Getting rid of.... Our Mess

Image from JM Simon Post

While reading an article the other day, could not resist thinking on two things..

1... Good Bold Decision... 2.. Have we screwed up the system so bad?

What was it? Just a Dubai Govt campaign to slash 500M plastic bags! 500M bags in a year, as our consumption in a small country like Dubai was nearly 2.9 Billion bags annually. The thoughts that came to mind were the normal, no possible way, we cant be that bad, 2.9 is over exaggerated, etc etc..

Of course, also thinking more could not but resist thinking about a similar post of mine "The Green Thing", where is, we have another case of how we have managed to mess ourselves up with technology, our wants and our needs, and the generations that come, manages to blame the preceding generation, as each generation manages to mess up the environment...

However, back to Plastic Bags.. A great campaign, where in a decision is done to get rid of nearly half a billion plastic bags in six months. Chances are that they will achieve it and probably even more. Simply because of the will of the Govt and the people providing support to make the country a better place. So what is the issue? Just a few:

Why can we not do this without being asked to. We all know that half the things we use are bad for the environment, yet we use them extensively.

Why have we never learnt the concept of reuse unless we have to pay for it.

Why does every thing free have to be abused to an extent, that it has to be taken away for our very own benefit?

Why do we only follow these when the Govt's take it upon them to clear up the mess..

Why does the Govt allow the mess in the first place only for it to later on spend millions to clean up an environment that they are equally to blame.

Why do we never ask ourselves the question: Why, or Why no?

One looks in the streets, outside of Super Markets.. People have stacks of Plastic bags in their hand. It comes for every thing. One chocolate, and you want a bag, a can of Coke and you want to carry it in a plastic bag. Forget it that the minute one steps out of the shop, one takes out the item and throws the bag on the spot. And this is repeated every five / ten minutes.

The amount of non recyclable waste that we generate is mind boggling to say the least. The World population going up to nearly 7 Billion, and with population increasing leaps and bounds, it is simply a mathematical projection as to when, how soon, how fast can we head to a disaster in the making. And what is worse, that in many underdeveloped countries, the Govt does not care a damn about this, as the top few are busy making money even at the cost of the average man getting his life screwed (which he does on his own).

Not asking any one to put up a revolution of some sorts, but simply that we should to the extent possible, try to make the world a better place.. Of course one person in a million is not going to make a difference, but if this catches up, some day (hopefully by then we have not killed the world), we will have a nicer place to live in. A start with Super Markets without plastic bags maybe?

Social Media and its importance..

Had been at a loss for some time, as to what to write about? So many topics, so many discussions, and then a overdose of social networking.. FB, Tweets, Tumblr, WhatsApp... you name it, and I tried to get into all...

Made me think, as I got dragged into one social media after another. Started spending my working hours trying to find time to do some social media, coming back home, have dinner and then restart on my social media.. My FB's, my tweets, getting in touch with friends and relatives via Whats App, all to be in touch. Late into the night, just wanting to be in touch.

I come home by the Metro, I see the same. 3 Out of of 5 are on some sort of chain. BBM's, SMS's, FB, Tweets, the works.. You dont find any one who is any one not being on some kind of Social Media. And this is not limited to being on the train, bus, or any form of commuting, but even expanding to being at family get together, weddings and at every possible opportune moment. One sees a world that finds being on the media more critical and important than being together with people and relatives.

As this grows and one sees the discussions, what is also surprising is that there is, most of the time, nothing important being discussed on the Media. It is not world wide impacting discussions, but more that one has a bad stomach, one had a bad meal, or a headache in the morning after a drinking night...

Where are we headed to? Yes, Socially, being visible is a big factor, however to what extent. Are we headed into a phase where being socially visible is the key to one's very existence. Is it to such an extent that personal relation ships are no longer important or required, but being present on some sort of a net based application is? Is one who is not available on FB, BBM, Twitter, not relevant?

Is it like the age old joke of a person who applied at Microsoft but when informed the HR, was told: Sir, if you don't have E_Mail, you don't exist.... But then also, if he had E_Mail, he would have been an office boy at Microsoft.