Book Review: The Oxygen Manifesto

I read this book recently, which addresses the need of the hour to preserve Mother Nature. This book was a review copy sent by Rupa Publications.

Book Description

Oxygen Manifesto is a story of the triumph of ordinary people over the might of the establishment in their battle to save the environment. Thatha lives in a remote and inaccessible part of Manipur and Ravi is a young IAS officer from the Tamil Nadu cadre. Circumstances bring them together and they create the most effective
environmental movement the world has ever seen. They shun the politics of criticism and personal attacks and focus on establishing a new polity based on the principles of environmental protection, habitat conservation, direct civil action, and democratic decentralization.

Oxygen Manifesto is an engaging story about environmental degradation and the impact of the Anthropocene. It exposes the myth around wealth creation and the paradigm of economic growth. It also plants a development narrative that is environment-centric—an idea which is considered fringe in today’s times but is bound to emerge as mainstream thought in the future.

The story also has an undercurrent of minimalism and veganism, as opposed to consumerism and wasteful consumption. A novel concept of taxing goods and services based on their carbon and water footprint has also been introduced by the writer. This is a must-read for anyone who cares about the future of human civilization.

Book Review

Rating 4/5 stars

Today is World Earth Day (22 April 2019). I have recently finished a good book addressing environmental concerns.
Title: The depletion of the ozone layer and other human interventions are disturbing the ecological balance. Oxygen Manifesto by Atulya Mishra addresses the issue of saving the environment and the precious gifts of mother nature. It is said that to effect a change in society, you need to be the change yourself. The title is befitting as the book talks about how ordinary people in India have faced the challenges posed by the establishments to save Mother Earth.
Book Review:

The human greed is taking a toll on the ecological balance. Every year, we see and hear messages about how we should preserve nature and plant a tree. We are destroying the forest cover in order to fulfill our selfish man-made needs. Unfortunately, there are only a few people and activists who are taking steps to save the natural gifts. We have heard of Medha Patkar and her campaign, Narmada Bachao Andolan. On a similar note, the protagonists of this book, Ravi and Thatha work in order to reduce the carbon footprint and strive towards giving a better future to the coming generations.

The writing is simple and easily comprehensible. Research findings and important citations help readers understand the crux of the problem in a simple manner. The author motivates people to take steps in order to preserve the environment.

Many people argue that there is no problem as long as we are planting trees. We fail to realize the benefits of the trees that have been planted for several years for now. Urban development, real estate constructions, etc. is leading to the depletion of green cover, but will be planting a few saplings in the place of a huge tree, is it a rational solution? The Paris Agreement has laid down a set of rules that each country must follow to preserve the green cover.

There is an urgent need to bring more consciousness among the public as well as the administrators to take steps in preserving the natural resources. Policy making needs to be stricter and in line with global standards to achieve success. What steps would you take to save the environment? Taxation of carbon footprint is an innovative solution suggested by the author.