April 22nd was ‘celebrated’ as Earth Day. Politicians
made speeches on the occasion, environmental agencies brought
out posters, school-children took part in painting or essay
writing competitions on topics related to the environment!
How much such ritualistic observances serve the cause of
ecology is moot, for Planet Earth is past the stage when
merely paying lip service will set things right. The latest
studies on the state of the earth’s environment reveal
neither cessation nor slow down of ecological degradation.
Carbon-emission is at an all time high, with emergent economies
such as China and India competing with western nations to
be included in the high-emission category. Global warming
is a phenomenon now acknowledged to be a reality by even
die-hard skeptics. This has manifested itself in glacial
melt-down in the Polar Regions, with consequent rise in
sea-levels which spell danger for island nations and low-lying
coastal areas. Global warming is also causing temperature
of sea-water to rise, leading to the increase in number
of killer storms in Asia and the American continents while
engendering significant climatic change. Unprecedented rise
in global temperatures, heat-waves in traditionally temperate
regions etc. are ominous portents of what the weather pattern
is likely to be in the near future. Depletion of tropical
rainforests as well as wetlands has placed the burden of
carbon absorption on our oceans. This has made the planet’s
oceans polluted as never before, leading to rise in the
acidity of seawater which bleaches and degrades coral-reefs,
the protector of marine life.
All is not well in the conservation front, with the planet
losing precious floral and faunal resources from its genetic
pool almost everyday. Increase in population entails that
more demands on the finite resources of the earth will be
made in the future and cause greater depletion. These and
multifarious other factors contribute to the making of a
bleak scenario. Environmentalists are shouting themselves
hoarse for urgent action, but those at the helm of power
even today are engaged in squabbling. Macro-level decisions
at the highest level have to be made, but self-interest
of nations is putting a spanner in the works. While the
powers-that-be thrash contradictions out and forge a viable
strategy to tackle the impending crisis, each individual
on the earth has to develop environmental consciousness
at a micro-level and act accordingly. We are all part of
an intricate global web. Action or non-action of segments,
no matter how small, ultimately contributes to the strength
and resilience of the entire web. The destiny of Planet
Earth, in the final analysis, lies at the hand of each one
of us. Not merely environmental consciousness, but individual
action, is required if conditions are to be reversed. Everyday
should be an Earth day — April 22nd is but an annual
reminder of this truth.
- By The Assam Tribune,25th April' 2008
