Earth the jewel in the crown of our solar system is literally at the crossroads. The types of changes that look nearly millions of years will are now looking to be happening like one scientist says in a blink of the eye. Planet earth seems to be hurling towards a catastrophic end and as we read on, is the obituary column being written for our dear mother earth.
Lets put things in the right perspective. Earth is a small planet in the solar system which itself is only one among the many solar systems. Seen from that angle earth is not even a tiny speck in the scheme of things on this mighty universe.
But what a speck!. Blessed with the coincidence of unique circumstances, which created the life-nourishing atmosphere, earth quickly developed a repertoire of breath taking variety of living things and even more importantly the unique ecological balance. Viruses, bacteria, plants, animals, deserts, rivers, and mountains you name it and earth has it all. It is not surprising that many cultures and civilizations have worshipped mother earth as a goddess, a goddess who nourishes and makes us live.
But how the times have changed. What has once been worshipped has become a thing that can be plundered at will and fancy by all the concerned. The fragile ecological balance is being torn apart. Man, the supreme species should realize that earth was not his creation. And what is not your creation can’t be tampered or destroyed.
That brings us to the topic for today. Ecological imbalances and its consequences. Ecological balance is the checking mechanism of Mother Nature. For e.g.: The grass eaten by the deer is the starting point of the cycle. The deer itself is eaten by the tiger. And the tiger dung is eaten by the dung beetles whose excreta is again going back as fertilizer back to the soil. See the beautiful checks and balances of Mother Nature. In her bank the credits and debits are always equally balanced.
The adverse effects of the ecological degradation are being felt everwhere.
1. The seas have stared receding in some cases and starting to come more and more into the land. Both the cases have disastrous results for us. Lets not forget that all our deserts have been fertile lands before man started playing the dangerous game of tampering with the ecological system.
2. Our fertile upper soil of fields is being washed away into the sea and very soon we might not have soil to feed the teeming Indian population.
3. The use of cars and automobiles have given us lots of convenience but they release lots of carbon-mono-oxide. This excess carbon-mono-oxide in the atmosphere has let to a resultant global warming, where the earth itself is getting so warm that in the near future it might become inhospitable.
4. The use of products that use compressed air like aerosol cans has created holes on the ozone layer. Ozone layer is the layer in the atmosphere that protects us from ultra violet radiation. Without ozone layer we would be as dead as a dodo
5. The excessive use of ground water has seen the lowering of the water table. This means that we dig deeper and deeper to find ground water. This heavy pounding of mother earth has led to increasing episodes of earthquakes. Lets for a minute remember the Gujarat quake in India. Chennai a very big metropolis in India recently missed an earthquake measuring a Richter 5.8; I quote “ The epicenter of the earthquake was only 20 kilometers away from Chennai. If the epicenter was chennai itself, the damage of the quake would be equivalent of the dropping of the nuclear bomb” Unquote, Frightening isn’t it.
6. The cute plastic bags that we have been using and find convenient have become ecological time bombs. These colourful creations of man are bio non degradable and lie in the folds of earth for ages are not ugly sights but also damage the ecological balance by giving out toxic fumes. Our wild and domesticated animals are dying because of the ingestion of these plastics.
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