Speeding up Innovation for a sustainable world
Environment Foundation- Hariyali, September 1999

Quagmire of Confusion

For far too long action on environment has suffered from conceptual confusion, ideological conflicts, philosophical disputes and intellectual warfare designed primarily to protect ego systems and not eco systems. The recent publication of the WWF report that we have used up 30% of our natural resources during 25 years since 1970 is an eye opener for everyone that environment is a cross cutting issue and as such needs to be addressed by everyone. Instead of indulging in mutual recriminations and using this issue as a terrain for fighting complex social issues and political conflicts, it is time we focused on concentrate action to prevent further damage.

Environment Cost Information

In the new economic order of liberalization and globalisation unfolded in the 1990s we have come to realize that despite their shortcomings, market forces are the best guarantee for human welfare. Admittedly the dreams of common man have not been realized by the liberisation and globalisation. It may even be argued that their economic situation has worsened and the environment has been degraded as a consequence of liberalization and globalisation. The fault does not lie with globalisation. It has opened new vistas and fresh choices. The problem arises because of the lack of information and transparency in economic systems that free play of market forces requires. Our inability to determine the true ecological costs and their internalization for all our calculations distorts the picture. There is enormous potential for using disciplines such as Activity Based Costing to determine environment cost of each activity. Computers can be used to provide this information instantly. The impact of forces that have been set in motion by the birth of computer screen is far beyond our comprehension. The marriage between prodigious computing power and telecommunication has changed the economic and social landscape for ever and there is no doubt this change in favour of the common man, the have not, the underdog. The old women weaving durries in Jhumri Talaiya are also taking of using internet to sell their wares in US markets, something their mothers could never have imagined even a few years ago.