Industrial civilization polluted the world and environment has become anti-human beings. Trees were eliminated one by one. Not even a single tree under which we played tirelessly could escape the axe of humans. Today, there is no tree for the children to play under, nor dies any child want to play under a tree. Trees and plants and birds and squirrels and winds have no place in the lives of children. Humans and non-humans shared the fruits of the trees and it was a more or less sustainable way of living. We have completely alienated ourselves from our surroundings, from the natural world. Rains play truant, temperature soars higher and higher, clean water supply depletes further and further and fresh air becomes a rarity. The world’s practice today is exactly the opposite for many to Gandhi famous quote, “The earth, the air, the land and the water are not an inheritance from our forefathers but on loan from our children. So we have to hand over to them at least as it was handed over to us.” Due to human beings’ anti-environment activities drought, low precipitation, high temperatures, melting glaciers, increasing warm nights and rising sea levels are some of the consequences which are frequently occurring in the world. The universal drive for higher incomes in the face of mounting environmental destruction has heightened the expressed tension between fast growth and environmental protection. The perception of a trade-off between the two goals rests on the view often held- wrongly- that environmental protection, not environmental degradation, is the obstacle to rapid growth. The reality, however, is that it will not be possible to sustain high growth in the coming years without environmental care.
The reason is that we are facing a twin crisis- economic and environmental – and the two are highly interlinked. The spike in food prices, signals in good measure, pressures on production that are exacerbated by the deleterious effects of environmental devastation and climate change. While some may set aside the global risks of climate change as being distant, recent extreme weather events point to changes that may already be upon us.
To be clear, sustained growth has been the most powerful means to reduce poverty, especially in China, India and elsewhere in Asia. China’s growth averaged 10 per cent yearly for the past 25 years, lifting some 400 million people out of poverty. Developing countries need to a grow deal: their average income are one-fourth that of rich nations.
That said, climate change presents the greatest threat to sustaining high growth. In the past 100 years, the world economy expanded sevenfold, the global population increased from 1.6 billion to 6.5 billion and the world lost half of its tropical forests. Consequently, atmospheric corbon dioxide levels are now 385 parts per million (ppm) and rising fast
National economies are already seeing the effects of climate on local agriculture. Natural disasters are on the rise: remarkably it is the hydro-meteorological events, notthe geological ones that have shot up, suggesting the ominious link to global warming. The proximate reason for the doubling of wheat prices over the past year is the collapse of production in the former Soviet Union and elsewhere linked to unprecedented heat waves and floods.
The economic costs, including the losses caused by air pollution, water contamination and solid wastes as well as deforestation are estimated to amount to some three per cent of GNP in China as well as India, Argentina, Turkey and elsewhere.
Climate experts found that burning of carbon and its other products by industries and in vehicles injects huge amount of heat into the environment and in turn, affects weather pattern. They said the cyclical pattern of EI Nino and La Nina, have changed due to global warming.
Can we decide to switch off the refrigerators in our house for one hour a day? Can we make a conscious effort to make the maximum use of sunlight by switching off lights during the day? Can we sacrifice the air-conditioners in the car for at least two days a week (excluding Saturday/Sunday)? Can we walk when we can walk and not drive? Could we be nice enough to ask neighbour to pool car for work? Can we be bold enough to use the public conveyance for work once a week? Can we stick to the good old landing telephone and use mobiles only when absolutely necessary?
Can we keep the same mobiles for longer years, thereby reducing E-waste? Can we switch off the computer when we leave the table? The list could go on….but, the question is whether we can. If you cannot, please do not expect that environmental degradation will get checked. Should we do? If one person moves, nothing happens, but if a billion people act, the earth will move in the right direction.
Come, Let Us Try.
Prof. Mithilesh Kumar Sinha
Finance Officer
Nagaland University, Lumami
