WORLD ENVIRONMENT DAY – 5TH JUNE : K.G.BEHL

Every 5th of June is a day used by the United Nations to stimulate worldwide awareness of environmental issues and encourages action through the media to educate people to make this a dream planet. Seven Billion Dreams  – One Planet –  Consume with Care. Day is hosted every year by a different city with a different theme. This year it
takes its centre stage at the Expo Milano 2015 with the theme for WED (World Environment Day) –  Seven Billion Dreams  – One Planet – Consume with Care. Since planet is one the dreams need to be visualized and consumed with care so that those could be materialized for the benefit of all.  Pinch of heat is already being perceived all over the world and so also the change in weathers and scientists are trying to find out where the balance has gone wrong so that suitable corrections could be applied to stop the probable disasters which mankind may face.  Of course saving the ozone layer by reducing use of elements which destroy that layer is one of the essential things on which scientists
are devotedly working to find some alternate. World Environment Day aims to raise awareness about the impact of climate change on small islands states around the world. There’s also much to be learned from these countries, which have overcome a number of environmental problems with only limited resources. Environment literally means surroundings and as such includes all the items which surround us and directly or indirectly affect our lives, and make our surroundings beautiful or worse to live on this Earth. It essentially includes Air to breathe, Water to drink
and food to eat and utilize other  items for different chores of our day to day life. It includes Planet Sun which provides us light and heat so essential for not only human beings but for  so many other species in and around the Earth.  The Biosphere around us conserves and protects us from the cosmic and other harmful rays. All those
things which we create around us to live like houses, roads, drains, markets, schools, industries etc.  go to constitute our environment. It needs to be preserved in a fashion that the ecological balance needed for conserving biodiversity, so very essential for all living beings, is not disturbed. One has to be very careful because by touching one aspect some other gets disturbed and as such it has to be done in a manner that the ecological balance is maintained. Where ever people have exceeded the limits disasters have been faced. The most important element of our environment are
Trees which  are a boon to the living beings and are the very basis of providing oxygen, without which the living beings just cannot survive. Besides this there are very many uses of trees which include providing greenery, shade from Sun and rain, food, fruits, oils, clothing, housing, water, medicines, conservation, checking erosion of
earth, providing different kind of  wood for furniture and other purposes, attracting a variety of Flora and Fauna to please man kind. They provide   accommodation and shelter to animals in their trunks, roots and shade provided by the leaves.. There are 30 odd uses of tree in which they help living beings besides the humans. Trees which are a
boon to the man kind are being cut ruthlessly and it is no wonder that air pollution is on the increase day by day as the very source of getting natural pure oxygen is being destroyed. This is where we do not realize the importance of trees and invite troubles for ourselves through natural disasters. So, do not cut any tree but if, per force, you have to cut a tree for some purpose which cannot be avoided, then plant at least ten trees, in lieu of one, but ensure that all the ten saplings grow into trees after plantation. Air is also being polluted by the increase in population and
the corresponding increase in Garbage and Solid waste, number of Vehicles and their exhausts, construction of roads and buildings in place of cultivation and forests, Industrialization etc. All these activities generate heat and are warming up the Globe. In the process the glaciers are receding and the effect has been felt on the North and South poles of the Earth. As a result rise has been observed in the levels of Oceans and seas and some of the low Coastal  places fear submersion in near future. Another thing which is haunting the man kind is the Global Warming caused by widening of the hole in the Ozone Cover   in the Stratosphere (It extends from 12 to 30 km above the Earth) which protects the Earth from a variety of harmful radiations from outer space and acts like an umbrella. The Ozone layer absorbs potentially harmful UV radiations from the Sun. The main destroyers of the ozone layer are the CFCs (Choloro-fluorohydro-Carbons) and nitrogen oxides from fertilizers and air craft emissions occurring high in the troposphere where they are broken up by UV light into chlorine which has a devastating effect on ozone. The rays can cause skin cancer, damage vegetation etc. CFCs are common industrial products used in refrigeration systems, air conditioners etc. So you can imagine how much these items, which have become almost daily necessities, are spoiling the globe. It would not be a surprise if one day we may have to revert back to our earthen water coolers and mud houses which need no air conditioning to save the ozone layer from getting depleted. Scientists are working hard to find an alternative to the CFCs which  could be used for cooling in ACs, Refrigerators, aero-Planes and other machinery which may not erode Ozone layer, or should rather supplement it. This Global warming  is causing many climatic changes as change of climates observed in many countries where excessive floods, snowfalls, earthquakes, tsunami  and variety of other changes have been observed and cause lot of destruction man, material and property.
Now let us take the case of water which is another essential life saving item and without drinking which it is not possible to survive, what to say of carrying out other chores of life. To supply pure clean water for drinking is the duty and responsibility of the Govt. Three quarters of the Earth’s crust surface is water, yet the remaining one quarter does not have enough water to meet the requirements of it’s inhabitants. The water is so scarce that people
have to go miles to fetch water even for drinking and that too may not be pure.  Another thing which strikes the eye and also the nose is the Garbage found scattered all over inviting mosquitoes, flies and stray animals who  spread it further. Cleanliness of the town gets jeopardized and the plastic bags could be seen flying all over. Thin plastic bags are swallowed by the animals  which  at times chokes their intestines and becomes fatal. The human and industrial exhaust needs to be treated and should not pollute the rivers or  atmosphere. Let all of us start this World Environment day with this little resolve that we will not  carry out any activity which pollutes the environment or acts  against the dreams  of making this planet a unique place to live.

By K.G. Behl

President, All India Consumers Council, Uttarakhand