The last edit

ED’s Note

December 2012 marks the conclusion of a b’ak’tun, or an age as per the Mayan Calendar. More precisely, Dec. 21 is said to mark the date of the “4-Ajau, God 9 of the Night,

3-Kank’in, Year Bearer 1-Kaban,” which accordingly heralds the dawn of a new era. But before creation comes the destruction. Hence, according to quite a few sensationalist predictions, the world as we know will come to a sudden end in this very month!

I do have much respect for all that the Mayan civilization achieved, minus of course the decapitation in the name of the sun god Kinich Ahau. Somehow, the end-of-the-world interpretation doesn’t cut much ice with me. And that is solely because I don’t subscribe to a one-day Armageddon scenario. Just like the evolu-tion so far, the end should also logically come through a gradual descent, barring a cataclysmic event, like the 10-km diameter asteroid that supposedly landed at Chicxulub, Mexico some 65 million years ago and wiped out the dinosaurs. We humans have ascended the food chain over very many thousands of years, and it will take quite a few to displace us. To humans, danger would come from within, than outside.

One of the biggest battles that humanity would be faced with would be the digital junk that we are currently piling up, year-on-year. This e-waste is taking on gargantuan proportions. Some studies estimate that we are generating over 50 million metric tons of digital dump every year, with as little as 9 percent of that being recycled. Keeping in mind the sort of elements that make up this junk—plastics, silicate and other highly toxic stuff—it’s about time that we took notice of the monster that’s taking shape, quite like the one on the cover of this issue, albeit only infinitely bigger.

The good news is that there are some positive steps being under-taken: the customer has become aware, companies have become sensitive, and governments are formulating rules. India requires this awareness even more, as not only does it have to cope with the eWaste generated locally, but also with the tons and tons of illegal shipment from overseas.

E-waste recycling is still in its infancy, with only a handful of players that have the will and the wherewithal to provide a robust solution to enterprises. On the other hand, there are quite a few OEMs that have taken the onus of product lifecycle management. Hopefully, when the government brings in legislation in this regard, there will be lot more action on this front.

Speaking of action, this issue of SustaiNuance captures a variety of that, right from detailed discussion on the proposed amendment of the CSR Bill to how premier fashion designers are going green in their use of fabrics and dyes. And there’s a complete rejoinder on the wind power segment. Hopefully, you will like the varied fare served up.

In January, as the new rings out the old, we will catch up with a very special collector’s edition on sustainability. Stay tuned!

Blows to humanity need not come hurtling from gods; we are sufficiently self-afflicting—the E-waste creation is a proof

Shashwat DC Editor -in-Chief

December 2012 Sustainuance 3