
the worlds population by 2050, and if we succeed, that itself
is a great solution. Technologies are continuing to refine
themselves. The amount of power we are consuming, lets say
to light up a place, is almost one-tenth of what we would
have consumed twenty years ago. Technologies are improving
and our consumption of power is reducing. Bringing down
the human population by at least twenty-five percent in forty
years time is achievable, if only the necessary laws are made.
http://ishadownloads.com
-
21 22
cake, there will be no cake left in twenty-five years. Humanity
as a whole must learn to eat the cake slowly. Another thing
is we must be able to produce more cake out of less dough.
Another thing is we need to reduce the number of mouths
which want to eat the cake.
One thing we need to understand is that all ecological
problems have come because of irresponsible reproduction
among human beings. With medical advances, we are now
capable of seeing that every child who is born survives, in most
countries. Though it still needs to be worked upon in many
countries, the infant mortality rate has been considerably
brought down. On the other hand, medical sciences have
postponed our death, which means that our reproduction
should be much more conservative and conscious. But we are
refusing to postpone birth. We have, to some extent, but at 7
billion people it is not an effective postponement.
Without reducing human population, there is no solution.
Whatever you do, people will gobble it up. Instead of trying
to reduce human aspirations, it is better to reduce our rate of
reproduction. It is a much simpler thing to do. In a few villages
in Tamil Nadu, we suggested that villagers take a voluntary
oath that this year will be a no-conception year in this village.
Just enjoy your honeymoon, dont make babies. These kinds
of initiatives will take a lot of effort to implement but if we
dont control the population, whatever you do will go waste
because the United Nations estimates that the population in
2050 will be 9.5 billion.
At 9.5 billion, all of us will have to live with forty percent
less resources than we are right now enjoying. When I say
resource, I am not talking about gold, diamonds or oil. I am
talking about water, food and air to breathe. Can you even
imagine forty percent less air to breathe? So either we control
our population now consciously, or a time will come when we
will have to put a meter on your nose. We will have to charge
you for how many breaths per minute you take. And those
who cannot pay That is why I said we want to give a legacy
of disaster to our children.
The problem is not small, but some people in a resigned way
say, Nature will correct it. Yes, for sure it will correct it.
The correction will be reducing the human population. But
whenever human populations are reduced, you dont see it
as a solution; you see it as a disaster. Mother Earth is not even
supposed to flex her muscles; she is not even allowed to stretch
her hands or legs. If she does something, a hundred thousand
people will die because human beings are everywhere. She
cannot even sneeze. If a volcano erupts, right there people
have built towns around a live volcano! We are too many.
We are wonderful, but we are too many. We need to reduce
our wonderfulness.
If all the countries in the world take it up that they will reduce
the worlds population by 2050, and if we succeed, that itself
is a great solution. Technologies are continuing to refine
themselves. The amount of power we are consuming, lets say
to light up a place, is almost one-tenth of what we would
have consumed twenty years ago. Technologies are improving
and our consumption of power is reducing. Bringing down
the human population by at least twenty-five percent in forty
years time is achievable, if only the necessary laws are made.
http://ishadownloads.com
-
23 24
The Chinese have done it, but everybody just comments about
it. They think making politics out of it is a great solution.
Population is definitely the single, most important problem.
And the quickest solution will come only if we reduce our
population. Nations must have the courage, and the religions
of the world must have the sense to see that increasing the
population is going to be a disaster for all of us for every
creature on the planet, not just for humanity.
The planet is for all of us and we cannot exist here by ourselves.
We are living here because of the natural process that is
happening, not because of our economic activity. Right now
we are made to believe that we will live well because of the
percentages of economic growth that is happening in the
country. No. We will live well here if everything is green,
beautiful, water is flowing, and air is pure. This has to be clear
in every human beings mind. The preservation and nurturing
of this planet is not different from aspiring for a good life
for ourselves, because there is no good life without a good
planet. Right now, we are looking at ecological concerns as
some kind of an obligation that we have to fulfill. It is not an
obligation, it is our life.
People are identified with their creed, religion and nationality.
But the most fundamental identity is that you are a piece of
this planet. The very body that you carry is a piece of this
planet and half your lungs are hanging out there on the tree.
I want you to feel it, not just think it is a great idea. It is not
an idea, it is a reality that we are living. This reality has to sink
into people. You dont have to talk about identifying yourself
with the tree. If you sit in front of a tree or under a tree
and breathe consciously, you know there is a big difference.
Sitting in the building and breathing, or sitting under a tree
and breathing there is a big difference. One can feel it. I
want people to feel it. But there are not enough trees for all
of us to sit under. We need to plant them.
http://ishadownloads.com
-
23 24
The Chinese have done it, but everybody just comments about
it. They think making politics out of it is a great solution.
Population is definitely the single, most important problem.
And the quickest solution will come only if we reduce our
population. Nations must have the courage, and the religions
of the world must have the sense to see that increasing the
population is going to be a disaster for all of us for every
creature on the planet, not just for humanity.
The planet is for all of us and we cannot exist here by ourselves.
We are living here because of the natural process that is
happening, not because of our economic activity. Right now
we are made to believe that we will live well because of the
percentages of economic growth that is happening in the
country. No. We will live well here if everything is green,
beautiful, water is flowing, and air is pure. This has to be clear
in every human beings mind. The preservation and nurturing
of this planet is not different from aspiring for a good life
for ourselves, because there is no good life without a good
planet. Right now, we are looking at ecological concerns as
some kind of an obligation that we have to fulfill. It is not an
obligation, it is our life.
People are identified with their creed, religion and nationality.
But the most fundamental identity is that you are a piece of
this planet. The very body that you carry is a piece of this
planet and half your lungs are hanging out there on the tree.
I want you to feel it, not just think it is a great idea. It is not
an idea, it is a reality that we are living. This reality has to sink
into people. You dont have to talk about identifying yourself
with the tree. If you sit in front of a tree or under a tree
and breathe consciously, you know there is a big difference.
Sitting in the building and breathing, or sitting under a tree
and breathing there is a big difference. One can feel it. I
want people to feel it. But there are not enough trees for all
of us to sit under. We need to plant them.
http://ishadownloads.com
-
25 26
APPENDIX
-
27 28
What kind of world will our children have to deal
with in the future? On the heels of the recent release
of the World Banks climate change report Turn Down
the Heat, we at Project GreenHands a grass-roots level
environmental movement founded by Sadhguru list a few
of the major concerns that will face our children in the future.
Unless human beings cut down on greenhouse gas emissions,
the world is likely to be warmer by more than 4C in 100 years.
This will not be the end. Further warming of over 6C will
follow in the centuries to come.
The frequency and intensity of heat waves across the globe
has increased. In 2010, a heat wave hit Russia, killing 55,000,
destroying 25% of the crops, burning a million hectares,
and costing Russia 15 billion dollars. In a 4C warmer world,
such temperatures would be normal, and heat waves never
before experienced in the 20th century would occur regularly.
The coolest months in such a climate would be substantially
warmer than the warmest months were at the end of the
20th century.
In a warmer world, dry areas will become drier and wet areas
wetter. The drought in the United States in 2012 impacted
about 80% of agricultural land. By 2100, half of all farm land
in the world is expected to be drought-hit.
In a warmer world, dry areas will become drier and wet areas
wetter. The drought in the United States in 2012 impacted
EXTREME HEAT
EXTREME WEATHERim
age c
redi
t: wi
kiped
ia
http://ishadownloads.com
-
27 28
What kind of world will our children have to deal
with in the future? On the heels of the recent release
of the World Banks climate change report Turn Down
the Heat, we at Project GreenHands a grass-roots level
environmental movement founded by Sadhguru list a few
of the major concerns that will face our children in the future.
Unless human beings cut down on greenhouse gas emissions,
the world is likely to be warmer by more than 4C in 100 years.
This will not be the end. Further warming of over 6C will
follow in the centuries to come.
The frequency and intensity of heat waves across the globe
has increased. In 2010, a heat wave hit Russia, killing 55,000,
destroying 25% of the crops, burning a million hectares,
and costing Russia 15 billion dollars. In a 4C warmer world,
such temperatures would be normal, and heat waves never
before experienced in the 20th century would occur regularly.
The coolest months in such a climate would be substantially
warmer than the warmest months were at the end of the
20th century.
In a warmer world, dry areas will become drier and wet areas
wetter. The drought in the United States in 2012 impacted
about 80% of agricultural land. By 2100, half of all farm land
in the world is expected to be drought-hit.
In a warmer world, dry areas will become drier and wet areas
wetter. The drought in the United States in 2012 impacted
EXTREME HEAT
EXTREME WEATHER
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about 80% of agricultural land. By 2100, half of all farm land
in the world is expected to be drought-hit.
An average of 500 weather-related disasters now take place
each year, compared with 120 in the 1980s. The number of
floods has increased six-fold. Rainfall levels in wet areas could
increase a further 20 to 30% in a 4C warmer world.
In the next decade alone, a 100 million women and children
are expected to join the already existing 500 million of them
who are undernourished. By 2050, fisheries and livestock will
collapse, and agriculture will suffer under prolonged droughts
and heat waves, resulting in less food per person.
Resources will get scarcer. Elizabeth Hadly from Stanford
University says we may already be past these tipping points
in particular regions of the world. I just returned from a trip
to the high Himalayas in Nepal, where I witnessed families
fighting each other with machetes for wood wood that they
would burn to cook their food in one evening.
A billion people, mostly in Asia, live in coastal regions. In a
4C warmer world, sea-levels are likely to rise by 0.5 meters
and possibly by almost a meter by 2100. These predictions
do not include the melting of much of Greenlands and
Antarcticas ice. They could contribute a total of 64 meters over
the centuries.
An average of a 100 million people a year will experience
floods due to coastal storms, which will have increased in
frequency and intensity. During extremely powerful weather
events, this number will rise significantly.
FOOD SHORTAGES
RISING SEA LEVELS
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29 30
about 80% of agricultural land. By 2100, half of all farm land
in the world is expected to be drought-hit.
An average of 500 weather-related disasters now take place
each year, compared with 120 in the 1980s. The number of
floods has increased six-fold. Rainfall levels in wet areas could
increase a further 20 to 30% in a 4C warmer world.
In the next decade alone, a 100 million women and children
are expected to join the already existing 500 million of them
who are undernourished. By 2050, fisheries and livestock will
collapse, and agriculture will suffer under prolonged droughts
and heat waves, resulting in less food per person.
Resources will get scarcer. Elizabeth Hadly from Stanford
University says we may already be past these tipping points
in particular regions of the world. I just returned from a trip
to the high Himalayas in Nepal, where I witnessed families
fighting each other with machetes for wood wood that they
would burn to cook their food in one evening.
A billion people, mostly in Asia, live in coastal regions. In a
4C warmer world, sea-levels are likely to rise by 0.5 meters
and possibly by almost a meter by 2100. These predictions
do not include the melting of much of Greenlands and
Antarcticas ice. They could contribute a total of 64 meters over
the centuries.
An average of a 100 million people a year will experience
floods due to coastal storms, which will have increased in
frequency and intensity. During extremely powerful weather
events, this number will rise significantly.
FOOD SHORTAGES
RISING SEA LEVELS
imag
e cre
dit:
tcktck
tck.o
rg
http://ishadownloads.com
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31 32
Based on United Nations, World Bank, and other organizations
research, we have put together a map that shows what
problems will dominate different regions of the globe
by 2100.
Studies show that global warming is unavoidable. The
last century of human activity has made a rise in global
temperatures virtually inevitable. The question is no longer
whether temperatures will rise, the question is how much will
they rise. Hearteningly, numerous studies show that there
are technically and economically feasible solutions that will
probably hold warming below 2C, and well below the 4C
mark. Will we make it happen?
Will our children hate us for what we did not do, or will our
children thank us for what we did?
As individuals, the easiest way we can reduce our carbon
footprint is by planting trees. Ishas Project GreenHands,
recipient of Indias highest environmental award, plants trees
on your behalf and lets you track their exact location. All you
need to do is donate just 1$ or Rs.50 per sapling.
Visit www.giveisha.org/pgh
WE STILL HAVE HOPE
WHAT PROBLEMS WILL DOMINATE DIFFERENT REGIONS?
THE MOST DRAMATIC CHANGESIN DIFFERENT REGIONS OF THE GLOBE
heat drought sea level rise
rain crop failure
http://ishadownloads.com
-
31 32
Based on United Nations, World Bank, and other organizations
research, we have put together a map that shows what
problems will dominate different regions of the globe
by 2100.
Studies show that global warming is unavoidable. The
last century of human activity has made a rise in global
temperatures virtually inevitable. The question is no longer
whether temperatures will rise, the question is how much will
they rise. Hearteningly, numerous studies show that there
are technically and economically feasible solutions that will
probably hold warming below 2C, and well below the 4C
mark. Will we make it happen?
Will our children hate us for what we did not do, or will our
children thank us for what we did?
As individuals, the easiest way we can reduce our carbon
footprint is by planting trees. Ishas Project GreenHands,
recipient of Indias highest environmental award, plants trees
on your behalf and lets you track their exact location. All you
need to do is donate just 1$ or Rs.50 per sapling.
Visit www.giveisha.org/pgh
WE STILL HAVE HOPE
WHAT PROBLEMS WILL DOMINATE DIFFERENT REGIONS?
THE MOST DRAMATIC CHANGESIN DIFFERENT REGIONS OF THE GLOBE
heat drought sea level rise
rain crop failure
http://ishadownloads.com
-
33 34
table. A bowl of fortified cornflakes and tinned fruit juice may
look simple, but is not so. Encourage local produce and small
farmer groups for fresh veggies.
Pay attention to packaging: When you are out shopping,
try to go to stores that keep packaging to a minimum. For
example, choose to buy loose tomatoes rather than boxed or
plastic wrapped tomatoes.
Avoid bottled water: Bottled water has a huge carbon
footprint because of manufacture and transport. Most
of the plastic water bottles in India are not recycled, making
the footprint even larger. A reusable water bottle is a
good alternate.
REDUCE YOUR CARBON FOOTPRINTWhat more could you do to reduce your carbon footprint?
Wed say start with your home. Studies suggest that almost
one-third of carbon emissions originate from the household.
Here are 7 easy steps to reduce emissions:
Turn off appliances when not using them: Appliances that
are left turned on or in stand-by mode, draw electricity
even when they are unused. In the United States alone,
residential consumers spend over 4 billion dollars for such
electricity consumption.
Shop with a reusable/cloth bag: Plastic from single-use plastic
bags never decomposes, and toxic particles can enter the
food chain when they are ingested by unsuspecting animals.
Approximately 14 million trees are cut every year for paper
bag production.
Lower the brightness of the computer screen: Reduce the
brightness of your monitor, and if you are still using a boxy
CRT monitor, switch to a LCD. LCD monitors consume only
about 30% of the energy that a CRT monitor does.
Telecommute and Teleconference: You dont have to really
fight your way through traffic or fly to a business meeting in
another city to talk to your colleagues. Also, one good reason
to ask your boss if you can Work at Home.
Buy local produce: You would be amazed to know how far an
item of food has travelled before it reaches your dinner
1
2
3
6
4
7
5
http://ishadownloads.com
-
33 34
table. A bowl of fortified cornflakes and tinned fruit juice may
look simple, but is not so. Encourage local produce and small
farmer groups for fresh veggies.
Pay attention to packaging: When you are out shopping,
try to go to stores that keep packaging to a minimum. For
example, choose to buy loose tomatoes rather than boxed or
plastic wrapped tomatoes.
Avoid bottled water: Bottled water has a huge carbon
footprint because of manufacture and transport. Most
of the plastic water bottles in India are not recycled, making
the footprint even larger. A reusable water bottle is a
good alternate.
REDUCE YOUR CARBON FOOTPRINTWhat more could you do to reduce your carbon footprint?
Wed say start with your home. Studies suggest that almost
one-third of carbon emissions originate from the household.
Here are 7 easy steps to reduce emissions:
Turn off appliances when not using them: Appliances that
are left turned on or in stand-by mode, draw electricity
even when they are unused. In the United States alone,
residential consumers spend over 4 billion dollars for such
electricity consumption.
Shop with a reusable/cloth bag: Plastic from single-use plastic
bags never decomposes, and toxic particles can enter the
food chain when they are ingested by unsuspecting animals.
Approximately 14 million trees are cut every year for paper
bag production.
Lower the brightness of the computer screen: Reduce the
brightness of your monitor, and if you are still using a boxy
CRT monitor, switch to a LCD. LCD monitors consume only
about 30% of the energy that a CRT monitor does.
Telecommute and Teleconference: You dont have to really
fight your way through traffic or fly to a business meeting in
another city to talk to your colleagues. Also, one good reason
to ask your boss if you can Work at Home.
Buy local produce: You would be amazed to know how far an
item of food has travelled before it reaches your dinner
1
2
3
6
4
7
5
http://ishadownloads.com
-
35 36
ABOUT ISHA
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37 38
SADHGURU
Yogi, mystic, visionary and poet, Sadhguru is a spiritual
master with a difference. An arresting blend of
profundity and pragmatism, his life and work serve as a
reminder that yoga is not an esoteric discipline from an
outdated past, but a contemporary science, vitally relevant
to our times. Probing, passionate and provocative, insightful,
logical and unfailingly witty, Sadhgurus talks have earned
him the reputation of a speaker and opinion-maker of
international renown.
With speaking engagements that take him around the world,
he is widely sought after by prestigious global forums to
address issues as diverse as human rights, business values,
and social, environmental and existential issues. He has been
a delegate to the United Nations Millennium World Peace
Summit, a member of the World Council of Religious and
Spiritual Leaders and Alliance for New Humanity, a special
invitee to the Australian Leadership Retreat, Tallberg Forum,
Indian Economic Summit 2005-2008, as well as a regular at the
World Economic Forum in Davos. He was awarded the Indira
Gandhi Paryavaran Puraskar (IGPP) for the year 2008 for Isha
Foundations Project GreenHands efforts.
With a celebratory engagement with life on all levels,
Sadhgurus areas of active involvement encompass fields as
diverse as architecture and visual design, poetry and painting,
ecology and horticulture, sports and music. He is the author
and designer of several unique buildings and consecrated
spaces at the Isha Yoga Center, which have wide attention
for their combination of intense sacred power with strikingly
innovative eco-friendly aesthetics.
Listeners have been ubiquitously impressed by his astute
and incisive grasp of current issues and world affairs, as
well as his unerringly scientific approach to the question
of human wellbeing. Sadhguru is also the founder of Isha
Foundation, a non-profit organization dedicated to the
wellbeing of the individual and the world for the past three
decades. Isha Foundation does not promote any particular
ideology, religion, or race, but transmits inner sciences of
universal appeal.
www.sadhguru.org
Sadhgurus Youtube Channel
http://ishadownloads.com
-
37 38
SADHGURU
Yogi, mystic, visionary and poet, Sadhguru is a spiritual
master with a difference. An arresting blend of
profundity and pragmatism, his life and work serve as a
reminder that yoga is not an esoteric discipline from an
outdated past, but a contemporary science, vitally relevant
to our times. Probing, passionate and provocative, insightful,
logical and unfailingly witty, Sadhgurus talks have earned
him the reputation of a speaker and opinion-maker of
international renown.
With speaking engagements that take him around the world,
he is widely sought after by prestigious global forums to
address issues as diverse as human rights, business values,
and social, environmental and existential issues. He has been
a delegate to the United Nations Millennium World Peace
Summit, a member of the World Council of Religious and
Spiritual Leaders and Alliance for New Humanity, a special
invitee to the Australian Leadership Retreat, Tallberg Forum,
Indian Economic Summit 2005-2008, as well as a regular at the
World Economic Forum in Davos. He was awarded the Indira
Gandhi Paryavaran Puraskar (IGPP) for the year 2008 for Isha
Foundations Project GreenHands efforts.
With a celebratory engagement with life on all levels,
Sadhgurus areas of active involvement encompass fields as
diverse as architecture and visual design, poetry and painting,
ecology and horticulture, sports and music. He is the author
and designer of several unique buildings and consecrated
spaces at the Isha Yoga Center, which have wide attention
for their combination of intense sacred power with strikingly
innovative eco-friendly aesthetics.
Listeners have been ubiquitously impressed by his astute
and incisive grasp of current issues and world affairs, as
well as his unerringly scientific approach to the question
of human wellbeing. Sadhguru is also the founder of Isha
Foundation, a non-profit organization dedicated to the
wellbeing of the individual and the world for the past three
decades. Isha Foundation does not promote any particular
ideology, religion, or race, but transmits inner sciences of
universal appeal.
www.sadhguru.org
Sadhgurus Youtube Channel
http://ishadownloads.com
-
39 40
ISHA FOUNDATION
Isha Foundation is a non-profit human-service organization,
supported by over 2 million volunteers in over 150 centers
worldwide. Recognizing the possibility of each person to
empower another, Isha Foundation has created a massive
movement that is dedicated to address all aspects of human
wellbeing, without ascribing to any particular ideology,
religion or race.
Isha Foundation is involved in several path-breaking outreach
initiatives: Action for Rural R