While the indifferent have lived pretty happily till now, quite ignorant of the damage their apathy has lead to, it will no longer be possible. Part of the reason why common people ( let me define 'common' as people having access to basic education and a basic standard of living) have been able to ignore the environmental implications of their actions has been that they have been insulated from it. Lining one's home with wood when it wasn't really required, not bothering to relocate and rehabilitate cut trees, wasting water, avoiding pollution checks for one's vehicle, buying that shahtoosh shawl when the conservationists were crying themselves hoarse about the endangered species- none of these actions meant that your house would be hit by a tsunami, or your neighbourhood will become extra polluted or suddenly waterless or inhabitable. But, now very soon things will have to change.
I'm saying this because the nature has started retaliating. Of course we can develop newer technology to defend ourselves. But my point is that increasingly, it'll become a fighting race. I wonder if anyone has noticed the kind of smog we've experienced this winter. I agree that one always feels that the current situation is the worst ever, but this time many weather monitoring bodies like CSE (Centre for Science & Environment) agree with me and point out that the RSPM (respirable suspended particulate matter) levels seem to be much higher than they were three years back in the windless winter days. The cause of this is the increased vehicular pollution; the burning of dry leaves and waste in the winters, the continued clearing of trees in the Capital for the Commonwealth games. For instance visit the area near Gargi College, where a wooded area has been cleared ruthlessly, so much so that the road adjacent to it is carpeted with dust now. The list goes on.
What this has caused is amply clear. Respiratory problems have been on a rise, and the Delhiite (the story holds for other cities too) who has already suffered at the hands of ever-choked killer roads, now has the added disability of not being able to see clearly in the thick smog! I speak from personal experience. Travelling Noida to Delhi in the morning and back at night, to and from work is a necessity for my family and the horrors we (and our co-commuters) faced in the first few days of January must be shared. The visibility was as low as 25 metres sometimes and due to the added truck-traffic in these hours, the commute was indeed a trial by fog. Just imagine you are in your car on a usually busy road and all you see through your windscreen is white smoky layers of smog. We saw how unnervingly easy it was for a disastrous accident to happen and indeed many fatal collisions occurred. And this is just one instance of our lives being directly affected by the way we treat our environment.
Consider the Mumbai floods of 2005. It was not only the antiquated and poorly managed drainage system which was to blame, the steady degradation, reclamation and habitation of important mangrove areas and land-sea bridge areas in the Mahim creek was a major reason. What's pitiful is that very few people even spoke about it while they were losing their breath over criticising the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation for the poor drainage infrastructure. This is alarming because this loss of the Mithi river and Mahim creek mangrove area had already reached a rate of 40% from 1995 to 2005; apathy will ensure that an even higher percent of the essential eco-drainage systems will be lost.
What is most important is that we speak to all we know about these issues, their causes and the need to put a stop to our ignorant plundering. And more importantly, put a stop to our plundering, careless, polluting ways!
The Author is an executive member of the Website Team of DevelopmentChannel.org
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