Review Asia – The Green Issue

Review-Asia is one of the many ‘Glossies’ to be found in the newsagent magazine rack these days. Their 15^th issue is their Green Issue. A pretty good read. Thought I might write a letter to the editor. Here’s the first draft ;

While the cover of Review Asia’s ‘Green Issue’ rings a well needed alarm, your feature article illustrates that at least there is some awareness of the urgency of the problem and that governments and organizations in Asia are starting to take steps in the right direction. It is now a question of will it be ‘too little, too late’ ?

I have been living in Indonesia for the past twenty years , hopelessly witnessing it’s environmental demise as populations over take ecosystems and communities eagerly exchange a rural existence for a technologically enhanced modern one with all the trappings plastic bags and detergent bottles can afford. These communities simply desire the disposable glitzy lifestyles that we of the west have enjoyed and indeed flaunted, in blissful ignorance of the environment, for the last century.

The problem with the arrival of plastic bags and bottles in Indonesia, was that they suddenly appeared without any instructions on how to recycle or dispose of them properly. It was a case of “Wow ! Cool ! Coca-cola in a light weight plastic bottle ! When I’m done I simply throw it away !” Australia , with a population less than one tenth of Indonesia, is already struggling with it’s waste management. Would it not have been a better option for everybody, to say at the onset ; “Well plastic coke bottles are great but there are a lot less problems with waste by sticking to the glass ones you use and recycle now. Plus it does taste better doesn’t it ?” Maybe it’s a little arrogant to say “ Learn from our mistakes.” We’ve had our joyride with the planet and discovered a few set backs, so sorry but no more MTV for anyone.

People may well react in a manner “The product is here, so I’m going to use it to my benefit and let the guy who made it work out the solution to the pollution.”

Awareness is one thing, attitude is another. As Gaertner observes in India “We have the best environmental laws and regulations in place but very lax implementation.”

This rings true in Indonesia as well. The government here also has a ‘Blue Skies’ program for reducing vehicle emissions and yet filth spewing un-maintained private sector buses are a common eye-sore. There is random emission testing and even hefty fines, but ultimately a compromise is met at street level between both underpaid driver and policeman and the consequence to the environment is literally breath taking.

It is not enough to expect governments of these nations let alone their humble people to take responsibility for their actions. The issue is global. It’s time the international community as a whole took a broader view of the problem facing the planet, stepped up to the plate and really enforced the kind of protocols such as the Kyoto agreement. For everyone. No exception.

We are all in this together.

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