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Rampant destruction of nature has put a question mark on the survival of organisms on our beautiful planet. The damage on nature has largely been inflicted by human beings, who are just 0.01 per cent of all living organisms by mass. Apart from causing global warming, humans have virtually harmed half of the plants and 83 per cent of wild animals. In their quest for better life, humans are inviting troubles like floods, landslides, droughts, contagious diseases, etc. One of the crucial examples of our apathetic attitude towards nature is the failure to minimise the use of fossil fuels in spite of the growing concerns about global warming. It seems all the moves to restrict the use of fossil fuels exist only on paper. On the contrary, India received flak from other nations for promising to switch over to electric vehicles by 2025. Similar is the case regarding carbon emission, another aspect that is causing global warming. Even after so many treaties, the developed nations are still in no mood to reduce carbon emission just to save their economies. Rather, those nations are putting pressure on developing and poor nations to do so to stamp and maintain their authority over the world without realising that even the most powerful person in the world will not be able to escape nature’s fury.
As a matter of fact the destruction of nature has pushed us to a point of no return. In our everyday lives, we are witnessing the changes caused by the irresponsible behaviour of human beings. For example, Delhi does not receive heavy monsoon rains. But this year in the first 20 days of September, Delhi has recorded more rainfall than the average yearly rainfall. On the other hand, severe cyclonic storms are making frequent landfalls in the coastal areas of the country. Scientists have predicted that within a couple of years many coastal cities of India will be underwater due to global warming. Cities like Mumbai and Kolkata may get submerged sooner than expected. Such a situation could have been prevented by not indulging in massive deforestation. According to the experts, adequate green cover can absorb at least 37 per cent of carbon dioxide responsible for global warming. Today, the entire Himalayan region is witnessing repeated landslides and sudden floods.
While some effects of a disturbed nature are visible, there are many invisible effects too. The destruction is affecting human health in many ways. We are not getting healthy and nutritious diets. Many useful plants, that had nutritional as well as medicinal values have been destroyed forever in the wake of our greed. As a result, people are becoming sick both physically and mentally. They are managing the deficiencies of important ingredients in food by taking medicines. But medicines can’t be a permanent replacement for nutrients. It is for us to realise that we all will remain safe, if the planet is safe. So, actions on war-footing are needed to save the earth.