Let's Work Together to Conserve the Nature
This is the time when substantial changes are taking place in the subtle realm. Climate change and the consequent effects on the environment are one among a long series of transformations. Scientists are predominantly studying the changes induced by global warming on the coral reefs.
Coral reefs are a natural medium to absorb the carbon content of the environment. They are regarded as the ancient medium to restore the environmental balance. They are the place where life originated for the first time. Today, these structures, where life originated, are struggling for their survival. This highlights the fact that nature is passing through a period of severe transformation. If the oceanic temperature further rises even by half a Celsius, we would lose even the remaining reefs soon. According to a research, this century would witness an abnormal increase in temperature, which could be between 1.4–5.8°C. If this proves correct and rainfall does not increase by ten percent, then the sea level would rise by ninety centimeters. This would have devastating consequences, the chief among them being submergence of coastal areas.
Life is not possible on any planet, without atmosphere, hydrosphere and lithosphere. Biosphere is the zone where these three spheres meet and is the only place where life exists. However, in the present scenario, all the three spheres are getting increasingly polluted and are fighting for their survival.
Our environment is being polluted at such a fast pace that climate change is occurring at an unprecedented rate. The consequence is clearly visible. America, which previously witnessed five to seven cyclones on an average, today faces around thirty. Half the city of New Orleans has been devastated by one such cyclone. Heat waves have taken many lives in France. The ice of the snow-covered Greenland has begun melting. These events indicate the exasperation of Mother Nature.
This decade has witnessed an increase of six to eight inches in the sea level. This has posed a threat to the 'Great Barrier Reef', the biggest live structure of the world. Kiribati, an island of the Pacific Ocean was submerged about thirteen years back. The Indian island of Lohachara, located in the Sunderban region, has ultimately drowned. The Himalayan glaciers, which covered an extensive area of 2077 km², have decreased by about 500 km² in the past five decades. The Gomukh glacier has also receded. The sacred Shivalinga of Amarnath shrine is also under threat. Many rivers of our nation have been reduced in flow and width. Ground water is increasingly being contaminated with toxic materials like arsenic, fluoride and heavy metals.
Most pure and auspicious river Ganga is being polluted by industries that she has nurtured on its banks. Beyond Rishikesh, the water of Ganga no longer meets drinking standards.
Modern development is based on pleasure-seeking mindset. Such a development could only enhance materialism and exploitation and lead to increased levels of carbon emissions and higher temperatures. This would be retaliated by nature in similar proportions. Now our bodies can't tolerate even small changes in weather. Nor could our hearts tolerate agony. Thus, we depend on various medicines.
The danger present today before the earth and nature poses a threat to the entire human race. It could be averted only if the entire humanity join hands and work with the spirit of 'Vasudhaiva kutumbakam'. This is the sole remedy to save the earth and life on it. Father of the nation, Gandhi Ji used to say: "There is enough in this world for everyone's need, but not for anyone's greed."
The present environmental degradation is a warning to us; if we still do not wake up, then we would have to face the natural disasters again and again. Nature is our mother. A mother gives affection and also shows the correct path to her children. If we, as human beings, do not shoulder our responsibility even now, then nature would be forced to show its fierce form, in which destruction precedes any new construction.
We should try to clean the rivers, rather than changing their course or constructing huge dams on them. Instead of exploiting the water, air and forests, we should try to maintain them in their natural states. We should plant as many trees as possible. We may extract from the nature, everything we want, but then we should return to it in the same proportion. Establishing this partnership with Mother Nature is the sole remedy through which we could save ourselves from the rage of Nature. Nature would protect us only if we take care to conserve it. So, it is essential to act in a concerted way to protect, conserve and preserve our Mother Nature.
"God is a mathematician of a very high order and He used advanced mathematics in constructing the universe." — Nobel Prize winning physicist Paul A.M. Dirac