Does the human race need to slow down?
God has gifted us the beautiful planet Earth. For centuries it is home for thousands of spices and plants. Human beings are part of it and lived within this planet in harmony with ecology around him. With the passage of time he developed new tools and used them in his day to day activities. With these tools he slowly started intervention with nature and finally culminated at a point where humanity now stands on the edge of deciding between development and survival of humanity.
In the last three centuries there was rapid growth of industries. The driving force was the Industrial Revolution in Europe in the 17th century. In the name of industrialization huge acres of forests have been cleared. This has serious implication on our ecology. The flora and fauna is badly disturbed. Many breeds of species are under the threat of extinct. The conservation of wildlife has become challenging. In recent times we have seen that wild animals coming out of their fields and entering human habitations. Human intervention with nature needs be slowdown if we were to lead a happy and healthy life.
After three centuries the effects of chloro floro carbons is seen in the form of depletion of Ozone layer. The effect may be severe as the Ultra-Violet rays reach directly to the earth causing skin cancer. Also there is an increase of Green house gases emissions in the atmosphere from industrial and other effluents leading to global warming. If the present level of Global warming continues by the year 2100 it may cause serious threat to food grain production as mean temperature may rise by 3-4 degree Celsius. High temperature may cause melting of glaciers and ice caps which pose threat to the people in and around the coastal areas as the mean tide level may rise by 2-3 meters. Uneven climatic conditions persists in many parts of the world due to climatic change. It is high time that we need to curtail the present level of industrialization and in this direction the United Nations framed various accords on environmental protection.
Nature's fury may be most devastating. The devastating may be more severe if it is caused by earthquake. In the last century various dams have come up on major rivers for storing water. These concrete dams have put pressure on the tectonic plates beneath the earth increasing the chances of earthquake.
Indiscriminate use of chemical fertilizers has tremendously increased and this had serious implications on the soil fertility. It is time that we adopt scientific methods in soil reclamation and use the age old traditional eco friendly organic fertilizers so that food grain production is not hampered.
Bio-technology is the latest advent in the field of agriculture. Genetically modified crops are being dumped into the market without full scale clinical tails which may lead to genetic disorders. This new branch of science needs full scale laboratory tests before applying on humans.
Of late stress is given on conservation of environment and there is increased talk of cleaner energies such as nuclear energy. It has its own merits and de-merits. It may at times be most devastating. History is a witness of its serious implications. Humanity had to think twice before coming to any final conclusion on such crucial issues relating to nuclear plants in and around human habitations.
With the development of new technologies such as information and communication technology human life has seen a revolutionary change. There is large scale release of radiations into the atmosphere from electronics and electrical devices. It has a serious implication on human health and issues such as high blood pressure, fertility problem among men, severe nerve dis-orders have become common problems. Also, the symptoms of age related disorders have been seen at an early stage. If this situation is to be reversed we need to slowdown our activities.
Besides the above problems there are issues related with Family bonding which is slowly getting faded. The age old tradition of joint family system almost got extinct and is seen rarely. Moral values, ethics, social fabric, brotherhood, are the distinct features of Indian heritage, culture and tradition. The Vedas, Upanishads, Gita are all traits of great works of our saints. An insight into them may help us relieve from mental, physical and others problems. In this fast era the words of Swami Dayanada Saraswati -"go back to vedas" are worth praising and should be followed to know what we have lost in the name of development. If the present level of development continue a day may come wherein we may end up fighting for basic needs such as food shelter and water.
Srinivas
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