To live frugal and green

"We're living on the credit cards of future generation", so says Matthias Gelber, who was voted the Greenest Man on the Planet in 2008.

On the other hand, "everyone from the public, private sector and academia are looking to the government to change, we've got to stop it!", was the frustration cried by Gurmit Singh. Having worked and fought for environment as long as he did, it's a wonder the man never give up.

I was at the Green Business Forum today; reputed the leaders forum for green business. I chuckled easily when Gurmit Singh told the audience he refused to open the bottled water served on the table. "If you say you support green but you still serve the bottled water, then it's not green - it's greenwashing."

The forum was refreshing, a kick in the butt to keep reminding me why I'm here - in the industry of my own choosing. But above all, it serves as a reminder to my personal resolve in doing my part for the environment;

My earlier thoughts on environment stemmed from resource consumption and respecting nature - they're part and parcel of moral perfectibility. Which is why when the issue of climate change crop up, although it helped me understand the course of environmental history, it acts little as my impetus to continue working for environment. Nevertheless, my beliefs in it has never wavered - seeking to work in the biomass/renewable energy industry was a conscious decision, stopping to buy bottled water was a conscious decision, continuing to use my old battered Kancil was a conscious decision, trying to keep my electricity use below 80kWh/month was a conscious decision.

I still have a long way to go - my plastic and glass bottles still waiting to be sent to recycled centre, my used cooking oil is still well below its 1 litre mark, I am yet to set-up a proper recycling system in my kitchen. It can be daunting, but unless you are convinced that you're doing it for the right reasons, and not merely to jump on the green bandwagon, I'd say why not, take your time, go ahead. We all could do with less wastage.