The Politics of Colours?

paint/pānt/
Verb: Cover the surface of (something) with paint, as decoration or protection.
Noun: A colored substance that is spread over a surface and dries to leave a thin decorative or protective coating.

The Ministry of Environment and Forest is predictably painted a pale shade of green. There are few explanations for its peculiar name: aren't the forests a part of the environment? The same way the tiger is part of the forests, but the Indian government believes that it can 'save the tiger', but destroy its habitat.But eventually, I suspect, everything will end up in the museum, like the Red Indians.

Confounding indeed. The common citizen is constantly confounded by these injunctions: save water, save the crocodile, plant trees, save paper, save the girl child (what is a 'girl child'? Either one is a boy or a girl, or a child or an adult, but 'girl child'?), save electricity. Save the planet too. The Ministry however, cannot be saved. This July, Jairam Ramesh handed the reins over to Jayanthi Natarajan. Ramesh is now in the Rural Development Ministry. With the likelihood of the Land Acquisition Bill being passed, Ramesh is in the right Ministry to ably handle the media and the spotlight. What is of graver concern is that the new Minister, Jayanthi Natarjan is not really known for her concern for the environment, or ahem, forests.

But that is the real point, or as the CSE would put it, the real 'dirt'. Climate change politics is not about climate or change. Scholars and academics and journalists are almost unanimous on this point that climate change is distinctly threatening to life, as we know it. Michael Grubb, editor of Climate Policy, argues 'tackling climate change is technically and economically entirely possible...it is politics that stands in the way'. I might as well state, 'world peace is possible, but states stand in the way'. Elsewhere, Lavanya Rajamani, states that India's policy of not undertaking commitments is 'unsagacious'. An incredible scholar, true. But sagacity has seldom been an element in formulating foreign policy.

The ethics of green politics is limited to painting buildings green: its easy, visible and symbolic. But meaningless.