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She tweets: “Just established an Earth University between Puri and Konarak,” to protest against the takeover by some parties “of 10000 acres of fertile land and river and some of the most pristine and beautiful beaches”. And then again: “The spirit of Seattle was alive in Copenhagen when I addressed the gathering of nearly 100000 before the march. The people will make change.”

Definitely not an average Twitterer like you or me, grumbling about the fog and the 80-day motorists’ exile from Connaught Place, physicist and environmentalist Dr Vandana Shiva is an advocate of traditional farming practices. She grew up in and fell in love with forests as her father was a conservation officer, and shot into the limelight during the ’70s Chipko Movement, when women from Indian villages surrounded trees and prevented their felling. Her battles for revoking of the patents on Basmati, neem and the wheat variety Nap Hal are legendary.

“What is essential for an environmentalist to have is love of nature,” says Shiva. “You should have the ability to deal with every aspect of the environment. Adopt an interdisciplinary approach, a holistic approach. A geologist or a botanist will work within his or her narrow field. Doing it holistically helps,” she adds.

Shiva founded Navdanya, which promotes seed saving and organic farming. She also runs Bija Vidyapeeth (the Seed University) at the Navdanya farm near Dehradun, where courses educate and initiate dialogue on holistic living. The intellectual combines very well with the activist. Shiva did her Master’s in the philosophy of science at the University of Guelph (Ontario, Canada), and then a PhD at the University of Western Ontario.

“Narrowing one’s field is something I call ‘reductionist’ knowledge,” she says. “All of it gets fragmented and you remain busy with your little numbers and games. Understand each discipline related to the environment and then work to protect it,” she says.

Is a science background a must? “Not necessarily. Passion for environment protection will take you where it matters,” she says.

Jagdeep Gupta, general manager, programme management at the Centre for Science and Environment (CSE), agrees. “It is only the mindset that can make a difference. The environmentalist is within you, not in your degree alone,” she adds.

The CSE, a public interest research and advocacy organisation based in New Delhi, researches into, lobbies for and communicates the urgency of sustainable and equitable development. Graduates in environmental law and scientists with doctoral degrees in organic/inorganic/environmental chemistry are hired by the CSE.

Shiva and Gupta agree that NGOs might not pay much, with salaries starting from Rs 10,000. “But environment-friendly initiatives can be practised in all kinds of ways,” says Shiva, adding, “you can be as innovative, as creative as possible. Join the government  and work on policies. Become  a solar energy entrepreneur or a consultant. Do what your heart tells you to.”

His heart is what Anil Sethi, CEO and co-founder of the Zurich-based FLISOM (which makes flexible and lightweight solar modules), listened to. A CA and MBA, Sethi left his plum job with IBM to become a green entrepreneur. The change of track happened after a meeting with scientists in thin-film solar cell technology. He then set up this venture with scientist AN Tiwari, the world record holder in a technology that creates cells of 14 per cent efficiency on thin film solar cells.

Says Sethi, “It was in 2004 and I was evaluating this technology to understand the viability of commercialisation, when the tsunami hit South-East Asia. Many died later  due to non-availability of clean water and medication. Mobile power could have then facilitated communication and powered water purification systems and saved lives!

“By producing and commercialising the solar cells, I may be able to contribute to emergency responses in the event of such a calamity. Also,  energy from the sun is renewable and clean and help drive growth and development without harmful emissions.”

Seeds, solar cell technology - everything works for the environment. Love for the earth should spur you on.

Author: Ayesha Banerjee

Date: 13th Jan., 2010

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