WORLD ENVIRONMENT DAY - LIVE AND LET LIVE
By Ruma Dubey
As we get stewed in the sweltering heat, cranking up the air conditioner a tad higher, while guzzling on aerated waters and packets of food, we do not stop murmuring, “this global warming will kill us!”
It surely will one day! Because we are experiencing global warming, we today understand that it is very real. But does that mean that we try to reduce out waste in any way? The amount of water we waste, the piles of electronic garbage we keep on stacking up as we keep on buying newer technology, the waste generated by plastics; the list is endless.
But if we need to live and progress how can we co-exist without harming the vulnerable environment? We think about the environment and its effects only when a calamity strikes – like Uttarakhand last year. But this year, yatras have already begun but have we really learnt our lessons about the fragile Himalayan terrain? The avalanche at Mount Everest last month once again was Nature’s way of hitting back at us, trying to wake us up before it hits us into a sleep from which we will never wake up. Delhi has the most polluted air on earth as per a recent survey; does that mean we will have lesser cars being allowed on the roads or are measures being taken on a war footing to correct the situation?
The truth of life we live today – we have the most modern technology at our disposal yet mankind cannot make water, air, wind or space. We continue to remain dependent on rains to nurture and grow. And doesn’t that in itself mean that we need to protect that which is most precious and cannot be recreated?
India is going to embark on a new growth trajectory and this means debates will once again rage between developments coming at the cost of environment. The face-off between development and environment has no easy solution. With climate change becoming a permanent phenomenon, we have to brace ourselves for extreme weathers and more natural disasters. On that we have no control but what we can surely build on is the response to such disasters. Also we need to look at the form in which we are bringing in economic progress. Building only dams and hydro power projects are not the solution. We need to put in more schools and colleges, set up companies which are lower in pollution like research and development facilities, training centers, local arts and crafts, even IT solution development centers; these are some of the facilities which can come up in fragile topographies, which will bring in employment as well as get responsible economic development. We cannot apply the same formula of economic progress across all geographies.
As we celebrate the World Environment Day today, we need to look at how we individually can do our bit in reducing the waste. Of course the day does not see the frenzy and excitement which a Valentine Day or Mother’s day generates; so why not? Japan has holidays to celebrate the ocean, the equinoxes, the greenery and now the mountains too – their way of saying thank you as 70% of Japan is covered by mountains. Have we taught our children to celebrate the environment?
In olden days, people of ancient India used to worship the elements – water, sun, wind and fire. Today, we follow the same rituals but not understanding the symbolism behind it. We are the only people on earth who have an aarti for the river; yet do we keep the Ganges clean and pure the way it is supposed to be?
We all need to get more responsible, ensuring in our own small ways to not abuse the environment and directly contribute in any way to its degradation. Mankind might make any amount of scientific progress but do we have the technology to measure the fury of Mother Nature? Or can any modern equipment build a temple as strong as the one built in Kedarnath over 1000 years ago?