Atrocities against Mother Nature
The
atrocities
that
we
are
committing
against
Mother
Nature
have
manifested
in
deforestation,
desertification,
plastic
accumulation,
water
depletion
among
many
more
environmental
hazards.
The
serious
question
to
all
of
us
is-'how
long
could
we
afford
to
feign
ignorance
of
our
actions?'
You
would
have
an
answer
to
this
life
sustaining
question
by
reading
further.
Deforestation
In
our
elementary
schooling
days
we
have
studied
that
plants
and
trees
give
us
the
invaluable
oxygen
and
cause
rainfall
so
that
we
get
water
that
is
so
crucial
for
our
sustenance.
Nevertheless,
we
give
a
damn
to
protect
our
lifelines.
We
are
burning
down
the
rainforests
to
make
way
for
cattle
farming.
It
is
estimated
that
for
each
pound
of
beef
produced,
200
square
feet
of
rainforest
is
destroyed.
Trees
take
decades
to
grow.
But
we
bring
them
down
in
few
minutes
to
make
furniture,
to
build
ships
or
to
make
household
utensils.
Even
to
this
day,
in
some
villages
trees
are
cut
down
to
satisfy
the
need
for
firewood.
After
doing
all
these
irresponsible
acts,
we
claim
that
we
are
civilised.
Some
of
the
tribal
clans
in
the
America,
Africa
and
Asia
know
how
to
scientifically
protect
the
forest
resources
despite
depending
on
natural
resources
for
most
of
their
needs.
We
normally
fail
to
realise
the
importance
of
the
gifts
of
nature
simply
because
we
don't
have
to
pay
money
to
get
them.
Most
of
us
are
not
aware
of
our
responsibility
to
hand
over
the
natural
resources
to
the
next
generation
in
the
same
manner
that
we
got
from
our
forefathers.
Imagine
a
day
when
we
have
to
pay
for
artificially
manufactured
oxygen.
The
company
or
the
government
that
would
sell
oxygen
will
become
demigods.
In
such
a
scenario,
exploitation
and
looting
will
definitely
become
rampant.
Yet
none
of
us
are
ready
to
accept
the
truth
and
we
continue
to
ignorantly
cut
down
the
trees
to
make
quick
money.
Desertification
According to the UN Environment Program (UNEP) report, almost one-third of the earth's land surface inhabited by about 500 million people is becoming desert in some sense as a result of global warming. The glaciers that are the important part of the ecosystem are melting at a rapid pace. While, the twelve main desert regions of the world are becoming very hostile to live on. Our irresponsible actions such as overusing ground water, contaminating the soil with salt, polluting air, building road, emitting greenhouse gases among others things are to be blamed for this man-made disaster of global warming leading to desertification. Most of us are ambitious and futuristic when it comes to our individual lives. We plan and work towards our goals in life. Also, I know of many companies that regularly conduct strategic meetings wherein every member contributes his or her creative ideas in terms of where the company should be in the next one year or even the next ten years! And, collective ideas work wonderfully as the goal becomes a team goal supported and promoted by the maximum number of employees. In contrast, many government policies are totally ignored by 99 per cent of people around the globe even though such policies are chalked to protect the Mother Earth who continues to carry us without complaining. One of the reasons for this lethargic attitude is the lack of understanding of the consequences. Or, maybe because we all understand that the consequences of our anti-environment actions would be fully evident only during the lives of our children or grandchildren. But, fortunately or unfortunately, it looks like we are going to witness the consequences of our terrible mistakes very soon! Whoever has said we have to reap what we sow, deserves Nobel prize for environment, if at all there is one.
Plastic
and
Garbage
Dump
It
may
not
be
wrong
to
say
that
we
live
in
the
plastic
age.
Plastics
are
part
of
cars,
bikes,
consumer
products,
and
furniture.
Apart
from
this,
plastics
are
used
to
contain
the
groceries
that
we
buy
from
our
neighbourhood
shop.
So,
obviously
lots
of
plastic
wastes
are
bound
to
be
collected
at
our
homes.
And,
how
do
we
eliminate
them?
We
just
throw
them
wherever
we
like
except
in
our
premises.
We
are
so
lethargic
that
we
often
throw
garbage
contained
in
plastic
carry
bags
at
the
community
dustbins
but
not
inside
them.
So,
most
of
the
dustbins
are
left
empty
but
the
surrounding
areas
are
filled
with
plastic
wastes
and
garbage
that
attract
scavengers.
We
don't
realise
that
plastics
take
about
30
years
to
decay.
When
they
are
burnt
harmful
chemicals
are
emitted
that
cause
infertility
in
human
beings.
Plastics
left
flung
into
open
drains
and
sewers
clog
the
system
resulting
in
water
stagnation
thereby
leading
to
innumerable
health
hazards
including
increased
mosquito
population.
Worst,
plastics
are
sometimes
consumed
by
cattle
and
dogs
resulting
in
death.
Banning
plastics
altogether
is
not
a
viable
option,
though,
at
this
point
in
time.
An
ideal
solution
to
the
plastic
problem
would
be
to
recycle
used
plastics
completely.
However,
only
up
to
60
per
cent
of
the
plastic
produced
in
our
country
are
recycled
and
put
to
alternative
use.
It
is
high
time
that
we
collect
and
re-cycle
all
the
used
plastic
so
that
we
can
save
the
precious
lives
of
our
children
and
pets
in
future.
Depleting
Water
Resources
Water is our second lifeline after air. Rapid increase in population has put pressure on the scarce water resources such as ground water, river water and rain water. Depleting ground water has led to sea water making inroads into the ground water territory. This has resulted in salination of the soil. Rivers are becoming dry and some countries are already using sea water after desalinating the salt contents of the water. To make the matter worse, we pollute our sacred rivers in the form of industrial wastes. Sewage water flows amidst habitat and the government is least bothered to take corrective actions. In these days of scarce water, rain water harvesting ensures the availability of water, prevents ground water depletion and prevents soil erosion. But, unfortunately, very few of us adopt rain water harvesting. We don't feel the need to do so as our municipal corporation is catering to our water requirements. We don't care to waste water. We think that money can buy unlimited water forever, which is sadly not true. It's only when we see the problem clearly and closely that we try to do something. Rajasthan, a desert land, hardly receives any rainfall. But, people of Rajasthan are motivated enough to collect rainwater whenever it rains and store it for later use. This practice has saved them despite the water starved conditions in which they live.
To err is human but to repeat it is foolishness! By taking corrective measures and not repeating the mistakes that we have been doing, we can save our Mother Nature. We all must realise that it is our future that is in danger and not just the future of our children or grandchildren.
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