Thursday, December 17, 2009
Dream a Dream
Courtesy: http://yatinsethi.blogspot.com/
I have a long way to go. I have a lot to do. I have a lot to learn. Thoughts are simply not enough. Action is the only thing that does justice to thoughts. Thoughts are tantamount to getting the fuel. But you need to put the key in the ignition and switch to the first gear....and release the clutch! The speed will come but gradually and naturally.
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5 comments:
was going to quote rudyard kipling's 'if' after reading your lil' note at the bottom of this post... but then i watched the video and me being the weird guy that i am, was really moved by what i saw. it's so nice to see good folks still exist. though it makes me feel like a dumb fool for not having done anything like 'dream a dream'.
Very close to what I felt like, Jai. I was wondering why I'm not one of them people contributing if not running the show. One look at the children and my heart sinks to phenomenal depths for not walking the path as yet.
I have my very own theory about this. Anyway, I’m going to take the liberty to go off on a tangent and ask you what you feel about this entire Copenhagen business?
Copenhagen? Cope n hagen? *repeat another n*m times where n = 5 and m = n-1*
Did I not tell you that I never read newspapers or keep in touch with current affairs? OK. Seriously speaking, it is somewhat true that I am not a "News" person. It may sound shocking, but I seriously have no more patience to tolerate the exaggeration, hype, negativism and silliness of the press. To top it all, they always seem to focus on what does not matter or just touch upon critical things in a very superficial manner. I stay away from them in order to avoid joining the bandwagon of people doing nothing but contemplating on when the press will drop something and start focusing on the next "hot" topic. But, wait, I am rambling.
As far as the Copenhagen Climate Change Conference goes, I must say I have, so far, only managed to skim through opinions and info via Social Media Networks. I attended an unconference on "Green IT" in the IISc many months ago and learned a lot there. I was thrilled to find youngsters just out of college among the crowd and, what's more, bubbling with ideas on green methods to generate energy! I do have the inclination to read up and get into the details of the Copenhagen conference(have bookmarked the site on it).
I think it is, of course, high time such an event happened and the world came together to ponder over its past blunders. I definitely celebrated the idea and the effort.
- But will it be more of a political game than an environmental one? Can UN pull it off successfully and prevent the powers that be from getting into mischief?
- Selfishly happy that India is only at #5 in terms of the total carbon emissions and at the end of the list in terms of per capita carbon emissions.
- Not surprisingly, China and US need to be cautious and admit their contribution to the state of affairs we are in today
- I hope the developing nations are not 'cheated' and forced into a compromise that will turn out to be beneficial for the ones with the clout
- The little elfish pessimist in me thinks whatever we mange to do to bring down the carbon emissions, the impact is not going to be sufficient to reverse the climate change process. [All good things must come to an end?]
- Glad Jairam Ramesh is one of our representatives. From the little I know of him, I guess he is an appropriate choice for the talks
- For the past few weeks, every time I pass Minsk Square, I feel really low as I spot the remains of 15-20 handsome trees that were chopped off to make way for I am not sure what (more buildings?, bangalore metro?). Right now, my emotions are limited to local happenings. But it is really intriguing to go through the Copenhagen agenda and the underlying politics.
Thanks for asking me. I'll stop here for now. But I am going to read up some more and educate myself on the topic in the coming days...and come back to this conversation. You tell me what you're thinking/what's bothering you. :-)
hmmm..... news, as far as i see it, is anything new on a subject that interests you. So it doesn’t have to be news on TV or the papers, which are full of exaggeration, hype, negativism and silliness, anyway. News could be on email, blogger, twitter or any medium of your choice, as long as it’s fresh and you like the subject :)
I find the Cope n hagen ;) conference pretty interesting, even though i’m not very well versed on the topic to make scientific conversation on it. But i understand climate change in general and never really needed an Al Gore or a Dr. Pachauri to make me sit up and take notice. Greenhouse gases, the albedo effect, the correlation between animals exhaling (and volcanoes spouting) carbon dioxide and plants converting it into oxygen, the ozone layer, and the increase of carbon emissions in the atmosphere by human beings, is general science and there to be understood, if inclined to do so.
The climate of the planet has constantly changed over its lifespan from early Earth to Pangaea to the way we know the world today through the Ice Ages and periods of intense heat. However, what has changed through the 4.6 billion years of earth’s existence is the fact that for the first time it has on it an animal capable of influencing the climate through artificial means. And that animal is man.
What intrigues me about the Cope n hagen conference though, is how ethics creeps its way into the entire picture.
The Copenhagen conference is an eye opener in the study of ethics; especially ethical relativism. You have countries arguing with each other that standards must change with the degree of development a society has undergone and the degree of carbon emitted, even though all societies are facing an equally daunting and trying challenge. Fascinating.
I stand by the European and US perspective, even though their standpoint is quite askew. I’ve got a pretty controversial point of view and i must add that it’s not consistent with my idea of justice. But i stand by it nevertheless. (Won’t discuss it here)
Anyway, methinks the negotiators at C’hagen need a lesson in change management more than they need a lesson in stakeholder analysis. Maybe they could start off by reading a lovely little book called ‘Our Iceberg is Melting’, by John Kotter to refocus on the issue at hand.
- I don’t want to, but I agree with the pessimist in you. I don’t think the climate change process can be stopped. At best, it can be delayed. [that’s just the nature of ‘nature’]
- When you talk about ‘emotions being limited to local happenings’, it reminds me of the farce that is ‘Corporate Social Responsibility’. Don’t get me wrong. I love what is done as part of CSR initiatives; but i just don’t buy the idea of an organisation travelling miles to support an environmental or social cause. For instance, why should an organisation travel 45 kilometres to clean up rubbish when it can’t invest 500 rupees a month to dispose its waste material effectively? Methinks if everyone can do their bit in their personal domain, before stepping out and helping the world, it’ll add up to a lot of good (of course, there’s nothing better than combining the two together). Sort of like tackling day to day problems within the sphere of the larger issue; aka work the processes rather than bother about the end result, while still being goal oriented. :)
- I like this Jairam Ramesh fellow too. Love the way he talks and presents himself :)
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