Shonima Malhotra
Earth as we know it is an incredibly complex and fragile network of interconnected systems that have developed slowly over the last 4.5 billion years or so. From the ashes of the Big Bang this planet emerged as a mass of energy and elements. From that newly born mass of energy and elements evolved structured, dynamic systems of solids, liquids, and gases. The evolution of this planet continued to unfold over billions of years in such a unique way that eventually conditions arose with the ability to foster life. No one would reject the fact that human has been completely depending on nature right from the moment that Adam in companion of Eve put their foot on this planet. Stephan Kaplan starts his The Restorative Environment with the claim that “early human beings were a part of nature”. The two words ‘Man’ and ‘Environment’ are not new to human history and the interrelationship between them is well established. Thinking about the environment is as old as our first human ancestors. Human beings live in the realm of nature; they are constantly surrounded by it and interact with it. Actually people have a fundamental physical, emotional, and intellectual dependence on nature. So, we can confidently declare that the beginning of the history of the relation of human and nature completely matches to the beginning of human’s history on the Earth planet.
The fact cannot be denied that humans have been always completely dependent on nature for the fulfillment of their varied needs. Nature has been offering its resources and services to mankind since a long time. Though since past itself humans had a measurable impact on the environment, but their influence was relatively manageable owing to their less population size and simple pattern of living. However, in modern days, with the mammoth growth of population and altered lifestyles the stress on environmental resources has increased. Our obsession with convenience and efficiency has beckoned a new perspective on the environment. A gap or better to say a deep gap has thus flourished between human and nature. According to Kaplan, “over the millennia the gulf between humanity and the natural environment has steadily widened”. The role of nature has changed and it has become something created to be extracted for human physical welfare. As a result all across the world, people are facing a wealth of new and challenging environmental problems.
Man’s tendency to discriminate and his self- centred nature have led him to exploit and tamper every element of the environment. The motto of the people goes like “If it suits you, carry on and forget about everything else. Unfortunately, the word ‘everything’ is that seems to refer to the ‘environment’ because it is that one thing which everyone tends to forget about. As we progress through the 21stcentury, humans have changed the environment in unprecedented ways. As a result, the previous dynamic balance between man and nature and between nature and society as a whole has shown ominous signs of breaking down resulting in many serious problems thereby causing an imbalance in ecosystem.
Humanity continuously requires space , and lots of it , whether it is for farmland or industries; that demands clear – cutting, thereby resulting in severely damaged ecosystems. According to an international data, an estimated 18 million acres of trees are clear-cut each year to make way for new developments – that is just under half of all the trees on the planet since the industrial revolution began. To millions of species that live in forests, deforestation is thus a major threat to their survival and a big conservation issue. It also increases the greenhouse gases within the atmosphere which leads to global warming. The extensive set up of industries adds to the effect forest depletion already has. It has been reported that the average global surface temperature has risen by 0.56 degree C. One of the effects of this surge is that the Antarctic ice caps have started melting thereby making the sea level rise. Some of the low-lying areas are already facing the threat of being submerged by rising sea levels. Global warming is arguably the greatest cause of impact to the environment. As global temperatures increase, Earth’s weather patterns will drastically change, promising more intense hurricanes in both size and frequency, as well as intensifying and prolonging droughts and heat waves. The problem of pollution further devastates our ecosystems. Right from the festivals, to holiday trips to part celebrations, our actions disrupt the balance in nature. Starting with the festival, many of them involve submerging sacred statues in rivers or seas causing water pollution. Year after year, millions of tons of garbage, mainly consisting of plastics are dumped into the ocean. Marine life, including the loggerhead sea turtles, are tricked into thinking they are eating food when really it is only a floating plastic bag or other poisonous plastic that will cause starvation or suffocation to any unfortunate animal that mistakenly ingests it.
Many varieties of fish are known to have become endangered due to our negligence. Some festivals involve blasting crackers which causes air pollution. Not only this, stray animals suffer severe trauma because of the unbearable noise of the crackers. Moving on to our overzealous vacation trips, we somehow damage the environment there also. People do not mind taking their high emission vehicles to these serene places, thus disturbing their ecology. Acid rain, a cocktail of sulphuric acid and nitric acid , is another grave global ecological problem threatening forests and farms, human health and aquatic life, and causing extensive damage to the buildings and artifacts sculpted or made from marble. Ozone layer depletion another major environmental issue is again the outcome of disruptive human activities Human activity is thus undoubtedly leading to the extinction of species and habitats and loss of biodiversity. Eco systems, which took millions of years to perfect, are in danger as any species population is decimating. An example is the destruction of coral reefs in the various oceans, which support the rich marine life. Human activity can be directly attributed to the cause of hundreds of extinctions in the last two centuries, versus the millions of years that extinctions naturally occur.
Nearly every step in human history has unfortunately been accompanied with a leap in environmental degradation. All the while the environment bears the grunt of our greed. It should not be surprising that after enduring so much, the environment also runs out of patience sometimes. And then its fury is unleashed. As a result, the threat of a global ecological crisis hangs over humanity like the sword of Damocles. Our planet is poised at the brink of a severe environmental crisis. We are in a state of planetary emergency, with environmental problems piling up high around us.
Its solution lies in the plane of rational and humane, that is to say, wise organization, both of production itself and care for Mother Nature, not just by individuals, enterprises or countries, but by all humanity, linked with a clear awareness of our planetary responsibility for the ecological consequences. Right relationship with life and nature is both a personal and a collective choice, but it is a choice that we must make. Our role within nature should be one of subsistence rather than commercialization. The earth is our home and we have the duty to take care of it for ourselves and for our later generations. If we wish to see Earth as survivable, livable, tenable we need to treat Mother Nature well. The best time to act, was yesterday, the best we can do is today, but if we wait for tomorrow, it may just be too late. Better safe than sorry. Our actions must embody an ethic of appreciating and sharing the earth’s bounty.
(The author is Assistant Professor of Sociology, G.D.C. Sidhra)
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