We have embarked on a path where we have become totally dependant on global warming processes. In other words, the economic engines of our nation and indeed the rest of the planet are firmly shunted with global warming processes.

Is it possible to switch off these fuel guzzling processes and shift into greener ones without seriously derailing the global economy is a big question for economic formulators all over the world today.

Regardless, the planet is on a grave crossroad and a decision HAS to be made before irreversible barriers are broken through and the planet goes into a ecological nosedive which will ironically hasten to an economic collapse of no-return. There is also no time to play a balancing act between the economy and ecology. A FIRM GLOBAL CHOICE HAS TO BE MADE, AND IT HAS TO BE MADE NOW.

For the sake of our readers, I've included part-I of the article.

Shiva IYER

110608

IN THE NAME OF GLOBALIZATION

It was the early nineties. An economically plodding slumbering giant was awakened by the stroke of a pen in the name of liberalization and the genie called globalization was extricated out of its bottle. While the founding fathers and guardians of this genie had all the good intentions in their heart, they reckoned that this genie could be tamed and made to behave according to their will and intentions by their astute economic brains, honed as they were in some of the elitist institutions of the west. And the genie did seem to do so in the initial stages. Moreover, the genie had appeared like a mesiah precisely during very troubled times when the nation was going through a serious foreign exchange crunch, forcing the hands for its release. There was no time for any ifs and buts. But right from day one of the genie's release, there was tremendous inflow of wealth and capital from all over the globe and suddenly a nation was shaking itself out of its perrenial beggar tag to becoming an economic superpower. It was happening fast and most importantly it was happening now, happening for a land that had once been the jewel of the planet during times immemorial and a land that had fallen into bad times due to two hundred years of colonial history. The land was now reclaiming its lost glory. And for the founding fathers of the genie, it was all pats and glory. And what a fine job they had done indeed.

And thus began the transformation of a land known for its philosophical psyche of contentment into a super mass of consumers. Yes, if America, a paragon for the developed world, touted consumerism, it was now time for the rest of the world to follow and this ancient land had decided to be one of the early pioneers in this regard. The giant neighbour to the north had already ventured on this road and was reaping enormous economic benefits. And suddenly it was call centres, outsourcing hubs and others of their like that ruled the roost. The genie was an epitome of giving and prosperity and it was moolah raining all over. Overnight millionaires and billionaires sprouted like fresh grass at the sprinkle of new rains and the genie frenetically regurgitated even more moolah. Salaries and lifestyles shot up overnight and now, it seemed, nothing could go wrong. The rest of the populace was also falling in love with the genie. And, as its guardians astutely reasoned, the general populace were also convinced that it would take them to that elusive holy grail of development: The next USA.

But what the founding fathers of the globalization genie did not reckon was the enormous ecological appetite of the genie. The genie, they found to their chagrin, had a gargantuan hunger for infrastructure and coveted its eyes on prime land, water, and other eco-resources. And the genie had also determined that there was nothing more precious in this setting than its own vomit: moolah. It purred with pleasure that everything could now be assigned a numerical value. And suddenly it had also determined that it had a life of its own and broke free of its hapless guardians.

Now, yet another farmer had turned into a Raatho-raath-karore-pathi in the outskirts of another booming metro, thanks to the genie. Overnight, the big construction sharks and other die hard champions of the genie made another poor soul struggling on the brink of subsistence into a mega-millionaire. It was heartening news indeed. Everyone in this world has a right to wealth and happiness, especially the poor and the downtrodden. This was the globalization genie at its best, generating and spreading wealth all across the globe and evenly to all sections of society as its founding fathers so idealistically envisioned.

But in all this din of money raining down, nobody noticed that acres of prime agricultural land that for centuries gave fresh produce and fodder were now going to be turned into bricks and mortar. Acres that over generations gave ecologically were now going to make a huge ecological demand in terms of energy, water, and other resources. Priceless ecological resources had now been assigned a mere paper currency value overnight. And ironically the taker was now valued higher than the giver. Overnight, the humble farmer/ecological giver had telescoped his ecological footprint and now transformed into a cell-phone toting ever demading consumer

And this is precisely what was happening in the planet, especially in the developing world. In the hopes of fast tracking an American dream for its denizens, ecological fundamentals were conveniently being jettisoned by their respective administrators. And this became the increasing realization of many top eco-scientists and even the genie’s founding fathers themselves. Yet, they now found themselves hapless and powerless in front of the genie.

The genie, in turn, was growing more and more powerful by the day and its founders to their profound resignation found that its appetites were no longer confined to Mother Nature. It had now started to feed on local native cultures that had sustained generations of humanity all over the globe, digesting and excreting these timeless cultural values as a featureless consumer blob. Local languages, traditions, and centuries long established customs were now being cast by the wayside in this relentless onslaught of the genie. And ironically, this genie was also bringing about a kind of a strange religious unity which was elusive before. Now the various Gods were being replaced by the one and only God – the genie’s vomit, the all important moolah.

And all this, it seemed, had come at the worst possible time for the genie’s founding fathers. It had come in an era of diminishing supply of food grains, water, and fuel; things that the genie now is demanding in never-ending quantities and things the genie’s founding fathers assumed would be always available in infinite quantities. Alas, the founding fathers of the globalization genie, were to their profound horror, also realizing that their recaltricant offspring is facilitating the growth and thriving of a bigger genie called climate change, a genie which threatens to swallow the globalization genie itself. And this new genie is already on its way to becoming an unbeatable monster.

The pact with the devil was made in the early nineties with the promise of never-ending riches to be showered on a struggling land and a smiling genie was released. But as is routine with the devil, the pact has now come with a heavy price. And now the genie’s founding fathers are scratching their heads to come up with a way to put it back into its bottle with a view to containing his big monster brother: Climate Change. But as the saying goes: the horse has bolted from the stable and the genie is never going back home. Why?? It has won the love, affection, and hearts of millions of struggling people all over the planet, who see the genie as their ultimate ticket to financial emancipation. For those struggling for even a square meal in a given day, ecology and sustained living make no sense. And the smart genie has also made powerful friends and cultivated exclusive patronage with vested interests all over the globe, especially those whose enterprises are firmly married to global warming processes. And now it has become a made-genie, a big international don that will only go on its own calling or has to be wiped out with brute global political will and force and yet there will be no guarnatees of its extirpation. And again the price will be enormous. Mother Earth will bleed regardless.

Shiva IYER

080608

www.sivaramhariharan.com