India top of Green index

Now here's something that will make you sit up! On Environment Day.

The latest installment of the National Geographic and GlobeScan's Greendex rankings of consumer behavior in 17 countries has been released, with similar results to past years: India, Brazil and China rank as the most sustainable, with the US and Canada ranking last.

The Greendex just measures the impact of the individual consumer in each nation, not the nation as a whole. For those of us living in developing nations and seeing consumerism at a high, this reads downright funny. Is it about green conscience or simply affordability is the question. The answer lies in affordability. It is still not more than 30 percent of our populations who can afford to splurge. A large chunk still lives on less than 2 dollars a day! No wonder the impact on the nation seems low.

But the index does prove one thing - to create a more sustainable human civilization, resource consumption levels have to stabilize somewhere between US levels and Indian levels if we are to live within the natural regenerative capacity of the planet.

But does knowing that make any difference? Not really. This is the age of consumerism, climate change and resource scarcity notwithstanding. How many of us are environment conscious when it comes to pandering to our desires? Either side of the equator. Very very few. As long as they roll out the latest SUVs and electronics, we cannot believe any talk of resource crunch. So also, as long as cool showers follow sweltering heat, we can brush aside global warming. We still have ACs in the malls to cool us.

The climate doom is not something that will rise swiftly like a tsunami, but is a slow process already in motion. Its consequences will take some more months or years to be really felt, but by then it will be too late.

Water, food, energy are all shrinking as a result of over-consumption and mismanagement. Awareness of the environment degradation and sustainable development are essential in today's paradigm of growth. Else, the quality of life for the next generation will be badly compromised. Let us leave a little bit of oxygen for them to breathe, a little water to drink, some fertile soils for their food cultivation, some fuel to keep them warm.

Let us practice some sustainable, green act on this Environment Day.