Happy Earth Day Humans!!

The earth is in peril. We may not agree to it but it is indeed suffering from mass abuse. The most destructive forces in nature can’t compare to human beings and what we have done as we have moved mountains and drained rivers in our efforts to create more comfort for ourselves. The destruction of every natural habitat and the desecration of every known natural ecosystem is something that humanity has achieved well.

Think about it, every new construction that you see around you, every new forest that you see leveled because there was a need to build a house, a dam or a factory is wiping out an entire ecosystem. Things that have been there for long before you or your fathers or the fathers of your father may have been are so easily erased within days and sometimes within moments to make way for progress. I really wonder if this is what progress means.

Pollution is getting worse and yet we will all buy that car when we get the chance to. It’s unnatural to see so many cars and yet nobody really thinks about it. Everyone wants their comfortable ride while a much larger ride that all of humanity is on is about to crumble, break down and fall. But I’m saddened to say that it does not dawn to most of us, we are too involved in the process of being developed. Getting a car means a lot of things for most people, but cars are the leading source of pollution on a daily basis, we could all just share, use public transport, but it’s really beyond us sophisticated, advanced and evolved humans to share, we prefer to enjoy the fruits of our toils on our own.

Global warming is something that affects everyone on this planet, some more than the others at the moment. But how long are we really going to keep stretching that threshold, the ice caps are going to melt completely soon, natural disasters will surely rise and it is just my observation that there are many earthquakes and tsunamis since we hit the 21^st century. It is really getting hotter with every passing year, there are really no bountiful rains as countries around the world dependant on the rains suffer this year more than they did in many years, and trust me, the way in which we are all going, it’s only going to get worse.

Encroachment of natural habitats of animals has created alarming issues in many areas of the world. More than 6000 species of animals and birds are considered endangered. We have managed to wipe out some of the most beautiful species of birds, animals and fish among many completely off the plane of existence and many more are in line. Indiscriminate hunting, fishing or simply killing off living creatures has become humanity’s top activities along with war, nuclear weapons and exploitation of other human beings.  

Yes we all have our excuses, the farmers will say that we have to use fertilizer and kill off the soil quickly so that just this year and maybe the next we will have a great harvest, otherwise what sense does it make to put so much pressure on agricultural land? More and more lands are created that are barren, that have nothing left to give to the farmer simply because we have been asking for too much too often. 

I am from a small town and I remember that there were a lot many more vegetables that would come in from small villages around town back when I was a kid. Fresh natural produce that was always reliable, now days I really wonder where those people are and what they are doing, because they don’t really sell as much anymore, in fact on my trips back home, I hardly see them anymore. Industrial farms with huge yields use chemicals to ripen fruits, vegetables and even enhance the taste of farm produce; I wonder how safe that really is for us in the long run. Nutrition is also another issue to look at as I really don’t think eating potatoes, meat, and cabbage and soy beans will make for a very good regular diet.

The process of degradation has started in so many places, we are but blind to it. On your next visit to a major city, go by train and look at the outskirts of the city. Rocky and barren terrains and more construction have replaced whatever greenery that was around it, I’m sure of this. If that does not convince you, hitch a ride to the nearest industrial area near you and look at the horror created there in the name of progress.

We have masked our destruction of the environment with requirements and progress. Go visit any dam or hydroelectric project anywhere in the world, diverting rivers that have been flowing the same path for eons, creating unnecessary reserves of water instead of allowing the natural flow and displacing ecosystems without proper rehabilitation is something that we do proudly in the name of development. It gets worse with the poor countries as the exploitation is just immense, a complete disregard for the environment and its well being.

So yea, happy earth day people, hope more people will realize that we must all chip in to conserve in the smallest ways possible to save our home. Everyone needs to realize that we have to conserve to prosper as a race, we all have to think about the environment if we want to survive. We must live in harmony with the earth not look to destroy it so that we can use it for a short time, what will you do when the waters of the rivers run dry, the cattle all die out and the trees are all brought down to the ground? What will you do when the air is poisoned, the heat unbearable and the land toxic? This is our home, we must all help clean it up, there won’t be much left to save if we don’t all act soon.