A unique book that takes the reader into the depths and mysteries of creating a wondrous people-initiated economic plan grounded in centuries of cultural and ecological wisdom. In a tapestry of factual and everyday events, the author makes a well-reasoned argument that we first need to address culture, then a sustainable lifestyle, then ecology, and finally economics. The author strongly reasons that this paradigm in the current century has been reversed by all the countries of the world. The author's compelling argument makes the reader ask some thought-provoking questions: Is our present state of affairs increasing costs in all areas of the economy? Is our system of education placing a distorted emphasis in creating an army of misplaced problem solvers? Is this the right approach? What is cultural economy? Is a culture-based economy better than a consumer economy? The adventure-filled story telling in this book is a blend of the ancient wisdom of the East with suggestions to using the right sources of practical technological wisdom from the East and the West. It takes the current state of our affairs and economic planning and simply turns the current logic on its head. The reader finds several clues on how to implement and create a people-initiated economic plan without necessarily changing his or her current station in life. The beauty of the book is that any person can help create a technological culture that is aligned with nature and ecology. A scholarly book that offers a fascinating reading, as pleasant as reading a novel.

Creating a Green and Cultural Economy

A story from India that integrates the best in East & WestBy Ram Ramprasad

iUniverse, Inc.

Copyright © 2011 Ram Ramprasad
All right reserved.
ISBN: 978-1-4620-1602-0

Contents

Acknowledgements...............................................................................ixIntroduction...................................................................................xi1 The Richness of Biodiversity.................................................................1To My Motherland...............................................................................2The Song of Trees..............................................................................5Trees Survived Killari Earthquake in Maharashtra...............................................62 Sustainable Living in the 1960s..............................................................8Sustainable Living in the 60s..................................................................83 A Comparison Between Pre-mid 1960s and Post-mid 1960s........................................13Fostering Diversity............................................................................13Life in the Developing World...................................................................15The Story of Zindabad — A Lesson in Sustainable Living (Part 1 of 4).....................17Moral of Part 1 of the Story...................................................................204 Ecology and Human Health.....................................................................22Ecology and Human Health.......................................................................235 The Population Dilemma.......................................................................25The Population Dilemma.........................................................................266 Definition of Growth.........................................................................29Current Definition Of Growth...................................................................297 The Dilemma of Economics.....................................................................34The Story of Zindabad (Part 2 of 4)............................................................34The Dilemma of Economics.......................................................................378 Education Methods — The Crux of the Problem............................................40Education – Reflections on an Approach...................................................409 A Simple Guide to Sustainable Living.........................................................45A Simple Guide to Attaining Sustainable Living.................................................45The Story of Zindabad (Part 3 of 4)............................................................48Conclusion of the Story........................................................................59East and West — Achieving Perfection by Understanding Imperfection.......................60Capitalism Versus Communism....................................................................6410 Buckling up to Restore Our Ecosystem........................................................67Buckling Up....................................................................................68The Story of Zindabad (Part 4 of 4)............................................................69Sixty–Five Years of Environmental Independence...........................................8611 Establishing a Framework for Creating a Cultural Economy....................................89Afterword......................................................................................105First Steps to Building a Cultural Economy.....................................................107Footnotes......................................................................................113References.....................................................................................117

Chapter One

The Richness of Biodiversity

I left India at the age of twenty-two for a teaching position in Africa. After teaching there in a University for a little over five years, I left for America for a graduate degree program and I continue to live here. However, I do visit my parents once every few years. But sometimes the demands of the job or squeezing vacation time occasionally stretches things beyond what one in India would consider often enough. However, my loving parents never complained about the timeliness, or the untimeliness, of our visits, They have always just felt happy to see my family.

At the age of ten, I developed asthma in India, sometime in the mid-1960s. Instinctively, I knew this had nothing to do with the genetic inheritance, although local doctors would simply attribute this to genetic phenomena (that I must have inherited from an uncle or a grandparent). Hyderabad, where I lived, was slowly getting polluted. When it rained in Hyderabad the Hussain Sagar Lake emitted an odor that triggered an asthmatic reaction in my body. This was an observation of my body's rhythms, that I attributed to pollution of the lake with industrial effluents. After I left Hyderabad for Africa, my asthma disappeared and never returned. But memories of my asthma, triggered by pollution, remain.

From the ages of four through twenty-two, I remember my early years both in New Delhi and in Hyderabad. The early years were marked with a sense of awe for everything that I saw in India and the life I spent at my house in Hyderabad. One cannot imagine the natural wonder that existed in the early 1950s and 1960s in New Delhi and Hyderabad. It now seems to have disappeared. What follows is a story of the land that gave birth to me: a pre- and a post comparison using mid 1960s as the benchmark for comparison.

The day I left India, my friend, Ratan, gave me a poem he had written. To this day he continues to be a true lover of his country and a cultural spiritualist. His poem celebrates the majesty of India. I consider it a hymn, and thought it would be appropriate for the opening chapter of this book. I was amazed at the wonder Ratan saw at such an early age in the land he loves so much. As adults, we sometimes do not know the potential we had as young children. Reading this poem perhaps gave me insight to recapture that youth I really was. When I shared it with him later, Ratan was quite surprised that he could have written such a poem at such an early age. He did not even recall writing it until I showed him his own handwritten words.

To My Motherland

by Ratan Dadhichi, Hyderabad, India (1976)

    Hail to Thee, my ancient and glorious Motherland,
    Hail O Mother, with Thy rivers eternal and fertile land.
    Crowned with Himalayan peaks of Shiva's snowy abode,
    With Thy feet resting gracefully on Rama's ancient road.
    Thy gentle arms reach the oceans East and West,
    And holy rivers flow from Thy motherly breast.
    Thy fruits and corn smile with golden zest,
    And make, O Motherland, a paradise thrice blest.
    Thy mountains are nurseries for the Spirit's communion,
    Where sages and saints meet in holy union.
    Thy sons, O Mother, speak in many a tongue,
    And yet Thy beauties have never remained unsung.
    Brahma,...