The ecosystem is built in a way that everyone can survive and thrive. The recent shifts in population and professions have put a lot of pressure on nature to produce more than she can. Yet, nature is yielding, she does whatever she can, taking a loan from the upcoming years, promising that she will give signals to mankind to repay simply by saving some essential resources.
Mankind is broadly looting nature and yet whatever good we try to do has its repercussions. Solar lighting is a great idea, a great relief for coal, yet the dry, arid, and abandoned lands classified as deserts are supposedly wasted land being put to good use. However, this wasteland is home to species that are found in no other ecosystems. Birds that cannot fly, for example, the Great Indian Bustard, crash into huge solar panels and cannot escape predators.
When we fell forests and plant new ones instead, we do not realize we have killed endemic trees that no one knew about, that no one can recreate and we lose out on something precious without getting to know the loss.
Industries are getting better at waste management, yet there are chances of waste being released into water, air, and soil. All three take a long time to recuperate and build again. At the rate of expansion, nature is failing to keep up and species of birds, animals, trees, aquatic creatures, and bacteria are dying out completely not to forget the problems humans face like asthma, Minamata or even small little things like allergies and intolerances are due to man-induced pollution.
We may not be able to do much at a global level, but when each individual does something for their home, it is as good as doing something for the world. Putting off the water as we brush or wash our face, planting one or two trees, investing in some house plants, taking care of animals around us, and spending some time with nature to understand how she speaks will go a long way.
There are also some movements that we can join in our spare time if they respond to our calling. The government is taking up river cleaning projects, Isha Ashram has taken up ‘Save Soil’ at a large scale, Kanha Shantivanam is creating ‘Forests by Heartfulness,’ rainforests in arid regions, and agencies for saving animals, like Wildlife SOS and Voice Of Stray Dogs. The movements with collective force are doing so well. If we really care for our environment, for our future, we can lend our hand to sow one tree at a time, save one millimeter of our soil, save the waters of our life-sustaining rivers and live life in tune with nature.
Every year, Environment Day comes as a wake-up call to do something for the environment. On a positive note, many humans are already a part of the green tribe, but every year, more must join to make the environment a successful project. It is sad that species that ruled the earth like magnificent tigers have to be kept in conservation areas. It is a shame that majestic creatures like elephants and rhinos are dying gory deaths for their keratin and calcium. It is a pity that humans have lost out on so many medicinal trees in the past years. With each animal, an ecosystem disappears, with each tree numerous life forms disappear. We need to understand from nature, that life is dependent and interconnected, if we try to be independent of the environment, we will see the results very soon. The Earth has taken millions of years to prepare itself for life and we are destroying it in just a span of hundred years. In the words of former US President Barrack Obama, ‘We are the first generation to see the effects of climate change and the last to do something about it.’ We have only one Earth, it's time we move towards a green lifestyle to save our mother, our source, and our nourisher.