Satish Singh Manhas
The issues facing the world today are from environment to marine pollution, human over population, global warming, to sustainable consumption and wildlife crime. World Environment Day has grown to become a global platform for public outreach, although not wholly practical. It is only celebrative and ceremonial; having no consonance with the actual need of the hour. I believe these are problems that are created by man all through, and they can be solved by man as well. In today’s time, no challenge poses a greater threat to our children, our planet and future generations than climate change. So part of the problem that we need to address is to make the general public aware of the consequences. If we think about the hopes and dreams of our coming generations and act swiftly, then it won’t be too late. And we definitely can leave behind a world that is worthy of our children, not by human suffering, but by human progress. And none of this is impossible.
The environment today is destroyed to such an extent that even if every country somehow puts the brakes on emissions, climate change would still have an impact on our world for years to come. Climate change is such a serious issue that in the coming times it will definitely lead to political instability as well. This challenge is going to define the contours of this century more dramatically perhaps than any other challenge. No nation, whether it’s large or small, rich or poor, will be immune from the impacts of climate change. We are already experiencing it in America, Asia etc where some cities are seeing floods on sunny days, where wildfire seasons are longer. Engulfing of Australia and Amazon forests in the recent past is one such example to quote the dangers of environmental degradation. We’re seeing rapidly eroding shorelines all over world, and glaciers receding at a pace unseen in modern times. If this dangerous trend is not contained, sinking of low lying metros like Mumbai will be a reality very soon, to quote many others.
There has been a conflict between environment and human races since centuries, or since the creation of both at its respective times, even when man was not man. Nature warned man many times through its language of Tsunami, earthquakes, floods, breaking of glaciers etc. But man never mends its way of going. Even in ancient times human beings had exploited the land, forests and environment for the best of their present. But that was bare minimum and for survival. But now the environment is being exploited ruthlessly and unsustainably for human matter and material gains. Economic progress through the cutting of forests, building reservoirs, dams, roads etc for generation of hydroelectric power, extraction of coal, transport and communication is taking fast pace without any concern for environmental protection. This is excessive at times. Building up of all this is being done in one way or the other in a conflict with nature. Man by nature is the most selfish being on this earth. Whenever there had arisen a question of self and gain especially for the present, coming generations had always suffered, history is witness. Be that politics, war, conquering, of Land, Sea etc.
The bursting of glacier at Chamoli, Uttrakhand is not an ordinary happening/ phenomenon. This is something extraordinary and an outcome of environmental degradation and ecological and environmental imbalance. Even if this is not bursting of glacier and is a slipping away of millions and millions tonnes of snow, again it happens because of extreme temperature rise beneath which is because of global warming, ecological imbalance, environmental degradation. And if, ignoring warning of scientists/experts before 10 months can create such a situation. Then on the same analogy the warning from the environmentalists every now and then can also create havoc, even more dastardly/violent. Before the situation reaches its zenith, concrete action world over on ground is the need of the hour before another Chamoli struck in all over the world in every part from every mountain.
A brief: How glaciers break? The accumulation of snow for years cause glaciers, but when the temperature beneath rise as a result of global warming it cause cracks within the glaciers to explode as Chamoli. In nutshell whatever we think is that:
“East or west, global warming hold the fist”.
“North or south, global warming has opened its mouth”.
So the treatment ultimately lies in containing the increase in global warming.
Abrupt sliding down of millions and millions of metric tonnes of snow from a hill, not glacier burst, might have caused the calamity: Says Trivendera Singh Rawat, CM quoting scientists. But again the question rises what caused such a big snow slide? It is again an environmental degradation and a direct consequence of global warming. Only an effort to prevent such calamities is the need of the hour. Although it should not be made as an anti development narrative. But environmentally sustainable development in all sectors is the need of the hour.
Holding of summits in AC rooms are going to do nothing less than a social media or paper campaign, practical, realistic, urgent need based efforts with some effective synergy with immediate outcome is the only solution. That has become now the urgent need of the time.
Planting more trees, so as to create forests and jungles should be a measure in place. Cosmetic and ceremonial plantation for photo purpose won’t do much. Chamoli is a Warning, an eye opener. Frequent chamolis everywhere in the world may recur if concrete timely action not done. Earth summits since 90’s, Paris climate change etc has failed to generate much as is needed. The forest cover is continuously shrinking, earth/land shrinking, sea level increasing; land temperature has become uneven, abnormal and untimely change of seasons. Cold seasons/winters are getting harsher, wet more erratic, hot more harsh, Srinagar dipping at minus 8.4 after 25 years. Jammu going down minus 2 after 20 years, Delhi witnessing its coldest night in the last 22 years so on and so forth is all indicators of the nature destroyer like Chamoli in its different forms.
Something concrete not at the level of intellectuals but at the level of a commoner is required. Mountain, forest sea etc have provided us food, shelter convenience etc everything since the times of ‘aadi manav”, tribal, Neanderthals times but the same forests glaciers mountain sea has destroyed equally as well whenever we had been ruthless towards them. . No generation ever thinks of the nature’s future at the cost of human convenience.
Fighting environmental degradation has emerged as a major challenge in the recent past World over. Many individuals, organisations and even governments have taken some proactive steps in this direction. But if we all want to see our generations healthy, let’s start to plant a tree, a flower etc on whatever space we have, be it a terrace, a boundary wall, a lawn or even the rooftop. Let’s not allow the situation to slip out of hand otherwise, the coming generations will curse us. Our individual effort can make a great difference.
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