The twenty-first century is the century of science. The innovators of science paved the way for man to live a life of greater comfort – but in this blind race of development, man played very much with this creation. Mankind badly affected nature in the blind race of consumerism, decaying it, the tragic consequences of which are now being faced by mankind.
Man is a small creature in this creation, who has also edited very useful and useless works in this creation on the strength of his intellect. It is from this perspective that human beings have affected nature badly.
In our Vedas, the ancient Indian sages respected the earth like a mother and considered himself to be its son – ‘Mata Bhoomi Putraoham Prithviya’ due to which the atmosphere of that time was picturesque and sanctified. But in this blind race of development, man ended that emotional relationship of mother and son with nature and began to exploit himself as the master of nature, the side effects of which have become visible on all the organs of nature- the elements.
Due to the greater exploitation of water, there has been a sharp decline in the water level, due to which the water has gone far below the earth’s level, as a result of which not only India but many countries of the world are struggling with the acute problem of water. For a drop of water, people have to wait for their turn for hours in line. The average annual availability of water in India between 1947 and 2002 has come down from 70% to 1822 cubic metres per capita. Over-exploitation of ground water has become a problem in Haryana, Punjab and Uttar Pradesh.
Indiscriminate felling of forests has created a very difficult situation for mankind. Due to repeated forest fires like the Amazon, the earth’s oxygen level is being affected. In fact, by planting more and more trees, mankind must find a solution to this odd problem in time, only then can mankind’s life be safe on earth.
Air pollution has also reached dangerous levels. The smoke emissions of vehicles and industries have led to its pollution levels going up to very high levels. Air pollution in big cities is increasing to such an extent that it is now almost 2.3 times the standard set by the World Health Organization.
Land pollution in India is also taking place on a large scale due to pesticides and fertilizers as well as erosion.
Due to rapid population growth, the environment is also being affected due to the burden on the environment.
Not only india but the whole world is concerned about the environment and its serious threats, and is trying to reduce its pollution level, for which many types of laws have been made. Public interest litigation and judicial activism on environmental issues extend beyond the Supreme Court of India. It is included in the High Courts of different States. Even great environmentalists like Sunderlal Bahuguna were trying their best to improve it and even today many environmentalists are working.
Being the inhabitants of the earth, all of us human beings need to work seriously on a sensitive issue like the environment, only then can this earth of ours remain green and life-giving. Man should keep this planet worthy of life by his actions to make this planet worthy of life, in which there is the significance of his intellect. Whether there is life on other planets or not, there is life on this planet called Earth and we have to save it with great hard work and sensitivity.
Dr. Ambe Kumari
Assistant Professor
Hindi Department
Magadh University, Bodh Gaya, Bihar
