WORLD ENVIRONMENT DAY 2020 | Celebrating Biodiversity

WORLD ENVIRONMENT DAY

India Metereological Department slogan in sanskrit took from manu smriti reads “Aditya

Jayate Vrishti”, meaning that “rain come from the sun and that good seasonal rainfall is

the key to bountiful agriculture and food for the people”, which undoubtedly holds true.

But if we think for a while with all our consciousness bringing together then we can realize the fact that not only the rain but Sun 
is the supreme power and ultimate source of energy which is driving the cycle of life as well as death on the planet Earth, by making it an inhabitable planet among all of its solar family members.

Being the superior among all the life forms, we humans are blessed with God’s

marvellous creation. “The nature or the environment”. Considered to be most sensible

life form, humans are able to experience everything happening around, be it witnessing

the beauty of the nature or the trails of destruction of the environment we are creating

with our activities.

We celebrate a day, either to acknowledge, or to show some gratitude or to create

awareness about the threats we are facing or may face in the near future. There comes

into play “THE ENVIRONMENT DAY”.

Way back in 1972, United Nations Conference on Human and Environment, officially

known as Stockholm Conference, where 113 nations from all over the world agreed to

realize the fact that in the course of development , the environment is an important

stakeholder.

It was the very first time, when people all over the globe started realizing the watch of

the environment and its conservation.

All the so called capable Nations of the world took a pause from all their materialistic

influences and thought:

“Are we really doing enough what we owe to the planet with our actions”?

Have recent events and pandemics drift our perception and successfully makes us

ponder towards the importance of environment?

“For how long, we are going to be fortunate enough to avail the life-blooming services of

Mother Nature”?

“Are we justifying the designation of Humans of being the most superior species on the

planet”?

Not just these few, but many more such questions were trampling in the mind and quote

of Mahatma Gandhi seeming to be true “Earth provides enough to satisfy every man’s

need but not for every man’s greed”.

Since it was the first time in 1974, Stockholm Conference, when we designated

Environment, as an important stakeholder and one of the foundation pillars of human

development.

And as a tribute to the nature in 1974, we started celebrating 5 th of June as Environment

Day with the theme “Only one Earth”.

Since the inception of life, nature has provided us with uncountable benefits and

services, even a complete lifetime would be less for the counting of those services that

we are getting without spending a penny.

Be it fresh air to breathe in, pure running freshwater, appropriate climate of the globe

and its contributing factors that sustains life, essential components like food, for all

forms of life etc. Last but not the least those mesmerizing landscapes, lush green

mountains and all the hidden gems that make us feel of the world where the peace and

tranquility defines us.

Today, in this stressful world where everyone is running behind development to raise

the individual levels of materialistic comforts without realizing the fact that the nature,

which has once provided us with this beautiful life, we are moving miles away from it in

the long run of so called development.

Let’s talk a bit about development, exactly what do we mean by development?

Is it something only related to raising our economy only? Or to strengthen ourselves in

strata of power, position or money?

Then, we should be really sorry for proceeding towards the wrong definition of

development, where we are compromising with the one which has introduced us to this

world, i.e. The Mother Nature.

To rule out this disarray regarding the definition of development. In 1987, “The

Brundtland Commision” for the very first time introduced the concept of “Sustainable

Development” to the mankind. In their report, “Our Common Future”, they tried to put

forward the definition of sustainable development that we all should step on.

Sustainable Development: States that “meeting the needs of present without

compromising the ability of future generation to meet their own needs.

Three foundation pillars of sustainable development are: 
1.Economical (Profit) 
2.Social(People) 

3. Environment(Planet).

People, Plant and profit, these 3P’s says it all, that we need to consider among all the

chaos, stress and race of life, even a glimpse of lush green mountains, chirping of birds,

the serene sound of water falls or of a running river, seems to be the heavenly

experiences on the planet. Also it feels like that the time should stop amidst these

beautiful adventures.

Nowadays, where we all are dealing with our stressfull lives, all natural experiences are

really helping us in some or otherway in keeping us psychologically fit.

These are something we cant’t buy of money when they will be lost forever.

Recently few of the researcher have tried to assign a hefty price tag on nature’s life

supporting services.

Robert Constanza and his colleagues have tried to do the same and after a long period

of research, they have successfully put an average price tag of US $ 33 trillion a year on

the fundamental Ecosystem services, which are largely taken for granted since so long

because they are available for free to us.

1. For example, imagine a patient in Intensive Care Unit, who is on life support,

there we are ready to pay heavily for his or her single breathe to keep the person

alive in front of us.

Now just think for a while, just for few litres of oxygen in comparision we are

paying lakhs per day and what about fresh air that nature is already abundantly

providing us?

Do we really pay even for a single service that we are provided with by

environment?

2. Imagine you are shivering with cold, your mamma comes, she covers you with a

blanket you feel relaxed and good.

Similar blanket we are blessed with for our planet too in the form of Atmosphere

and the warmth is in the form of natural green- house effect, due to which the

earth is able to maintain an average temperature of 15 degrees Centigrade, that makes the

planet inhabitable else, the temperature of earth would have been -15 degrees Centigrade or -

20 degrees Centigrade where no life could have been imagined at such a low temperature.

The microscopic life forms be it bacteria or fungi, are even playing best of their

roles in terms of nutrient recycling, which is mandatory for the productivity of

ecosystem and cleaning of nature.

Imagine of a world without these microorganisms, all you see is piles of waste

way more than you ever imagined.

Thus, each and every life form and component of environment is assisting in

some or other way to make the environment sustainable.

There is no doubt in the fact, that in order to survive every organism needs to

utilise the resources as per their requirements but each and every species

playing their parts in return to maintain a stable and healthy environment be it a

bacteria or giant blue whale in the ocean maintaining the food chain though their

respective actions.

Well, there comes the role of the most superior, elegant and ofcourse intelligent

species having great cranial capacity. No doubt, like all other species, we are

fully exploiting the nature and its resources for our better survival and even more.

But have we ever thought, Are we returning what we are taking from the

environment? How are we contributing to keep it stable and maintained as we

were provided by mother nature? Just have a look at the findings what we

humans are actually returning to the environment:

1. Air pollution : With the enhanced use of fossil fuels, emissions of CO2, CO, SO2,

NOx, volatile organic compounds and hydrocarbons(like CH4) have increased

abruptly into the atmosphere, which is not only harming the health of fellow

humans but are also toxic to environment and other organisms including plants.

2. Episodes of acid rain: Burning of fossil fuels releases oxides of nitrogen and

sulphur into the air which on combining with water form acids of nitrogen and

sulphur and we witness that as acid rain.

Acid rain alters the pH of water bodies wherever it falls, makes the soil acidic,

alters leaf structure hampering plant’s productivity, causing Stone leprosy that

degrades the monuments, as we are hearing of about The Taj Mahal. So, It

effects both, living as well as non- living structures of the environment.

3. Water pollution: Only 30% of the total sewage generated is treated before being

discharged into rivers and finally ending up to the oceans.

Imagine the level of toxicity we are causing to our Marine life. These actions are

in resulting conversion of our rivers into drains first and finally dumping grounds.

4. Land pollution: To meet our food security, we are constantly using chemical

fertilisers and pesticides, to enhance the food production but in turn these

chemicals are causing irreversible damage to the land leaving it infertile after a

span of time. These chemicals are not polluting our land but also causing

damage to surface and underground water reservoirs through leaching and

seepage of toxic chemicals.

5. Over exploitation of Energy resources: Current rate of utilisation of non-

renewable energy resources like coal and petroleum, are soon going to leave us

with no reserves for future uses.

6. Decline in wildlife population: With the current scenarios of environment pollution,

we are facing extinction of many species which are yet to be discovered.

Discharge of plastic into the oceans hampering the oceans food chain by killing our top predators like whales. Drilling of oceans bed to get petroleum and accidental oil spills are decling the population at a greater pace than ever.

7. Killing and trading of wild animals and plants: For our short term benefits, we are causing long term impacts to the ecosystem by overusing and abusing the

animals and plants for the commercialization of their products.

8. Climate change: It is a broad thing to understand and really keeping the planet’s life at stake but unfortunately it is results of our actions only.

9. Ozone depletion: Release of compounds containing chlorine and bromine from

our refrigerators and cooling system causing serious damage to the protective

ozone layer. Ozone layer protects us from harmful U.V radiations coming from

sun which may cause skin cancer at worst many more like cataract, snow

blindness etc. That’s how, we are even destroying the things which were meant

for our protection only.

10 Miscellaneous Events: This includes frequent natural hazards like landslides,

drought forest fires, flood, even earthquake all as a result of increased

Anthropogenic interventions into the nautre’s framework.

Landslides events have increased due to road cutting and minerals quarrying

activities in hilly areas.

Drought’s episodes have been increased due to climate change as well as

overexploitation and ill management practices of use of water resources.

Forest fires: In past decades frequency of forest fires have increased abruptly

due to changing climate and cutting of trees for trading and commercial

purposes.

Flood and sea level rise: Due to ongoing changing climate and weather patterns,

floods have become so frequent in coastal areas.

Due to global warming, we are witnessing glacial retreats giving rise to mean sea

level.

Industrial and nuclear hazards are not claiming the lives and property only but

also posing irreversible threats to environment and its resources that too for longer time and it is almost impossible to reverse the changes on a human

timescale even if we want to.

Coral bleaching: In terms of overall productivity, oceans are considered to be the

most productive ecosystems on earth and this feature is attributed to corals

present there.

Corals are very sensitive organisms, sensitive to temperature as well as PH.

But with increasing global warming and ocean acidification. We are loosing our

coral reefs at an alarming rate. The Great barrier reef of Australia is the largest

coral reef in the world is currently facing the problem of coral bleaching at very

faster rate.

Not only corals but it holds true for all sensitive life forms in the ocean, land or air.

All the deleterious actions, slowly slowly turning the planet into nothing but a

graveyard.

The pace at which we are causing these destructions to our resources as well as

environment, soon it is going to be irreversible and will not be able to restore any of the damage caused at any cost.

And the devil among all is “The Climate Change” we have been witnessing this

so clearly in past decades in past few years or may be months:

1. Burning of the amazon rainforest, which is solely responsible for 20% of the

total oxygen production hence, honoured with the tag of “lungs of earth”.

2. Increased events of forest fires across the globe the most recent is the

Australian bushfire. Forest fire is a natural phenomenon but these wildfires

are so destructive and frequent they are turning our ,most valuable resources

into ashes that too in a very short time period, with the uncertainty of its

restoration and revival.

3. “Changing colors of the white continent”: Due to glacial retreat (glacier

melting), antarctica is losing its ice cover at a very faster pace and it is

attributed ofcourse to global warming.

Through the various researches in the past few years, we got to know about

some of the changes occurring in the white continent.

We have been hearing and came across the news that antarctica is turning

red in some patches and green in some other. It is nothing but the algal

blooms.

These algal blooms are one of the consequences attributed to global warming itself, let’s see how?

Pure snow is thought to have 100% reflectance power, that means, it reflects

all the radiations falling upon it without absorbing any of the portion of radiations. But the growth of these Algae at the surface of the ice sheets is

reducing the albedo of the snow.

Reducing the albedo means the glaciers will now absorbs more and more

solar radiations, more global warming and thus more melting and the cycle of

destruction will be continued wiil be continued in synergy.

Till date, through as many as conferences, climate meets or treaties we have

been trying our best to revert or stop the ill changes that we have made to our

environment, but at the end it all seems to be a sham because emissions and

destructions are continued even increasing in spite of these many efforts.

It’s a well said, “there is always two plots of the same coin”, where we have

young inspiring activists like Greta Thunberg at one side and the great

political figures like Mr. Donald Trump and many more at the other, who want

to have the unstoppable development at any cost.

We have already altered the environment to the extent where it seems to

have entered in a black hole, leaving the mankind clueless that what to do

next? 
Neither we can stop the development activities suddenly over the night nor we can revert back the damages in a while that we have caused to the

environment in past many decades.

Only individual efforts and practices is a possible way out to heal the planet.

Not one, but we need billions of Greta for the operation “Healing the planet”.

Instead of playing victims cards of our own Karma, let’s be the climate warriors and fight the change.

Let’s pledge to present the wonders and beauty of nature to our coming

generations. Let them feel priviledged enough to witness the glory of the

sightings of nature’s beauty, let them encounter the existence of elegant

charismatic wild animals for real instead of watching them in some good old

paintings and artefacts. Last but not the least forward the legacy and a sense

of eternal respect to our future generations for the planet. Because it’s a high time for us to prove our worth and to break the irony of humans being the

most useless species on the earth even if we go extinct it hardly matters to

the Earth, infact then only the planet is going to thrive well. Nowonwards, just

try to look at the consequences before you do something.

https://youtu.be/1spaWWgqL70
Watch the video on it.