“Away, away, from men and towns,
To the wild wood and the downs, —
To the silent wilderness,
Where the soul need not repress its music.”
—Percy Bysshe Shelley
The land we walk on, the air we breathe, the forests in which animals thrive, the friends who surround us are all part of the ecosystem or our environment. It seems very difficult, even impossible to fathom a world where none of these beautiful gifts are present. Our very existence is shaped by the environment in which we live.
The natural environment which an ancient human lived is very different from the world a modern person lives in. In the past, the man lived in the wild- in the cradle of mother nature. He was surrounded by wild animals, unprecedented threats and diseases. He got his food and shelter from the bounty of the nature. Today, however the common man is surrounded by constructions of his own. His environment has evolved into a very complex entity. We walk the roads which lead to predestined locations and the threats that endanger us are very diverse from the ones of the past.
At this point one begins to ponder if the evolution of our environment has led to well-being of our world or not. The world has experienced innumerous scientific and social developments. This has resulted in making our life easier and convenient. We don’t have to constantly worry about the basic requirements of live. Nevertheless, these scientific developments have come with a great price. Our rivers and oceans have been polluted to such an extent that we seem to crossed the point of no return. Acres of land which were covered by ancient forests have been massacred without discrimination. The increase in carbon emission has evidently resulted in trapping of sun’s heat which has instigated global warming. A rise in global temperature has been observed for years and the poles of the planet are melting. This obviously is followed by surging ocean levels. The coastal cities will eventually be submerged if this continues.
These ramifications make us question if there is any way to protect the world and the environment in which we live in. Thankfully, there are numerous methods to undo the crisis. The most obvious way is to switch to renewable sources of energy. Solar and wind appear to be the best option. Both are present in abundance and can be strategically used to maximize the output. Imposing heavy taxes on usage of fossil fuels is a promising way to lead large industries and factories to start using eco-friendly energy. On our level we can do the things that we have been taught since primary classes. i.e., to reduce, reuse, recycle, refuse. Close the tap while brushing, don’t waste water- the list goes on endlessly. The weirdest thing is that we have been hearing about all these small steps we can take to not waste the resources, yet very few of us actually do any of the stuff we are taught. The probable reason is that most of us never had to suffer or struggle to get a clean glass of water, so we don’t realize how important a single drop of water can be for the less fortunate ones.
We can talk for hours about how our steps can revolutionize the world but things are easier said than done. Today’s world is soaked with so much corruption that all efforts to do something for the nature sound futile. The selfishness of the rich and powerful crushes the will of the people who actually care about the world.
The way we treat our environment reflects the type of environment we grew up in. What type of parents we had, how our friends behave, what methods our teachers use to teach us- all shape who we are as a person. All these values we learn from our environment decide our future actions.
All the things we discussed above answers some questions as well as raises some new ones. The very definition environment is malleable- it changes with time, location, climate, culture, the people. But the most important thing to remember is that the environment we live in has the power to change us, and we have the power to change our environment.
Aishwarya Says:
I have always been against Glorifying Over Work and therefore, in the year 2021, I have decided to launch this campaign “Balancing Life”and talk about this wrong practice, that we have been following since last few years. I will be talking to and interviewing around 1 lakh people in the coming 2021 and publish their interview regarding their opinion on glamourising Over Work.
If you are interested in participating in the same, do let me know.
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We are also running a series Inspirational Women from January 2021 to March 31,2021, featuring around 1000 stories about Indian Women, who changed the world. #choosetochallenge