We have just celebrated the World Environment Day on the 5th of June. Lots of seminars and functions were held on this occasion. Large environment-friendly messages were printed in leading newspapers. Well, there are lot many reasons for saving environment. I know my readers would not be interested in learning them once again. What I am going to say now is a different aspect of this environment awareness.
There is no doubt that humans are, at this time, the most dominant species on this earth. There was a time when massive creatures, the dinosaurs, roamed around the earth surface. But now, though not massive, humans do the same. And as the nature goes, he does exploit his environment to get the best out of it.
To my belief, up to a certain extent, he does have the right to do it. Just as a tiger in the jungle does have the right to kill any animal for his comfort (which for him is filling his stomach). Even if his pray is an endangered one, he cares not.
As, for humans, we too search for comforts. Now, our comforts are not just filling our stomach. We want to get a little more out of life and thus, exploit our environment to get best from it.
And thus, for the simple reason of this, we cut down trees for gaining more agricultural fields and living space, we dig up coals and oils to use them as fuels, we manipulate genes to produce better breeds and so on. Now, every such activity does have a cause behind it. We aren't doing all these for the clean sake of fun, but it's much needed to support the huge human population. We need to exist, and exist in a comfortable way.
Of course, some people (e.g. the environmentalists) do have to think of the future (as historians think of the past). They just try to find out what are we up to and jot out solutions that nobody cares to follow.
Today, humans have got the powerful tool of technology and no doubt it can clear out any difficulty coming its way. Like if the petroleum exhausts, we can still depend on solar energy and electricity. We can, very soon, hope to conceal the UV hole and lower the effect of global warming too. A whole new branch of science, called the environmental science, has been developed which aims in protecting environment. It has already being included in the curriculum list of many courses of study.
Probably the most disturbing aspect of environmental pollution is the increasing presence of toxic chemicals in natural environment. But the modern development in environmental biotechnology (also called, the Eco-Tech) has found out many processes aiming towards degradation of these chemicals. Various environmental friendly and biodegradable substances have replaced their counterparts aiming to decrease the load of pollution.
We have developed systems for waste water and sewage treatment. The introduction of these practices has shown spectacular improvement in health and well being in the developed countries. Oil spillage on large areas of earth surface and oceans were a prime concern for environment till the last few decades. But now the new technologies have come up with genetically engineered microorganisms (GEMs) that literally eat up the oil and thus save us from pollution. Many microbes have been found which help by solubilization of toxic metals (Bioleaching).
It is much clear that a great amount of existing and forthcoming Eco-tech operations should be capable of achieving maximum environmental safety. There are newer avenues opening each day. So, as long as we have science to the rescue, I feel, we have nothing to fear about.
It is the hard truth of nature that, like the dinosaur, humans would also vanish. It is positively going to happen someday, may be some thousand years later. The nature is going to play its ultimate rule! What we could do is just delay the process.
Prevention is always better than cure. So, if we try from now onwards, we could certainly lower the effort later. And this is where we need the awareness for environment protection. The World Environment Day thus serves this noble purpose.
