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Video Information: 16.05.2022, IIT-Ropar, Greater Noida, U.P.
Context:
~ Is Climate Change a technological problem?
~ Who is the real culprit for Climate Change?
~ How can govenment and institutions help in eradicating this problem?
~ What is the connection between consumption, population and climate change?
~ What is the role of an individual in this scenario?
Music Credits: Milind Date
~~~~~
Be a part of the Live Sessions: https://acharyaprashant.org/hi/enquir...
Want to read Acharya Prashant's Books?
Get Free Delivery: https://acharyaprashant.org/en/books?...
~~~~~
Video Information: 16.05.2022, IIT-Ropar, Greater Noida, U.P.
Context:
~ Is Climate Change a technological problem?
~ Who is the real culprit for Climate Change?
~ How can govenment and institutions help in eradicating this problem?
~ What is the connection between consumption, population and climate change?
~ What is the role of an individual in this scenario?
Music Credits: Milind Date
~~~~~
Category
📚
LearningTranscript
00:00First of all, I would like to thank you, Acharya. Actually, I'm listening to you from last two
00:10and a half years. And after that, a lot of betterment has happened and I've become a
00:15better person. Even after listening to you, I started on veganism also, and I'm a complete
00:21vegan.
00:22Acharya ji, my question is regarding climate change. Previous to this, we were actually
00:29studying in IIT and we used to think that climate change is actually a technological
00:33problem, like only this carbon emissions are there and renewable and electric vehicles
00:38are the solutions. And we were doing even research on this. So I had the same notion
00:44that technological problem is actually climate change is a technological problem. But after
00:49going, watching your video on climate change, then I got to know that actually the overpopulation
00:55and overconsumption are the main culprit and the main causes behind it. And in the
01:00same regard, in the last Mahotsav also, you answered someone's question that the probable
01:07solutions would be like either one is the spiritual upliftment that the congregation
01:12is doing this work. And also another is to have some rules and regulations which will
01:19actually compel people to stop overconsumption and stop overbreeding. So like, as we are
01:26doing the spiritual upliftment from our side, and what I would like to know, what are your
01:30views on the, let's say the institution on government side, like how on which aspects
01:36they should like work on, and as we who are listening to you, and how we can contribute
01:43to the other part of the solution, like the rules and regulations, what you are saying
01:48that government or institutions can work upon in the other side of the solution. I
01:54wanted to know your views on that.
01:57People have to be awakened, and those awakened people have to elect governments that will
02:05listen to awakened voices. If governments know that their vote banks give two hoots
02:20to the climate, then why will they ever take the trouble of pushing reforms and regulation
02:31and taxation? That won't happen. So the solution cannot really come from the governments.
02:42The solution has to come from an awakening of mass consciousness. Or the solution has
02:50to come from some kind of a benevolent dictator. He says, even if the masses are not awakened,
02:59I am going to enforce regulation. But that kind of a thing is not preferable, no? It's
03:06better if the masses themselves decide that climate action is important. And if the masses
03:15decide that, then the leaders will have to listen to the masses. That's what a democracy
03:21is all about.
03:25So at the ground level, you see, there has to be a mass awakening. A lot of effort has
03:37to be made towards sensitizing the common public. Climate action has to become a part
03:47of the electoral manifesto of political parties. Till we come to the point where we start seeing
04:00political leaders talking of the climate to get votes, we will not find any concrete action.
04:15Votes have to be dependent on the willingness of the leader or the candidate to take action
04:26on the climate front. And the voters, therefore, have to be educated. There is no solution.
04:34Till the time we have the situation where votes come on communal basis or caste basis,
04:46or sometimes they are blatantly bought off, there is very little hope for substantial
04:54improvement in the climate situation. So the work has to be done on the ground by people
05:05and organizations who understand the criticality of this moment. And the right kind of people
05:16have to be elected and the right leaders must be brought to power. If you find that
05:24your representative at whatever level has no sensitivity for this absolutely critical
05:33problem, then you must ensure he is defeated. You must ensure, if possible, that he does
05:43not even complete his term if already elected. You see, not all people can be educated in
06:00a short period of time. And when I say short period, I mean a period of few years. But
06:07if you have 10-15% people who make climate action a high priority, a top criteria when
06:22it comes to deciding their vote, then you will find a great movement. And from the choice of
06:36these 10-15% people, then you can have regulation that will affect 100% people.
06:42In an economy you see, in a democracy you see, 10-15% is a very very large number. A vote share
06:57shift of 1% is enough to turn tables around. 10% is like an earthquake. It upturns everything. So,
07:16if you can have just 10% people who say, our topmost priority is the climate,
07:22and we will vote for the candidate who listens to the climate, then you will have regulation,
07:29as we said, that will affect and be binding on 100% of the people. And regulation is needed.
07:36Mass awareness by itself will not suffice. And even if mass awareness is to be brought
07:48to those levels, it will take decades. We don't have decades. But we still have probably
07:58sufficient time to have 10% youth rally with us. Yes, Azharji, in the same question, as you are
08:11saying this 10% of youth, generally still those 10% of youth think like, okay, only this technology
08:18will come up, let's say some fancy change, let's say some new EVs are coming or something like this.
08:22So, when we are talking of raising awareness, that's what we need to tell the people. Climate
08:29change is not a problem of wrong technology. Climate change is a problem of wrong mentality.
08:39It is not a technological but a spiritual problem. No improvement in technology will
08:49be enough to take care of the carbon emissions. It is in Britain, I think that they are now
09:00experimenting with masks that would absorb methane. And those masks they are putting on
09:10the mouths of cows. So that their methane emissions are absorbed. But one thing they do not want to
09:21agree to, why eat the cow at all? The cow has to be eaten and the cow has to be milked before it
09:28is eaten. Milk we cannot leave and beef we cannot leave. But we will try to find smart
09:37technological solutions. We have come up with a smart mask and this won't help. Because your
09:44lust for beef is unending. Also, the ego is a very cunning thing. It does not want to have
09:57knowledge that hurts its interests. What does beef consumption do and what does dairy consumption do
10:09is very well and very broadly and in great detail documented at thousands of places. You need not
10:23even visit a library or buy a book, just Google. And you will come to know about the effects of
10:32animal agriculture. But we don't even want to know. So, there has to be a mass program. There
10:46have to be loud and powerful voices. There has to be a lot of youthful energy that has to finally
10:57coalesce into some kind of a vote bank. And then we require strict and binding regulation. We
11:08require very very high levels of taxation. For example, animal flesh and milk must be taxed at
11:18sky-high levels. 4000% tax. Taxation of that kind. Instead, let me just add because it just
11:40flashed. Instead, what we have is governments that are supporting flesh and milk. They call
11:52it the blue revolution, the pink revolution, the white revolution. These are the kind of
12:00governments we elect. In fact, the biggest support to climate destruction comes from the government.
12:09If you want to import equipment for your mechanized slaughterhouse, you will be
12:20subsidized by the government at the taxpayer's expense. Whereas, if you want to put up a plant
12:33based milk facility, you will probably face a lot of resistance and the usual bureaucratic hassles.
12:41You may have to bribe your way through the system. Slaughterhouses, the government will ease your way.
12:50The government is the biggest offender and we do not see that. The government is the biggest killer
13:01of wildlife, of animals. And why am I talking of the government again and again? Because we elect
13:09the government. Therefore, the voter has to be awakened. As you said that voter has to be awakened.
13:22So, in this regard, even I tried sometime to actually bring upon the people around me to
13:28come into spirituality and understand the things. But generally, it is my observation that some
13:37people who are really honest, they will come upon, they will accept the things. But many of the time,
13:46most of the people, when they see that there is something that is actually hurting their existence,
13:54they will try to prohibit and especially when something spiritual or something like that,
13:58they can, they try to go ahead. So, what I try to do, initially, I try to share them with the
14:05spirituality aspects. But now, I try to make them a little bit more aware of the climate side. So,
14:11I try to make them concerned about this from this side. So, some people understand. So,
14:17this is also followed. What do you think? As you said, only 5 to 10% of people would be like,
14:25who will be actually understanding this thing and they will know that this is a spiritual problem,
14:30not some other problem. But as a majority of the people won't understand this. So,
14:36what do you think? If they don't understand spirituality, they understand the materiality,
14:45right? It's touching 50 degrees outside. This much I hope they and their skins understand.
14:56They understand the temperature, right? They feel the heat. So, come up with a smart campaign.
15:03Why don't you talk about it? Let there be a climatometer.
15:09Show how we all are suffering because of the insane actions of the majority.
15:22Make the calculations and display how every gram or pound of flesh that you take in
15:31is contributing to a temperature rise. How your insane dairy consumption
15:45is not innocent, innocuous at all.
15:53How it is a fallacy to consume dairy and yet call yourself a vegetarian.
16:01So, one has to put in his heart and soul into this kind of activism.
16:15The challenge is great and the challenge is great only because the rewards will be very fulfilling.
16:24You are saving not your personal self, not your family, not even just your nation.
16:29You are saving the entire planet. You don't even know of the billions, trillions of living beings
16:38you are saving. That's the enormity of the challenge and therefore the possibility.
16:47Is it not worth it? Does it not energize you?
16:54So, act.