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CHAPTER FIVE

ENVIRONMENTAL

DEGRADATION: PROBING THE

CRISIS

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CHAPTER FIVE

ENVIRONMENTAL DEGRADATION: PROBING THE CRISIS

The fifth chapter of five sections reveals the hazards caused to Nature

through man’s “over-use” of his environment. A brief introduction of the

peculiarities of Nature is followed by the environmental degradation of resource

base. The third and fourth section deals with environmental pollution and affect of

it on environmental health. The final section discusses the problems that crop up in

restoring the balance in the environment.

PECULIARITIES IN NATURE

To understand oneself and the planet earth, one needs to understand the

peculiarities in the universe as there are more aspects in Nature that is unseen than

seen. All of the planets, stars and other cosmic entities in our world and outside of

it “are caught in the same whirlpool of revolution” and hence, in Indian terms we

call the world ‘jagat’, “in movement it has its origin and to move is its inherent

tendency”364.The uniqueness of Earth can be best known through images of Earth

taken via satellite showing all parts of the ecosphere as being connected in one

living planetary system. This was already known by our ancient seers as the outer

evidence of which was supported by their internal vision.

364Indu Dutt (Tr.), Our universe (The original Bengali text written by Rabindranath Tagore), Jaico Publishing

House, Bombay, 1969, Pp. 62-63.

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Modern science could get more precise information with the help of space

travellers who vouchsafe that their perception of the universe underwent a drastic

change. When viewed from outer space whole earth community felt as one unit

and imaginary differentiation of nationalities as seen on earth was unseen from

space365. Scientists in general and space scientists in particular are forced to

become a mystic on the force of this apprehension. It is true that they become

philosophical as they are overwhelmed by the ‘beauty of the earth as compared to

the bleakness of space and greyness of moon’366. The very conception of earth

makes them utter wonderful expressions about beauty of the earth signalling that

there is beauty in oneness and ugliness in the perception of the second. It is no

wonder that the ancients have visualised all this as the instrument for perceiving

was within them. It is prudent for modern man to understand the significance of the

base on which his whole life is designed to be.

Of all the planets that man is aware of, only Earth displays the organic and

inorganic relationship. It is the only visible “living planet”. Our earth, other planets

and sun is placed in the galactic system called Milky Way, one among the many

million similar galaxies. Thus the uniqueness of Earth can be visualised in various

parameters. Taking the reference as per the earth unit, we can see different

365 Ananya Dutta, ‘We are pretty little in this Universe: Sunita’, <http://www.thehindu.com/

todays-paper/tp-naitonal/tp-otherstates/we-are-pretty-little-in-this -universe-sunita/article4575730 >, accessed on

03.04.2013. 366 Rene Dubos, ‘Theology of the Earth’, Western Man and Environmental Ethics, Ian. G.Barbour(Ed.), Addison-

Wesley Publishing Company Inc, Philippines, 1973,p.43.

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variations in days of planets. A day on Venus is equivalent to 243 earth days while

for Jupiter it is only 9.8 earth hours. Peculiarity of Jupiter planet is that it revolves

around the sun faster than it revolves around its own axis, thus the year completes

faster than a day on this planet. A year in Venus is equal to 7 and ½ months on

earth. Thus we see that the days and years are different in different planets. If at all

these planets were liveable, the days get through faster and even man would take

birth and die so much faster than on earth. Illustration 1 compares one earth day to

a day in each of the planets.

Temperature varies drastically in different planets. It is the most important

physical factor which is necessary for survival of all living beings. The planets

nearer the sun have high temperatures and the planets farther from the sun that is

from Jupiter onwards have very low temperatures. For example, Venus’s

temperature rises up to 480o C where as Pluto’s temperature reaches to -238o C367.

Illustration 2 reflects the average temperatures that have been recorded in each of

the planets.

367 Ibid.,

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Illust.1: Comparitive analysis of Earth day in each of the planets368:

Illust. 2: Average temperatures in each of the planets369:

368 <http://www.enchantedlearning.com/subjects/astronomy/solarsystem/extremes.shtml>, accessed on 04.04.2014. 369<https://solarsystem.nasa.gov/multimedia/display.cfm?IM_ID=169>, published on 27.11.2012, accessed on

06.06.2015.

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The size of the planets also is different as seen with Jupiter and Saturn being

the largest and those that are nearer to the sun or farthest from the sun being small

in size. Mercury is devoid of atmosphere. Venus though not actually visible as

masked by atmosphere has high quantities of carbon dioxide and water vapour.

Again, the surface of the giant planets such as Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune are

not too solid, and their atmosphere seems to be composed of largely hydrogen

gas370. Mars and venus planets both have 95% -97% carbon dioxide where as

Earth’s atmosphere is composed of 78% nitrogen, 21% oxygen and only traces of

about 0.03% to 0.04% carbon dioxide371.

Apart from the vagaries seen in our own planetary system, it is quite evident

that Earth is an exception in its formation, in its consistency and also in its

harbouring life. Rusting, corrosion and combustion require huge amounts of

oxygen, so much so that if oxygen was not being produced by vegetation found all

over earth, then the circumstances on earth would have been quite different372.

Tagore states that earth can be considered the only exception to the entire

order of the universe on account of the right conditions that have been created on it

for survival of life373. When modern day scientists are exploring ways of living on

other planets, a note of caution is expressed in this statement. ‘One can think of

370 Fairfield Osborn, The Universe Around Us: Our Plundered Planet, Faber and Faber Ltd, London, p.5. 371 Michael L McKinney, Robert M.Schoch and Logan Yonavjak, Environmental Science Systems and Solutions,

5th edition, Jones & Bartlett Learning, MA,2012,p.132. 372 Sir James Jeans, Through Space and Time, John Wiley & Sons Inc, New York, 1963, Pp.124, 134. 373 Indu Dutt (Tr.),Our Universe, Op.Cit.,Pp.105-106.

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Venus suggesting a picture of what the earth may have been in the remote past and

Mars though “uninhabited and inhospitable desert” would be what the earth may

possibly be in the remote future’374.

All these are pointers to the fact that earth and its resources that developed

over millions of years in which man had no hand in creation need to be conserved

and preserved for the Earth’s own uniqueness. There is urgent need for human

beings to appreciate this factual point.

ENVIRONMENTAL DEGRADATION OF RESOURCE BASE

Natural resources comprise the available raw materials in the environment

and the energy that is obtained from the environment. They can be further

classified as abiotic and biotic resources equating to the non-living and living

components respectively. The abiotic resources include various energy sources,

minerals, atmosphere, and resources of water, land and soil. The biotic resources

are the forests, wildlife, fisheries and in general include all the biodiversity

available on earth.

INTERLINK BETWEEN ABIOTIC, BIOTIC FACTORS AND PROCESSES

The web of life is very delicate as it is interlinked with complex processes,

biotic and abiotic components. Any slight change in any part of the web alters the

whole of it. This symbiotic relationship can be explained through a few examples.

374 Sir James Jeans, Through Space and Time, Op.Cit., Pp.143, 135.

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The milky calcium carbonate on the Bahamas Bank is produced by countless

bacteria. These bacteria during their life process liberate ammonia which on

interaction with salts produces calcium carbonate. When hardened and compressed

over millions of years, this very calcium carbonate becomes limestone375. Another

example can be given of photosynthetic plants producing wood from hexose sugar.

Hexose sugar is a six carbon ring which is a recombination of carbon atoms. When

linked together they form cellulose and starch which combine with plant resin to

form wood376. So, one can see the conflux of biotic, abiotic and the physical

processes highlighted in these above examples which drives home the point that

each and every part of natural environment is correlated.

ALTERATION IN BIOGEOCHEMIAL PROCESS

Biogeochemical cycle is a circuit or pathway by which chemical element

moves through the biotic and abiotic compartments of an ecosystem. Constant

movement of elements is seen flowing from one organism to another, and also

from one part of biosphere to another part through these cycles377. Thus

biogeochemical processes are the various cycles namely water, carbon, oxygen,

nitrogen and energy which together are responsible for maintenance and renewing

375 S.C. Santra, Environment Science, New Central Book Agency (P) Ltd., Calcutta, 2001, p.58. 376 Michael J Balick and Paul Alan Cox, Plants, people and culture - The Science of Ethnobotany, Scientific

American Library, New York, 1996, p.9. 377 K Sanyal, M Kundu, S Rana, Ecology and Environment, Books of Allied (P) Ltd, Kolkata, 2009, Pp.38-39.

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of life on earth378. Presently, these cycles are being distorted to a level of

irreversible damage.

Human activities have changed the balance of these cycles. For example,

carbon emission has increased more than fifty times since 1860 which has led to

almost thirty percent increase in the carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere379.

The nitrogen cycle has been affected firstly due to constant application of nitrogen

fertilizers to crops which has lead to increase in the rate of de-nitrification and

leaching of nitrate into ground water. This has contaminated not only food crops

but also ground water. Secondly, the fossil fuel combustion due to increased

vehicular pollution has augmented the deposition of nitrogen in the atmosphere380.

CLIMATE VARIATION

Weather is the status of the atmosphere at a particular point of time and

climate happens to be the condition of the atmosphere over a long duration.

Weather can be defined as the short-term daily fluctuations in the atmospheric

temperature, precipitation, and winds where as climate is defined as the long-term

average of these same variables over time ranges of a year to thousands or

millions of years381. Thus, climate change is a natural phenomenon that follows a

378 Erach Bharucha, Textbook of Environmental studies, Universities Press (India) Private Limited, Hyderabad,

2005,Pp. 55-57. 379 Kartikeya V. Sarabhai and others (Eds.), Essential Learnings in Environmental Education, Centre for

Environment Education, Ahmedabad, 1990, p. 28. 380 K Sanyal, M Kundu, S Rana, Ecology and Environment, Op.Cit., p. 45. 381 Michael L McKinney, Robert M.Schoch, Logan Yonavjak, Environmental Science Systems and Solutions,

Op.Cit., Pp.142.

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standard pattern over long periods of time. Now it has reached a grave point

because accelerated climate variation has been observed over a short period of

time.

Climate change is linked to carbon emissions and increase in green house

gases (GHG). The environmental impact of climate change can be seen in the

change in the rainfall seasonal patterns in India and elsewhere too. The variations

in monsoon rainfall have gravely affected the farmers in India. A recent study

shows that 70% of 11,000 farmers surveyed state that their crops have been

destroyed once in past three years382. Over the years we have seen many farmers

unable to bear the financial losses due to crop failures taking the extreme step of

ending their lives.

Future projections of climate change offered by the climatologists working

in Inter-Governmental Panel for Climate Change (IPCC) predict an increase of 1.50

to 40 by the year 2050383. The predicted warming might be an insignificant figure

but its impacts have far reaching effects especially on agriculture and water

resources. This increase above 1900 year levels would result by 2100 year in

extinction of as much as 50% of the species world over384. It is going to affect

382 Vishwanath Kulkarni, ‘Reset the monsoon calendar’, <http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/opinion/reset-

the-monsoon-calendar/article6350642.ece > , accessed on 25.08.2014. 383 Erach Bharucha, Textbook of Environmental studies, Op.Cit., p.176. 384 Sandhya Sharaf, Green House Environment, Oxford Book Company, Jaipur, 2011, p.94.

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biodiversity rich India to the tune of losing 15-40% species from the 10% of flora

and fauna that are already in the threatened species list category385.

A study done by prominent meteorologists who have come to the conclusion

that occurrence of higher day temperatures, heat wave deaths and, adverse impact

on crops are a high probability in recent future386. Another notable point is that

there will be increased frequency of extreme events occurring simultaneously in

different parts of the world. If one part of the world experiences floods and

torrential rains, then another part of the same world would witness cool dry

conditions and forest fires during the same time period. Scientists are of the view

that such climatic variations will be routine and the frequencies will recur

alarmingly faster387.

An Indian MOEF388 2009 report states that there are chances of risk on food

security that can be brought about because of climate change due to increase in

frequency and intensity of floods and droughts389. Another study states that the

climate change has affected the food crops making them less nutritious390. For

385Aseem Shrivastava, ‘Economy, Society and Environment in the Era of Globalisation: Some Facts’, Globalisation

in India: Impacts and Alternatives, Kalpavriksh, Pune, 2012, p.3. 386 Nitin Sethi, ‘It’s going to get hotter, wetter than ever before’,

<http://epaper.timesofindia.com/Repository/getFiles.asp?Style=OliveXLib:LowLevelEntityToPrint_TOI&Type=tex

t/html&Locale=english-skin-custom&Path=TOIBG/2011/01/29&ID=Ar00305> , accessed on 09.01.2011. 387 Sujatha Byravan and Sudhir Chella Rajan, ‘Loss and damage claims in climate justice’,

<http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-opinion/loss-and-damage-claims-in-climate-justice/article5412346.ece>,

accessed on 02.12. 2013. 388 MOEF: Ministry of Environment and Forestry 389Aseem Shrivastava, ‘Economy, Society and Environment in the Era of Globalisation: Some Facts’, Globalisation

in India: Impacts and Alternatives, Op.Cit.,p.2. 390 Samuel S Myers and others, ‘Increasing CO2 threatens human nutrition’,

<www.nature.com/nature/journal/v510/n7503/full/nature13179.html>, accessed on 07.05.2014, Pp. 139-142.

198

example an experimental study done by Indian agriculture scientists indicates that

increase in temperature might affect the scent and size of basmati rice391. Another

study done in Japan on apples found changes in taste and texture which are the

essential qualities of a fruit and they have attributed it to increase in global

temperature392.

DEGRADATION OF RESOURCES

The natural resources are in grave danger of getting completely exhausted.

The shrinking of resource base was slow and gradual from industrial era but now it

has reached a stage of non reversal pattern. Unfortunately, the ecological benefits

along with physiological and spiritual benefits of these resources have never been

taken into consideration. Here it is not out of place to state an example of these

benefits.

Ecological significance of forests is such that they regulate earth’s

temperature regime of hydrogen cycle, balance carbon dioxide and oxygen levels

in the atmosphere, increase the local precipitation and holding capacity of soil and,

check soil erosion. The litter derived from fallen leaves maintains the fertility of

391 Parakram Rautela, ‘Global warming may dull Basmati’s scent’,

<http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Global-warming-may-rob-basmati-of-its-

fragrance/articleshow/7387659.cms>, accessed on 30.01.2011. 392 Anjana Krishnan, ‘Has climate change altered apples’ taste’, <http://www.thehindu.com/

sci-tech/energy-and-environment/has-climate-change-altered-apples-taste/article5045355.ece>, accessed on

22.08.2013.

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soil by returning the nutrients back to plants and trees, and finally they are the

ONLY refuge centers for wild animals393.

The benefit of river Ganges can be elucidated from the physiological -

spiritual angle keeping the mythological significance aside. The river teaches one

to be connected with the ‘flow of life’394. Habit of mind is to deceive us, but being

constantly in the lap of Nature benefits man and helps him overpower his unstatic

mind. This learning is what is missing in man. If the natural resources keep

decreasing, not only is human and non-human survival deeply crippled but also

man’s connection with Nature gets curtailed.

Main cause for resource degradation stems from using resources for energy

purposes.

Energy Resources: Energy resources are taken from non- renewable and

renewable sources. Non-renewable sources being limited in quantity, more effort

needs to be focused on drawing energy from renewable sources.

Non-renewable sources that are available in finite quantities include

minerals, fossil fuels of coal, natural gas and petroleum. These are formed by slow

geological processes, the use of which far exceeds its formation. New age

technological products formed with the help of synthetic fibres and silicon chips

have been possible because of mineral resources. Renewable resources are

393 S S Purohit and Rajiv Ranjan, Ecology, Environment and Pollution, Agrobios India, 2007, p.412. 394 Sonal Srivastava, Like The Flowing River, <http://www.speakingtree.in/spiritual-articles/new-age/like-the-

flowing-river> , accessed on 10.04.2011.

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potentially renewable and could be available indefinitely provided their

regeneration capacity remains intact. Such resources are soil, wind, water, solar

energy and biomass from plant and animal wastes. Detailing a few of the processes

below:

1) Fossil fuels in solid form are found as coals, in liquid form as crude oil, in

gaseous form as natural gas. More than half of India’s energy is got from thermal

power plants which use coals for producing energy. Coal is the largest contributor

of greenhouse gases. Combustion of these fuels emits carbon monoxide, carbon

dioxide, sulphur dioxide, thick black smoke, soot and smog all of which pollute

land, water and air. Fly ash, a by-product of burning coal also requires huge space

for storage. Since nineteenth century, coal was the prime energy source that fuelled

the industrial revolution. Coal India that handles most coal mines in India estimate

coal to be available for another eighty years at the current rate of usage, but taking

into consideration the projected rate of growth, there is all possibility of finishing it

in just thirty to forty years395.

2) Nuclear energy is created by splitting of atoms. The plus points with using

nuclear power plants are the non release of carbon dioxide and methane gases and

no formation of suspended particulate matter and soot.

395Aseem Shrivastava, ‘Economy, Society and Environment in the Era of Globalisation: Some Facts’, Globalisation

in India: Impacts and Alternatives, Op.cit.,p.3.

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IMAGE 4: NUCLEAR REACTOR

IMAGE 5: VEHICULAR AIR POLLUTION

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The major disadvantage lies in the management and disposal of radioactive

waste as the life span of these power plants do not exceed 30-40yrs but take around

ten years for nuclear plant installation. The accidental damage like that of Japan’s

earthquake affecting Fukushima396 Daiichi nuclear power plant has serious

consequences. Image 4 shows the picture of a nuclear reactor.

3) Petroleum and Natural Gas: The processes involved in extracting,

transporting and utilizing of petroleum and natural gas have severe environmental

implications. Oil slicks caused at sea from offshore drilling extensively damage the

marine and aquatic ecosystems. With the increasing vehicular traffic, burning of

petroleum and natural gas used as fuels in vehicles leads to air, water and noise

pollution. These vehicles emit carbon dioxide, sulphur dioxide, nitrous oxide,

carbon monoxide and particulate matter, all of which are major air polluters. The

air quality in Indian urban cities has been deteriorating because of vehicular

pollution as seen in case of Delhi397. The health effect due to absorption of

vehicular exhaust fumes is both a worrisome factor and a psychological killer.

Image 5 depicts the vehicular air pollution on Indian roads.

4) Hydro electricity: Water flowing down a natural gradient is stopped and

passed through turbines that produce electricity. Though no carbon dioxide is

released during hydro electric generation, but negative proportions include

396 The Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant is different form Hiroshima in Japan and suffered major damages

in the 2011 tsunami, which permanently damaged the reactors and hence is closed for operation. 397 Erach Bharucha, Textbook of Environmental studies, Op.Cit., p.35.

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building huge mega dams which need plenty of land acquisition. This involves

displacement of people, submergence of vast forest and fertile lands. Also, rotting

vegetation due to submergence of land releases carbon dioxide, along with

destruction of animal habitat, terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems being other

causalities.

5) Wind Power: The advantages of sourcing energy from wind outplay the

disadvantages as wind is abundantly available. It takes around two years for wind

power installation. The wind turns the turbines to produce wind energy which can

be used to run flour mills and water pumps, and supply power to remote areas.

There are no air or water emissions, radiation or solid waste generation. The

disadvantages relate to wind source not being available at all times and non

feasibility of installing wind mills in all places. They are ideally installed away

from habitation, towers and airports as they cause noise pollution and are harmful

to birds. Image 6 shows the image of sourcing energy from wind.

6) Solar energy is the most beneficial renewable source of energy as they have

multiple benefits in irrigation, agriculture, residential and corporate sectors. They

have very limited environmental hazards. Sunrays help in heating solar cells to

produce electricity. Installation of solar panels for 500mega watt power generation

would take around six months time. Energy from the sun is free, and for India

solar days is available for days in a year. Earlier large space was required for

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IMAGE 6: WIND POWER

IMAGE 7: SOLAR POWER

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installing solar panels with high implantation cost, but now smaller units are

available that can three hundred be used on rooftops. The electricity thus generated

is clean, pollution free and provides feasibility of installation even at the remotest

areas. The main disadvantage which can be downsized with technological progress

is the photo voltaic cells used in solar panels that is made up of silicon material, the

manufacturing of which involves toxic chemicals, which is of serious

environmental concern. Image 7 depicts the solar panels.

7) Biomass energy: Biomass is a type of stored solar energy produced from

agricultural wastes such as sugarcane and other farm by products. Biomass can be

used in three ways. Burning it produces heat and electricity. Changing it to gas like

fuel such as methane or liquid fuel like bio fuel can be used in vehicles. Biofuel is

sourced from two kinds of alcohol such as ethanol or methanol. Ethanol produced

from molasses of sugarcane is an automobile fuel used in Brazil. Biodiesel can be

made from vegetable oils like soya bean oil used in U.S.A398. Biodiesel from seeds

of plants such as Neem and Pongamia trees are being tried out in India.

Thus we see that degradation of resource base leads to alteration in physical

processes, environmental pollution and endangerment to all species. On the one

hand, the life of species is affected and on the other hand, the natural functioning

of food chains and ecosystem health gets degraded.

398 Erach Bharucha, Textbook of Environmental studies, Op.Cit., p.41.

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ENVIRONMENTAL POLLUTION

“Pollution” is no longer an assertive poignant word. Maybe in hindsight that

can be one of the reason for ancients to use the more emphatic word “poison” to

denote the pollution and polluting factors of the earth. The mere mention of the

word poison has an electrifying and deathly significance to it. ‘Pollution’ can be

defined as an undesirable change in physical, chemical or biological characteristics

of air, water, land that may be harmful to human life and other living beings399.

Pollution of the environment is akin to poisoning of the environment as that

is what is being witnessed in this era and age. Each resource base has an absorbing

capacity which should not be exceeded. For example, say if the discharge of

effluents to the river or lake far exceeds the absorbing capacity of that water; the

micro organisms which thrive in water die due to excessive toxic waste and

depletion of oxygen. To achieve man’s short term objective of disposing waste

effluents easily into the river, the tolerance level of the river has been

breached leading to pollution of the water body. This is one such example that

is highlighted to show what is happening in each of the resources that are being

polluted today.

399 Mahip Singh, Environmental Education, DPS publishing house, New Delhi, 2008, p.64.

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1) Atmospheric Pollution happens in the form of global warming, ozone

depletion and acid rains.

a) Ozone Depletion: Ozone which is formed naturally by the action of sunlight

on oxygen is present about 20-50 kms above earth. This is beneficial to earth as it

forms a protective layer that prevents ultraviolet radiation from reaching earth’s

surface. Thus we see Rta or natural order being reaffirmed. The ozone layer acting

as a protective layer is part of the natural order for life to survive. But ozone at the

ground level is considered to be pollutant ozone being a poisonous gas with strong

odour as it harms vegetation and causes respiratory problems in humans.

Ozone depletion was first discovered over Antarctica in 1970 and

subsequently over Australia. The prime cause for ozone depletion is attributed to

the release of chloroflurocarbon (CFC) and aerosol gases that are used in

refrigerators and air conditioners. It takes CFC about five to seven years to reach

upper atmosphere from ground level. They stay there for almost a century

destroying one hundred thousand ozone molecules during that time400. The ultra

violet (UV) rays act on these CFC and aerosol gases and release chlorine atoms.

The chlorine atoms break ozone into separate oxygen molecules. These oxygen

molecules are not capable of absorbing UV radiation. Thus we find thinning or

holes in the ozone layer. The UV rays that reach the atmospheric air through these

400 Sandhya Sharaf, Green House Environment, Op.Cit., p.68.

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holes cause health hazard such as skin cancer. Also, they are known to damage

crops and plankton, thus disturbing the natural food chains.

b) Global Warming: The increase in average temperature leads to significant

warming of earth called global warming. Global warming is caused due to green

house effect which is produced by the release of green house gases (GHG). It is so

called because the gases behave like glass of the greenhouse. Earth’s surface

absorbs 75% of sun’s energy, rest being radiated back to atmosphere. These GHG

entrap the heat not allowing it to go back to space. The main components of GHG

are carbon dioxide that accord 55% of global warming, methane about 18% and

nitrous oxide for about 6%, ozone and rest carbon monoxide. Below table indicates

the atmospheric residence time of green house gases401:

TABLE 3:

Sl. No. Gas Residence time in atmosphere

1 Carbon dioxide (CO2) More than a century

2 Water (H2O) Few hours

3 Ozone (O3) Few hours

4 Nitrous Oxide (N2O) More than 100 years

5 Chloro fluro carbons (CFC) 40-300 years

6 Methane (CH4) 10-15 years

401 S.H.Raza, Global Warming - A Global Warning, Environmental Scenario for 21st century, Dr.S.K.Argarwal,

APH Publishing Corporation, New Delhi, 2003, p.171.

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An example can be given to show the effect of global warming. The

extinction of Possum mammal that is found only in the mountain forests of

northern Queensland402. These mammals cannot survive temperatures exceeding

300C which occurred in year 2005403. Natural calamities are part of natural order

but global warming has escalated the intensity of these calamities. Other

causalities include rise in sea levels, ecosystem degradation and loss of

biodiversity. It is estimated that by early 22nd century an occurrence of 1metre rise

in sea level is a possibility that would inundate about 5764sq.km, displacing over

7mn people404. This fear has forced islands like Maldives and Kiribati to think on

the lines of investing in property for translocation to safeguard their future

generations405.

c) Acid Rains: The burning of fossil fuels like coal, gas and petroleum releases

oxides of sulphur and nitrogen which combine with water vapor present in the

atmosphere to form sulphuric acid and nitric acid. Natural air currents carry these

acid pollutants to shower as acid rains406. The PH level of unpolluted rain water is

5.7 owning to the presence of carbon-dioxide in air. Thus rainwater whose PH

level is lower than this value becomes acid rain407.

402 Queensland belongs to Australia and is the second largest and third most populous state. 403 Sandhya Sharaf, Green House Environment, Op.Cit., p.94. 404 Ashish Kothari, ‘Environmental Impacts’, Globalisation in India: Impacts and Alternatives, Op.Cit.,p.9. 405 <http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/australiaandthepacific/kiribati/9127576/Entire-nation-of-Kiribati-

to-be-relocated-over-rising-sea-level-threat.html>, accessed on 16.06.2015. 406 Erach Bharucha, Textbook of Environmental studies, Op.Cit., p.178. 407 S.S.Purohit and Rajiv Ranjan, Ecology, Environment and Pollution, Op.Cit.,p.675.

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The harmful effects of acid rain are such that the nutrients in the soil are

washed away affecting the plants growth. Acid rain mixing with ground water

pollutes the rivers, lakes and wetlands thus harming aquatic ecosystems. It affects

the wildlife which is dependent on these ecosystems thus adversely affecting the

food chain. Acid rain is the major cause for creating holes in the wax coated leaves

of trees affecting the photosynthesis capability of trees408. It causes extensive

damage to automobiles, buildings, metal and steel structures because of its acidic

content. Corrosion has been reportedly observed in historical buildings such as Taj

Mahal in Agra, Red Fort in Delhi, Victoria Memorial in Kolkata, Charminar in

Hyderabad to name a few. It causes respiratory problems in human beings.

2) Pollution of Other Resources includes pollution of land, water, air, noise and

waste mis-management.

a) Land Pollution: Land pollution is degradation of land which is unfit for

growth of plants, trees or agriculture cultivation. Deforestation affects the rain

bearing clouds thus altering the seasonal climate. Since 1980-81, forest land has

been diverted for mining, 70% of which has been done during 1997-2001.

Removal of large chunks of trees from forests increases the presence of carbon di-

oxide in the air. Removing topsoil is easy through sand mining but it takes millions

of years for its formation. It is a dire necessity for agricultural production. Rain fed

408 Erach Bharucha, Textbook of Environmental studies, Op.Cit., Pp.179.

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farmers whose cultivable land has become barren, have taken to extracting top soil

on a daily basis and selling it as sand for the burgeoning construction industry.

Quarrying and mining effects the surrounding environment with dusty pollution

and debris. 75% increase in mineral production is seen between 1993-94 and 2008-

2009 which is because of diversion of forest land for mining409.

b) Air Pollution: Air being freely accessible gets polluted very fast. Hence it is

practically not possible to treat the polluted air after it has been contaminated.

Thus, it is mandatory to control pollutants at the time of emission410.

Much of air pollution is caused by vehicular diesel exhaust fumes which

releases Suspended Particulate Matter (SPM) and nitrous oxide. Nitrous oxide

when absorbed by blood directly reduces the oxygen carrying ability in living

beings. It is a misconception that atmosphere has illimitable capability to absorb

pollution as it affectively diffuses pollutants such as SPM and smoke. But RSPM

(Respirable Suspended Particulate Matter) is absolutely minute less than 2.5micron

particles. They easily enter the respiratory tract causing respiratory problems such

as asthma, allergy and oxygen deficiency. Highest cause of air pollution is 44%

RSPM, 22% suspension of road dust, 14% industrial activity, 14% construction

activities and 7% commercial diesel generators411. Air we breathe is also getting

409 Ashish Kothari, ‘Environmental Impacts’, Globalisation in India: Impacts and Alternatives, Op.Cit., p.5. 410 S S Purohit and Rajiv Ranjan, Ecology, Environment and Pollution, Op.Cit, p.409. 411 Vinayashree Jagadeesh, City’s air dangerously polluted, <http://www.thehindu.com/

todays-paper/citys-air-dangerously-polluted/article6348230.ece> , accessed on 25.08.2014.

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polluted with a mixture of cancer causing substances412. Image 11 showcases the

air pollution caused due to industries.

c) Water Pollution: Water is a major requirement for all living creatures on the

earth and hence rightly called ‘Amrt’413. Water pollution in lakes and rivers is due

to direct dumping of sewage including municipal, construction and industrial

effluents without full and proper treatments. It is also due to improper maintenance

and encroachment of lake beds. In the city limits, lakes are being polluted due to

sewage water that flows to lakes which in turn pollutes ground water.

Indiscriminate digging of bore wells is another reason for depleting ground water

sources.

A satirical way of looking at man’s action is the way Ganges river is treated.

We are ready to impure the very water that is capable of purifying man inside and

outside. Dams are choking the biodiversity and ecosystem near the flowing rivers

while untreated sewage and industrial waste is polluting the Ganges throughout its

entire route414. The same water ends up being used further along for drinking and

irrigation purposes. In the case of Pampa river at Sabarimala, it was found that the

level of fecal coliform, which is a deadly bacteria that is found mostly in untreated

412 Outdoor air pollution a leading cause of cancer, say UN health experts,

<http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=46276#.VY9ZIi5dmUg>, accessed on 17.10.2013. 413 See Vide p.165 in this thesis. 414 Debarshi Dasgupta, The much sullied Ganga receives fresh funds and attention, Outlook Magazine, 4 July

2011, Pp.30-43.

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IMAGE 8: COWS INADVERENTLY EATING PLASTICS

IMAGE 9: WATER POLLUTION

214

IMAGE 10: OIL – SPILL

IMAGE 11: INDUSTRIAL AIR POLLUTION

215

sewage was 3 lakh per 100ml, upon the permissible limit of 500 per 100ml415.

Image 9 and 10 showcases the water pollution and its ill effects on the

environment.

d) Noise pollution: Any unwanted or unpleasant sound can form noise pollution.

The use of machinery in industrial units, granite blasting and loud honking on the

roads are some of the causes of noise pollution. Noise has harmful effects on non-

living matters, for example cracks develop on walls due to stress caused by

explosive sound. The effect of noise pollution on humans is in the form of

irritability, loss of concentration, hormonal changes, damage to ear drums, nervous

breakdown, temper headaches, fatigue, nausea and in some cases even effects brain

cells416. Noise pollution is alien to birds and animals as they always are resting in

tranquil settings. Wild animals in forest reserves like Nagarhole are run down on

roads because of honking and over speeding which confuse and frighten animals.

e) Waste Mis-management: Improper disposal and inadequate treatment of

organic, industrial and e-wastes are the major problematic sources for waste

management. The unscientific way of disposing garbage in landfills is causing

untoward health problems and unbearable stench along with mosquito menace to

the villagers residing near the landfills.

415 Sudha Nambudiri, ‘All plan, no action as Ganga of south gets sullied’,

<http://epaper.timesofindia.com/Repository/getFiles.asp?Style=OliveXLib:LowLevelEntityToPrint_TOINEW&Typ

e=text/html&Locale=english-skin-custom&Path=CAP/2012/06/05&ID=Ar01001> , accessed on 05.06.2012. 416 Mahip Singh, Environmental Education, Op.Cit.,p.76.

216

Technological improvements help in designing, developing and marketing of

more new varied products thus knocking off redundant older products. This clutter

either gets partially decomposed or remains as e-waste, without any decomposition

happening for aeons together. E-waste is a recent phenomenon of the last two

decades. Interest in e-waste is because of its containing precious metals such as

gold, copper and palladium. But largely ignored toxic materials like lead,

cadmium, mercury, phosphorous compounds also form part of e-waste which is

hazardous to human health and environment.

Plastic is another major pollutant of the environment. Plastic wastes in 2003-

2004 were about 1 lakh tones and it increased to 4.5 lakh tones in 2008-2009.

Since 1991, the production capacity of various forms of plastics in India which was

less than 1 million shot up to more than 5 million417. Low grade plastic, being

lighter weight flies everywhere to lie on roads, public places, water bodies and gets

stuck between shrubs and small trees. Such littered plastic are a huge danger to

animals like cows, sheep, buffalos and dogs. They eat the leftover food particles

that are bound in plastic covers but left at vacant lands and garbage dumps. These

plastics that get consumed along with food particles inadvertently are non-

digestible and non-biodegradable affecting the health of these animals as shown in

Image 8. As there is no concept of waste on earth, non disintegration of waste

417 Ashish Kothari, ‘Environmental Impacts’, Globalisation in India: Impacts and Alternatives, Op.Cit., p.6.

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becomes harmful to non-humans and humans in the long run. The rule of Nature is

such that one entity becomes the food of the other. One can recycle natural product

but what about artificial product like plastics!

3) Internal Pollution relates to pollution of man’s internal environment.

Man is not different from environment as what happens outside effects him

internally too. Both are intimately connected as internal pollution is the cause and

external pollution is the effect. If outside environment is free from pollution even

internal environment will be free from pollution and vice versa. Outside pollution

can be known through scientific experimental facts and appropriate actions can be

proposed to be taken. Internal pollution refers to the internal turbulence of man’s

mind. Inner pollution might be purely internal but affects the environment.

The main cause for all bad actions is trishna or desire. Ramakrishna

Paramahamsa says the mythological story of dipping in Ganga water may wash

away one’s sins but it does not wash man’s inner tendency (vasana) of doing bad

actions. Positive vibrations have positive repercussions and affectively deal with

inner pollution while negative vibrations lead one to commit harmful actions.

Thus we see that pollution of the environment does not necessarily relate to

imbalance in the proportionate composition of the elements existing in it. It doesn’t

necessarily mean less or reduction in the arrangement of the panchamahabhutas.

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AFFECT ON ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH

Alteration in biogeochemical process, variation in weather and climate

patterns, and pollution of resources affect the environmental health of all beings.

These changes can be endured only to a certain extent within the limits of natural

tolerance. Not only is the ecosystem health affected but also the health of all

creatures inclusive of the health of plants, animals, birds, micro organisms and

humans. Loss of species is not only extinction of species but also loss of critical

ecosystem function where animals play a crucial role and man is not aware of all

the ways of functioning of Nature418. Studying polar bears might help in finding

solution for human osteoporosis or kidney failure as polar bears are known to sleep

for many months without urinating or losing bone mass. But due to environmental

degradation we might lose polar bears. This shows the inter-linkage between

climate change and biodiversity and the need for species preservation419.

Ecosystems being interconnected, all living beings form a huge system

called as Biosphere which is planet earth. Scientists have named Earth as

Biosphere 1, and as an experiment, set up closed ecosystems with the idea of

418 IANS, ‘Biodiversity loss pushing earth towards sixth mass extinction’, <http://www.thehindu.com/sci-

tech/energy-and-environment/biodiversity-loss-pushing-earth-towards-sixth-mass-extinction/article6252886.ece>,

accessed on 26.07.2014. 419 Neil Mac Farquhar, ‘Species disappear as consensus eludes on biodiversity’,

<http://www.deccanherald.com/content/102013/content/213935/fish-oil-may-hold-key.html>, accessed on

05.10.2010.

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replicating it420. The aim was to determine the diverse facets of environment. The

project rightly exposed the insufficient knowledge man has about the functioning

of the earth. For instance the trial Biosphere 2 project failed in its purpose and the

scientists had to manually meddle with it to keep the biosphere running and it is

been now closed since some years421.

The ever increasing pollution level in the changing environment scenario is

creating havoc on human bodily health. Present scenario of external environment

consists in breathing poisonous air, drinking polluted water and living in unhealthy

environment.

The various adverse affects of environmental air and water pollution are422:

TABLE 4:

Sl.

No.

Pollutants Effect on Human health and other living

organisms

1 Sulphur Trioxide

(SO3), Carbon

monoxide (CO) and

Nitrogen Dioxide

(NO2)

Diffuse into blood stream and reduces oxygen

transport in humans

2 Smoke and Dust Respiratory disorder in humans.

Cover the leaf surfaces and reduces

photosynthetic capacity of plants

420 Biosphere 2, 3 and 5 were set up over the years in Latin Arizona, at Institute of Biophysics in Siberia and in

Japan respectively. 421 Jordan Fisher Smith, ‘Life Under the Bubble’, < http://discovermagazine.com/2010/oct/20-life-under-the-

bubble>, published on 20.12.2010, accessed on 16.6.2015.

See Also http://www.biospherics.org/biosphere2/ 422 Mahip Singh, Environmental Education, Op.Cit., Pp.69,72.

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3 Ozone (O3) Dryness of mucous membranes, change in eye

vision, causes headache in humans.

Damages cereals, fruits and crops.

4 Sulphur Dioxide

(SO2)

Drying of mouth, scratchy throat, smarting

(burning and watery) eyes in humans.

Death of cells and tissues in plants

5 Fluorides Damages leafy vegetables.

6 Oxides of fluoride

and Nitrogen

Reduce crop yield

7 Smog Bleaches important leafy plants

8 Hydrocarbons Causes fall of leaves and flower buds,

premature yellowing and discolouration of

leaves.

9 Inorganic nitrates and

phosphates dissolved

in water

Promotes the growth of oxygen consuming

algae resulting in death of fishes and other

aquatic animals.

11 Mercury dissolved in

water

Mercury is absorbed by aquatic plants and

enters food chain

12 Soap detergents and

alkalis dissolved in

water

Result in foam formation

13 Industrial effluents

dissolved in water

Impairs the taste and odour of water

14 Radioactive wastes Causes cells to die, abnormal growth of cells

resulting in cancer

Pesticides and fertilizers not only poison food supplies and dilute the

agricultural land but also harm creatures such as bees and earthworms that are

required for proper food production. Early onset of diseases like allergies, increase

in diabetes, heart attacks, cancer, lung and throat infection and new diseases have

started engulfing the whole world. Women are facing new health disorders such as

ovarian cyst and hypothyroidism due to pollution, pesticide residues, high fat

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content food and irregular diets423. Man gets mentally affected too in the form of

disruption in his eating and sleeping habits, missing exercise schedules, mental

imbalance, pressure and stress, personality disorder, peer pressure, social unrest,

increase in social evils and suicides, thus losing all mental peace and happiness.

There is a subfield in psychology called ecopsychology which is an attempt to

trace link between the natural world and the health of the mind424. In other words,

human health is getting affected due to external and internal pollution proving

beyond doubt that external and internal environment are related.

PROBLEM RESTORING BALANCE IN NATURE

Earth is one biosphere, having different ecosystems, as such different natural

environments. Thus, the problems they face are as diverse as they can get. One

needs to visualise multiple solutions simultaneously from different perspectives in

order to be able to restore any form of balance in the environment.

Degradation of resource base is because of growth and development in all

spheres of life. Growth is happening at faster pace where as Nature’s flow is

neither fast nor slow, it has its own rhythm. Man not being in tune with Nature’s

rhythm is the root cause of all environmental problems. ‘Environment protection’

means limiting impairment of environment that includes conservation of 423 Jayashree Nandi, ‘Toxins messing with women’s harmones’, Times of India. Print. 25.01.2011.

Also see Rachel Winnik Yavinsky, ‘Women More Vulnerable Than Men to Climate Change’,

<http://www.prb.org/Publications/Articles/2012/women-vulnerable-climate-change.aspx>, accessed on 26.06.2015. 424 Daniel B. Smith, ‘Is There an Ecological Unconscious?’,

<http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/31/magazine/31ecopsych-t.html?_r=0> , published on 27.1.2010, accessed on

26.6.2015.

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resources425. The problem with regard to restoration of balance in the environment

can be attributed to a single factor of human beings greed in having ‘Excess’ of

everything.

Listed below are few pointers:

1) Scientific And Technology Development: Agriculture took 10,000 years to

have an impact on earth, industrial revolution which started in 18th century took

about 250 years; compared to them technological progress is not even 100 years

old. Scientific and technological impact on environment is becoming hazardous

because of the ceaseless speed with which technology is being upgraded.

a) Positive Aspect of Technology

Technology if used properly is not bad. The positive usage of technology

can be seen in its various applications in diverse fields. The advent of cell phone

has radically transformed the very idea of communication. India had only one

phone per 165 people in 1991. Now it would have crossed 900 million mobile

connections as of 2013. Also the mobile subscriptions across the world would have

equalled the globe population of 7.1 bn as of September 2013426.

Modern technical advancements like e-mails, instant messaging, video

conferencing through internet has helped less paper consumption. Act of copying

425 S. N. Jogdand, Environmental Biotechnology, Himalaya Publishing House, Bombay, 1995,

Pp.1-2. 426 Shalini Singh, ‘Mobile subscription approaches total global population in 2013’,

< http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-national/mobile-subscription-approaches-total-global-population-in-

2013/article4893117.ece>, accessed on 08.07. 2013.

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Nature to address a design problem called as Biomimetics has come into main

stream usage. A few examples can be quoted. Bullet train in Japan has been

modelled after the beak of Kingfisher bird and design of fans after whale fins.

Similarly locusts have been studied to develop pedestrian collision avoidance

technology as these crop devourers are able to avoid crashing into one another

when migrating in swarms of millions427. Observing bumble bee flying has helped

in designing the helicopters and the swimming of dolphins has helped in

manufacturing fluid dynamic foils428.Thus positive usage of technology has helped

in analysing and copying Nature to find workable solutions for man’s use. Nature

is needed hence, technology not embraced or rejected but redirected harbours man

with abiding faith in technology429.

b) Negative Aspect of Technology

Man’s application of science and technology without analysing its heavier

consequences is altering the ethereal balance of Nature. Misuse of technology has

negative repercussions on environment.

Text-mania, a condition of the spine happens due to bending forward while

looking at the phone430. Excessive mobile texting or video gaming cause extreme

427 Shaun Pett, ‘Intelligent Design’, Reader’s Digest, Living Media India Ltd, New Delhi, April 2011, P.82. 428 Janani Gopalakrishnan Vikram, ‘Biomimetics: Mimicking Nature for Technological Breakthrough’,

Electronics For You, Vol. 43, No.4, Ramesh Chopra, New Delhi, April 2011,Pp.28-34. 429 Ian G. Barbour, Introduction, Western man and Environmental Ethics, Ian G. Barbour (Ed.,), Op.Cit.,p.10. 430 Bhumika K, ‘Bangalore deals with tech addiction’, <www.thehindu.com/features/metroplus/bangalore-deals-

with-tech-addiction/article65823> , accessed on 27.10. 2014.

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pain in the fingertips along with strenuous eye strain. The addiction to mobiles has

become so serious that people are unassumingly getting prone to accidents and

deaths while walking or driving. Also multiple electronic gadgets consume power

thus more drain on natural resources for producing electricity.

A study431 conducted to check the effects of technology usage has revealed

that a techno addict is like being a drug addict who shows severe withdrawal

symptoms when unplugged from technology. A few symptoms include getting

anxious, neglecting responsibility and checking social networking websites every

fifteen minutes for updates. All these factors reveal that the mental and physical

distress undergone by them like sadness, loneliness, anxiety, heart palpitations are

on the rise. They were also not able to voluntarily keep away from any kind of

technological appliances such as cell phones, computers, mp3 players, laptops,

television sets and so forth. Man fails to realise that technological gadgets serve as

wonderful aides but man is addicted to them as slaves432. Face to face social

interaction has been replaced with communicating through mobile messaging

services. Thus addiction to technology is hampering the communication vista.

Another side effect is broken family because of technological obsession.

A service called SHUT or Service for Healthy Use of Technology has been launched in August 2014 at NIMHANS. 431 Foot Note: Study of 1000 participants from 10 countries called the world unplugged was conducted by

International Centre for Media at University of Maryland. 432 Hasan Jawaid Khan, ‘World Unplugged’, Science reporter, 3.8.2011,National Institute of Science

Communication And Information Resources (NISCAIR), CSIR New Delhi , Editorial,

<http://www.niscair.res.in/jinfo/sr/2011/SR48(8)/(Editorial).pdf>

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c) Seductive Technology

The philosophy of co-existence of man with Nature is possible. Modern

technology has not taken man ‘out of his place’ in Nature. Nature has not

ostracized man because of the usage of modern technology which has increased the

comfort level for humans.

If technology is used with good intention, then it is beneficial to Nature and

if it is used with bad intention, it goes against Nature. All bad intentions harm

environment such as increasing e-waste and furthering air, water, noise pollutions.

The term ‘seductive technology’ relates to the devices and vicissitudes of

technological products that entice man to buy them out of greed and not need.

These products help in providing short term instant gratifications and false

contentedness but hamper the ecological equivalence maintained on this planet.

These are not essential necessities but ego boosters.

Seductive technology can be both positive and negative motivators. While the

negative motivation is to follow irrational approach and unethical tactics such as

crime, bribery and corruption; the positive motivation is having rational approach

and ethical tactics that is harmonious on all fronts. How much ‘development’ is

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essential is left to the ‘viveka’ or consciousness of man who has to exercise his

discretion in an ethical and moral way433.

A case in point is the Higgs boson or god particle experiments conducted in an

effort to understand the vast portion of the universe such as “dark matter” and

“how life as we know is found only on this planet” which remains unexplained.

This god particle has the lurking possibility to annihilate the universe and such

catastrophe would not even be foreseen by human beings434. A few scientists are of

the view that this experiment can be quite dangerous to earth, as many workings of

earth are yet unknown to man.

Vedic people were focused on Nature and natural events. It was all to do with

Nature Oriented Technology and not Nature Damaging Technology.

Technology should be used in a way that does not cause irreplaceable harm to

Nature.

2) Population Explosion: Earth being finite, increasing population has an

overwhelming effect on the carrying capacity of the earth. Carrying capacity is the

largest number of any given species that a habitat can support indefinitely435. The

four factors that determine the carrying capacity for a population are the

availability of raw materials, availability of energy, accumulation of waste

433 Kailash Tuli, Impact of Technology on Values, Journal of Value Education, Vol. 4, No.1 and 2, Jan and July

2004, Published by NCERT, New Delhi, 2004, Pp.95-107. 434 ‘God particle’ could destroy the universe, warns Hawking’, <http://www.thehindu.com/sci-tech/science/god-

particle-could-destroy-the-universestephen-hawking/article6391154.ece> , accessed on 09.09.2014. 435 S.C. Santra, Environmental Science, Op.Cit., p.7.

227

products and their disposal, and interactions among organisms436. The ever

increasing load is due to specific concentration of the population in certain areas

such as urban centric and very less to negligible in certain other areas such as rural

and remote places.

Increasing population puts tremendous pressure on the natural resources.

More production and procurement of goods and products is envisaged which needs

additional industrial setups. The fallout of this is that there is an increase in waste

generation, air and water pollution levels. The vibrancy of the biosphere ends up

being lost forever.

The world population was 6.14 billion as of 2011437. It took 123 yrs for

world human population to increase from 1bn to 2 bn, 33 years to reach 3 bn, 14

and 13 years to reach 4 bn and 5bn respectively, but only 11years to reach from

5bn to 6 bn438. Another factor for the general population rise in the world can be

attributed to improved and affordable health care facilities. India has 2.4% of

world total land area which supports over 15% of world population439.

There are three pillars needing evaluation while considering the population

growth namely subsistence, resource availability and scarcity of resources440.

Human being needs to take the bare minimum that is required for his survival, stop 436 Mahip Singh, Environmental Education, Op.Cit., p.125. 437 Robert Kunzig, ‘Population 7 Billion’, National Geographic Magazine, Jan 2011. Vol . 219, No.1, National

Geographic Society, U.S.A, Pp. 42-63. 438 Erach Bharucha, Textbook of Environmental studies, Op.Cit.,Pp.207-208. 439 Ibid p.30 440 David Harvey, Spaces of Capital: Towards a Critical Geography, Routledge , London, 2001.

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treating the earth as a supermarket having abundant resource availability all the

time as even supermarkets need to get fresh supply every week and understand that

the scarcity of resources is a human doing. Nature’s limit is stretched and it can no

more do the balancing act.

3) Development Model of Growth: How much of development is actual

development as ‘the acutest social and technical problem facing mankind comes

not from the so called “under-development” but from ‘over-development’441. On

the one hand, developed countries have over-consumption and lifestyle

maintenance as their major causes of environmental pollution. On the other hand,

the developing countries like India have to deal with poverty, population growth

and development activities apart from the other two reasons.

Acquisition of leftover forest land is being processed for industrial and

construction purposes. Industrialization, liberalization, globalization are issues that

have promoted consumerism because of wider product options. All these are

deterrents to the limited availability of natural resources. For example, quoting of

wax to apples to get the right colour and smooth texture and ripening of mangoes

artificially so that they ripen on delivery are cases of globalization effect in the

441 Introduction by Seyyed Hossein Nasr to his book on The Encounter of Man and Nature (1967), Pp.184-225;

Quoted in M. Vannucci, Man in Nature, http://ignca.nic.in/ps_05.htm.

Also See Seyyed Hossein Nasr, The Encounter of Man and Nature: The Spiritual Crisis of Modern Man,

London: George Allen and Unwin, 1968.

229

name of meeting the worldwide consumer’s demands. Injecting vegetables442 with

chemical mixtures for faster ripening are all driven by demands of consumerism.

The increased use of consumer goods that directly impact the environment such as

refrigerators, air conditioners, vehicles and electronic goods are due to changing

lifestyle. It is also because of the affordability of such goods by a larger section of

people in the society.

This is where in the concept of sustainable development and ‘de-growth’

needs implementation. Some economists are arguing for a slowdown in economic

growth, called as ‘de-growth’. It is different from sustainable development in the

sense that the latter looks at using natural resources in a sustainable way where as

the former is for total downsizing of the over production and over consumption

patterns. Questioning the relentless unlimited growth, de-growth was launched

around 2001 as a “project of voluntary societal shrinking of production and

consumption aimed at social and ecological sustainability”443.

Development is a mixed baggage. One cannot do without the beneficial

advantages it provides and yet again one cannot wish away the environmental

destruction left in its wake. We can see the natural covering in the case of plants

and trees getting deplenished in different environmental situations as seen in

442 It is reported that such injected vegetables are brinjals and cucumbers. 443 Federico Demaria and others,‘What is Degrowth? From an Activist Slogan to a Social Movement’,

Environmental Values 22 (2013): 191–215, <http://www.jnu.ac.in/sss/cssp/What%20is%20degrowth.pdf> .

230

images 13,14 and 15. This dilemma needs an ethical approach as it is more to do

with being disconnected from Nature.

4) Urban Concentration: All over the world the heaviest impact on the

environment is caused because of excessive carrying capacity of urban

conglomerates. The highest conglomeration of population is in urban areas, a large

part of it being the urban slums. In 1800, London was the only city that had a

million people living in it. Now we can assume more than 326 cities to have at

least that many people living in them. Another point to consider is that London

took 130 years for it to grow form 1mn population figure to 8mn population, but

Mexico city made that jump in just 30 years, proving the point that today’s cities

are growing at much faster pace444.

Every kind of pressure is death blow to the environment because of these fast

growing metropolis cities and this trend is here to stay. There naturally will be

more pressure and demand for continuous uninterrupted supply of power and

water, along with maintaining health care, sanitation facilities, infrastructure, law

and order situation among others. Urbanites have to make do with cutting of

decade old trees for widening roads, building flyovers, underpasses and metros.

444 M. Lakshmi Narasaiah, Man and Environment, Discovery Publishing House, New Delhi, 2004, P.31.

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IMAGE 13: NATURE IN URBAN SETTINGS (BENGALURU)

IMAGE 14: NATURE IN VILLAGE SETTINGS (GUTLEPALLI)

IMAGE 15: NATURE IN FOREST SETTINGS (NAGARAHOLE)

232

The advent of e-media is a boon and a bane at the same time. The mindless

consumerism advertisements haunt the sensitive emotional content in man who

presumes that all of the propaganda is needed for fructification of his desires. The

array of commercials used in different media outlets bombards the human

consciousness leaving no scope for taking needy action but is open for greedy

reaction. “A new sense of needs, but not the ‘needs’ dictated by the mass media is

relevant here”445.

Role of media showcases both negative and positive aspects with respect to

environmental issues, but it is left to humans to use his discretion in deciphering

the truth and choosing the right path. On the one hand, media supports ecological

affairs such as showcasing the plight of wild animals, conducting programmes like

running for a green cause and so forth. On the other hand, the negative

bombardment of consumer addictives impinges the human brain to mindless

consumerism.

5) Man-Animal Confrontation: The other issue that is dwindling natural

resources is the harm caused to the vibrant ecosystems. Forest is for the wild

animals as it is their source of food, water and livelihood space, all entwined

within it. But now wildlife is forced to enter human habitats and thus these solitude

loving animals are being pushed away from their habitat.

445 Paul Goodman, Can Technology Be Humane, Western Man and Environmental Ethics, Ian G Barbour (Ed.,),

Op.Cit.,Pp. 225-242.

233

Encroachment of peripheral forest areas makes them leave their safe

sanctuary in search of easy food. Global warming and variations in climatic

conditions would make these animals to tread new paths, but their migration routes

have been occupied by humans and hindered with increasing population,

expanding cities, high tourist, infrastructure build up like mini hydel projects, road

widening, change in land use patterns all of which are prime causes for man –

animal conflict. The animal habitats are also being destroyed either through fire

mishaps or deforestation.

The frequent episode of herd of elephants found in urban environment over

the last few years is a proof of how little we understand wild animals. Wild

animals being just what their name suggests ‘wild’, they exist independent of

human activities. Being aware of animal behaviour under distress is crucial as

bursting firecrackers to disperse the elephants becomes counterproductive. They

disintegrate by striking back and thus cause panic among crowd. Common sense

and mob control never prevails at such encounters; instead wild animals are seen as

objects of public entertainment. One needs to safely back away and show respect

to the animals, and they in turn will respect our decision446.

446 Madhumitha B, ‘Man-Animal Conflict Control’, <http://www.deccanherald.com/content/344927/conflict>,

accessed on 16.07.2013.

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Conflict between human and Nature is the extension of conflict between

human and human447. The man-animal conflict is actually man-man conflict

between local people (common man) and forest official (man with authority). More

than protection, conservation is needed as conservation implies being in constant

and transparent communication with all concerned players which builds up trust

and respect towards each other. These values being intangible remain unseen. In

effect, man influences Nature without truly understanding the consequences of his

actions and without realising that he has no power to recreate Nature. It is best to

describe conservation as ‘human ethical pursuit of letting things be in nature’448.

447 Paul Goodman, Can Technology Be Humane, Western Man and Environmental Ethics, Ian G Barbour (Ed.,),

Op.Cit., Pp.225-242. 448 Saad Bin Jung, ‘Why India needs a conservation act’, <http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-features/tp-

openpage/why-india-needs-a-conservation-act/article6752697.ece>, accessed on0 4.01.2015.