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Written by: Jose G

Category: Features & Fiction

Published: 10 October 2010

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Ms. Natasha Annie George

(Ms. Natasha Annie, daughter of Mr. Chacko Georgekutty (Monachen, Kuwait), Kottoor House, Kudassanad is 3rd year engineering student, Karunya University, Coimbatore.)

For many the rising of a celestial being among mortals, the exotic melodies of the birds, the opening of the heavens and the downpour that follows it, have resigned to a mere phenomena. Most of us are blind to the ethereal manifestation of which we are a significant and irresponsible part. Vested with the power to create or destroy we have chosen to exploit the vast reservoir of natures goodness. Felling of trees, driving animals out of their natural abode, killing creatures for exclusive benefits and unjustified claiming of land has now lost its virulent character and has assumed a maniac behaviour that checked by none.

When woken up from a delusional state of perfection we are faced by several taunting issues. Allow me to illustrate the atrocities of man. Below are case studies on pollution. Pollution is simply the presence of unwanted and undesirable components in the environment. Excessive amount of anything natural or artificial that affects the subtle balance of nature is labeled a "pollutant".

 This is a case study of the River Damodar as reported in Down to Earth. The Damodar River originates near Chandwa village in the Chhotanagpur hills in Bihar's Palamau district. It flows through one of the richest mineral belts in the world before draining into the Hooghly about 50 km south of Kolkota. Indian industry depends heavily on this region as 60% of the coal consumed in our country comes from the Chhotanagpur belt. Coal-based industries of all types dot the area because of locational advantages and the easy availability of water and power. In addition, various industries such as steel, cement, fertilizer and explosive plants are also located here. The River Damodar is polluted with minerals, mine rejects and toxic effluents. Both its water and its sand are infested by coal dust and waste from these industries. There are seven thermal power plants in the Damodar valley. The states of Bihar and West Bengal depend almost entirely on this area for their power requirements. These power plants not only consume a lot of water but also dump ash in the valley yet another case study.

One of the most terrifying effects of pesticide contamination of groundwater came to light when pesticide residues were found in bottled water. Between July and December 2002, the Pollution Monitoring Laboratory of the New Delhi-based Center for Science and Environment (CSE) analyzed 17 brands of bottled water, both packaged drinking water and packaged natural mineral water, commonly sold in areas that fall within the national capital region of Delhi. Pesticide residues of organochlorine and organophosphorus pesticides, which are most commonly used in India, were found in all the samples. One may wonder as to how these pesticide residues get into bottled water that is manufactured by several big companies. This can be traced to several facts. There is no regulation that the bottled water industry must be located in 'clean' zones. Currently, the manufacturing plants of most brands are situated in the dirtiest industrial estates or in the midst of agricultural fields. Mos

t companies use bore-wells to pump out water from the ground from depths varying from 24-152 m below the ground. The raw water samples collected from the plants also revealed the presence of pesticide residues.

Global warming is another cause for concern. Forget the loud proclamations that its getting hotter I exhibit certain interesting statistic that shows the change in the earth’s climatic history starting from the 19th century. Statistics show that the period 1850 to present is one of general warming. Beginning in 1935 positive anomalies in temperature started occurring, and from 1980 to 2006 most of the anomalies were between 0.20 to 0.63 degrees Celsius higher than the normal period (1951-1980) average. In the 1930s and 1950s, the central United States experience two periods of extreme drought. In the seventeen year period from 1990 to 2006, ten of the warmest years in the last 100 years and possibly since the Little Climatic Optimum have occurred. Proxy and instrumental data indicate that 2005 was the warmest year globally in 1200 years of Earth history. Many scientists believe the warmer temperatures of the 20th and 21st centuries are being caused by the human enhancement of the Earth's greenhouse effect. Today we find unexpected showers at the wrong time of the year, melting of polar icecaps and a loss in average precipitation levels.

Today, men are the most lethal pollutants in the environment. Selfish plundering can never be justified. What we don’t realise is that we need to face the consequences of our action. When we make use of this natural wealth as tools of convenience or as vehicles of a benign purpose we threaten our existence and the existence of our future generations. Ignorance is a curse, we are not warned by the obvious signs of natures wrath. The earth that I adore is dying. Gaya is shrinking into the shadows . What I fear is the thought of a fierce being resurrecting from her pyre setting out to destruction. I was born in a desert with shimmering sand dunes that stretched for miles and the rare sight of a blooming wadi at the ode of a year was the only sight of beauty that I could behold. The thought of a green earth changing into a globe of sand is terrifying.

The next time you leave a light on unnecessarily or leave the tap open "stop". You and I are parts of a huge and complicated equation and a small change can make a huge difference. Minimise the use of plastic, dispose garbage appropriately, if you find fields or marshy land that could be the perfect place for a housing do not level it ! These are precious to our wells! They maintain the ground water level. Allow trees to flourish along with men . Use public transport when possible.

What we need are more green ambassadors. Men and women who are voluntary advocates of a centuries old legacy - the treasures of the earth. People who do not cease to remember
that the air and water they enjoy now are not mere gifts that need to be used as they desire but are little parts of a precious heritage that needs to be preserved and handed down as was handed over to them. When we find our advocates we move the wheels to a revolution that will galvanise nations and replenish the environment of the elements of balance it has lost.