Shiban Khaibri
The “carbon umbrella ” is stretching its size over us menacingly globally and we in India are on the verge of being potentially worst hit by the rigours of climatic change. What happened in Uttrakhand in 2013 in terms of massive loss of human lives and property, the massive floods in Kashmir in 2014 and now disastrous rains in Tamil Nadu are some of the indicators of what are we heading for. The counter question again is as to what is our response to it and also what should be our priorities. In this connection, let us recall the apt diagnosis by our Prime Minister towards the prevalence of two giant problems, we as human beings are confronted with, and they are Global Warming and the Terrorism respectively. Both are threatening the Humanity in phenomenal proportions. The third, this writer may add, is the menace of overpopulation inversely related to global warming or to put it in more refined parlance, to climatic change. The planet is warming from the North Pole to the South Pole and everywhere in between. Globally mercury is already up by 1 degree Fahrenheit. The effects of this rising temperature are spread all over. This excess heat is melting glaciers and sea ice. Not only this, even cloud forests are drying and are affecting us as there is a lot at stake. Also, sea level is rising faster over the last century. The most precious thing, the water which most of us waste wantonly, is also going to be affected as less of fresh water will be available in the coming years if climatic changes are not reversed. Diseases, newer and severe ones, are reported to occur with the warming process .
The face of the Earth comprises mainly the coasts, forests, farms and snow capped mountains and its fate hangs in balance. Earth spins each day, the new heat swirls with it, picking up moisture over the oceans, rising there and settling here which changes the rhythms of climate. We are releasing heat trapping gases called Green House Gases. In simpler words, their levels are higher now than in the last thousands of years. We are destroying forests mercilessly and erecting concrete forests there. We also cut forests for our farming practices to feed teeming millions. This deforestation causes extensive environmental damage. We are thus releasing carbon and are directly causing loss of bio diversity. This process accelerates global warming. In a TV debate in which recently this writer took part as a panelist, where experts on the subject threw light on the technicalities, I cited the crux of verse 14 from Chapter 3 of the Holy Geeta where the importance of and the link between the life, the food, the rains, the deeds pure and simple and the approach towards the nature are mentioned. Worshipping mountains, trees, lakes, rivers and other forms of nature being the ancient Indian practice is nothing but greatness of our thought in recognizing the importance of holding in highest esteem, these forms of nature playing tremendous and irretrievable part in balancing the nature, the environment and consequently the climate, the change in which is fraught with perilous consequences for the Humanity. The ancient practice, from time immemorial when we Indians have been worshipping and holding in high esteem, the sun, is though symbolic but modern science has recognized the tremendous contribution of the solar energy to fight environmental pollution and keep at bay the climatic change.
Again , we are far behind in spreading aggressive awareness among the masses about the importance of preserving nature . We must respect traditional Indian philosophy and the way of life to prefer and respect pure vegetarian diet. We have to control severely, if not totally stop, our appetite for meat. The live stock sector, as per a study, accounts for 15% of global emissions equivalent to exhaust emissions from ALL THE VEHICLES of the world. Global meat consumption has reached unhealthy levels. It is on the rise. We humans have not spared even the Amazon River Basin , known as Amazonia, roughly being of the size of 48 times the whole of United States put together which is spread over 70 lac square Kilometers out of which 55 lac square Kilometers are covered by the rain forests and represents one half of the planet’s remaining rain forests. 390 billion trees with 16000 species given to us by the kind and benevolent nature existing since 55 million years are balancing the environment. We have , through our greed, even threatened it and caused to it damage and loss of biodiversity and logging, mining, agricultural activities, road building, oil and gas drilling have robed to a larger extent, this immense treasure of nature for our benefit.
There are many questions related to the problem in the context of our country, viz; what is the level of the awareness spreading among the masses in respect of at least knowing about the problem which is both lurid and lurking, by our governments both at the centre as well as the states. What is the level of awareness spread through the school and college curriculum in respecting the nature, the tree, the river, the water and steps to maintain and avoid their wanton exploitation? Unusual rains, snowfall as also untimed , early or late, less , scant , more, none, etc has been the pattern and the mood of the nature. It is shocking to see that Tamil Nadu is inundated, deep in flood waters caused due to unexpected torrential unseasonal rains. It has devastated roads, buildings, private houses, huts, live stock, crops as well as caused death to nearly 600 people. For the basic necessities, people are scrambling to get them while the rains are not going to stop at least for a week more, at the time of writing of these lines. While this is the magnitude of the human sufferings in one of our states, some leaders are over busy in discussing the invented and imagined “Intolerance prevalent in the country” as the main “problem” and also want the government to prefer to discuss some unsavory remarks attributed to a Union Minister about the unfortunate death of two children by burning. While the Minister concerned has both denied having used the term about the innocent children as no human being worth the name can ever think even about using such crude metaphor and even those who might have watched him making a point by putting forth a comparative analogy, he has tendered an apology even for having been misunderstood, how can Congress and the Left in particular, allow this “bateer” fly out of their hands to embarrass the government? Such a hyped incident having vast potentiality of votes for which almost all politicians are vying with one another and even could go to any extent, can afford to trivialize the dangers to our environment by being callous to forest wealth and being ruthless in spreading carbon by using fossil fuel wantonly?
Those who are after Modi Ji and bitterly criticizing his foreign “tours” must know that India has achieved a tremendous level of success in the recent Paris conference on climate change by way of the formation of an International Solar Cooperation while making it clear to the developed world that from now onwards they were to share the maximum burden (of limiting carbon cover) to give us our small space to develop which necessitated certain emissions to the minimum levels. 400 million Indians have still no access to regular electricity which speaks for how much these issues were taken seriously by the previous governments at New Delhi and the answer is the solar , renewable energy and thus India’s commitment towards a very positive response to climate change. Our Prime Minister’s efforts are, indeed, laudable.
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