Small is always more beautiful

by Daya DISSANAYAKE

If all those who feel the world has begun to take a downturn, look closely at everything that is happening right now, they will realise the downturn is really an upturn.

What we have begun to do is head for an upturn in the well-being and good health of Mother Earth, which in turn means the well-being of all living things. We can soon expect to have cleaner air to breath, purer water to drink, healthier food to eat and altogether a safer world to live in.

This would of course mean Al Gore would have to revise his 'Earth in the Balance' once more. Vandana Shiva could heave a sigh of relief and Arundathi Roy would have plenty of time to settle down to write another Booker winner.

All because of the new economic "upturn". Now that the global economy has slowed down the world has begun to become a brighter and nicer place to live in.

The world economy has been going too fast, and downhill, without brakes during the past few years. Everyone was enjoying the ride, without a concern about where they were going, or where they could end up. Now, suddenly we have been made to slow down. Giving us time to look around, look behind and then look ahead with the knowledge gathered from looking around.

When the worldwide demand for furniture, houses, packing and paper go down we can save more trees, there would be less destruction of forest cover, and the world would be greener. When construction of highways, dams, harbours, and high rise buildings slow down, sand in the river beds would not be removed, the river banks would not be washed away, sea water would not enter the rivers and then into farmland and fresh water sources.

The water in the rivers would become cleaner, as more and more factories shut down, and less and less pollutants enter the waterways and the ground water. Water consumption for industries would also go down.

Overall there would be a downturn of all pollutants, specially the most harmful dioxins, flourinated carbons and heavy metals like mercury. Garbage disposal also would become easier, as most present day urban solid waste is due to over-consumption. There would be less polythene, less disposal of mobile phones, computers and other electronic and plastic goods, that have become a serious headache in every country. There are many new job opportunities created, which could really help reduce unemployment worldwide. In the U.S.A. today it is reported that there are only 2 million farmers and their average age is 55 years.

There are more than 10 million opportunities for Green Farmers, when more and more people are compelled to look for green food, because they cannot afford to pay for highly processed instant food. More job opportunities will come up in the U.S for immigrants as jobs in the IT sector dry up. The rising cost of energy will drive more and more people to go for renewable energy. There will be jobs for fabrication and installation of windmills, solar projects and micro hydrals.

The slowdown of urban migration would reduce overcrowding of cities, reduce pollution, epidemics and reduce the burning of fossil fuels. As people go back to their villages, there would be less congestion in schools, children would have better schooling in less crowded classrooms, in more congenial surroundings.

`The life-style diseases' would disappear. People all over the world would become healthier and live longer. They would spend less on junk food, consume less poison which would have been added to plants and fed to animals. They would walk more, as travelling by car becomes more expensive. They would do more and more manual work, as automation becomes expensive.

People can stay home more often, spend time with their families. When offices work only 3 or 4 days a week, the children could have their parents for themselves for longer weekends. The family unit could function like a real family. It would no longer be a bunch of strangers living in a single house. A house would become a home.

Let us all be happy, thank our Gods and our Karma for giving us another chance for survival.

Small is always more beautiful.