The earth giveth and the man taketh

Yesterday another earth day passed . Quite an irony if you think about it , one day for the earth which gave us millions . The mother earth as we call it but to what pitiful condition have we brought her to. And all this in a matter of 10,000 years , the years that we consider the years of modern man .

We often talk about the achievement we , as human beings , have made in general . We have more understanding of nature today than ever was . We are no longer afraid of lightening , seas don’t make us wonder anymore , eclipses are not but just another day for us and while understanding we began to make greater use of nature . And in a way it did good to. The smartest being on the planet needed something to work on . We achieved immensely . Everyday was a day of achievement for the mankind . From the surface of the moon to the depths of Mariana trench we had seen all and amidst all this somehow we got the notion that it is because of us that earth is and not the other way around .

One must naturally think that with all the knowledge we have gathered and the ease of communication that we have established we must have become aware enough to realize how our activities have affected the planet. Our activities tell a different tale altogether . Recent reports suggest that we are destroying our abode like never before . Carbon Dioxide level , at 395.5 parts per million greatly surpasses any previous number . The loss of biosphere is almost 100 times faster than any previous norm . In just last 60 years urban populations have increased seven fold and the increase in primary energy utilization being 5 times . The number is likely to increase and the developing countries are closing the gap between them and the developed nations at a much faster rate . The developed , on the other hand , to sustain the extravagant life styles of their citizens keep on using the resources to the fullest . USA , for instance , with just 5 % of world population is estimated to produce 30 % of worlds’ waste and utilize 25 % of worlds’ resources. The Planet is warming alarmingly . A report by Intergovernmental Panel of Climate Change notes that average Northern Hemisphere temperatures during the second half of the 20th century were very likely higher than during any other 50-year period in the last 500 years and likely the highest in at least the past 1300 years.The population rise has been immense . So much so that our food requirements have broken all records .To keep up with the growth in human population, more food will have to be produced over the next 50 years than has been during the past 10,000 years combined, said the participants of the recent UN-backed forum in Iceland on sustainable development.And even with the sustained increase in production the hungry people have kept on increasing .

Such facts abound and so do the people knowing about them . What we lack is the initiative .So doesn’t it confuses you somewhat that even with the knowledge that we have we keep on repeating our mistakes . How stupid have we become with all this smartness ? No we have no become stupid . We have become addict . Addict to the comforts of the enclosures that we have developed for ourselves. And we don’t want to look over them . We keep on enjoying the new electronic gadgets forgetting that every gadget we discard keeps on adding to electronic waste(expected to reach to 65 million Tons by 2017) . We enjoy the casual rides in our cars and even the air conditioned metros have become somewhat of a pain for us when we very well knowing that the smoke it emitted is very likely to kill someone (Air pollution globally kills more people globally than AIDS or Malaria combined) . We enjoy the nice weekend stay on the beaches gladly ignoring the soil degradation these so called soul soothing peace points have caused . So its not that we don’t know it , we have just adapted ourselves to ignore it .

So what can one do ? Posing a problem is one thing and suggesting a solution is another . One might say that the solutions as suggested by experts are quite impractical and will financially break down the very fabrics of the society that we have made with so much labor . But that’s where we are wrong . Nothing can be more important than saving your home right now . Just ask yourself would you have cared for finances if a enemy state would have attacked yours or if your close one’s are dying of a terminal disease . The same thing is happening . The only difference is that we are choosing to ignore it and earth , as a good mother does , is still patient with us . And what finances consideration are stopping us ? The climate change is taking its toll on our economic condition too.Climate change is already contributing to the deaths of nearly 400,000 people a year and costing the world more than $1.2 trillion, wiping 1.6% annually from global GDP, according to a new study . And the brunt is more felt by the developing countries lacking the basic health facility . We must realize , and realize it immediately , that this is no longer a fun loving -Saturday morning — voluntary activity . This is a necessity . And may be we will survive this even with our present living style but our children and their children might not be this lucky . And we need not to stop development , all we need is sustainable development — meeting the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.

The earth is our only home and no matter how much we have advanced in the space science it is undeniable that it is going to be so for a long time . So just think about it — take a deep breath and imagine that it is the last breath , would you wanted it polluted ? Take a sip of water and imagine it as the last glass , would you want it polluted . And your home , your home — would you like it destroyed . So rise up today with the will that whatever would be possible with yours hands and your resources will be done by you and that you are not going to take your planet for granted .

Remember what Gandhi said — The earth has enough for everyone’s need but not for everyone’s greed .