Preserve the Earth for future generations

Young people are the most valuable resources for any country. With nearly 400 million 10-24 year-olds, the largest youth population in the world, India might have an edge even over developed nations. With 74 per cent of India identifying itself as literate in the 2011 census, are we really being true to ourselves by not doing justice to this valuable resource we possess? I say this not to stand in judgment upon what we should or should not do, because this is a question everybody is asking to the point where it has become a cliché. But I want to ask you to look up from the smartphones in your hand ( hard as that may be) and care enough to keep our place habitable for the coming generations. 

Let the coming generations have the luxury of breathing in air that holds the fragrance of plants and the freshness of the early morning mist, the gratification and aesthetic appeal of beholding a scenic view, and the joy of sharing the Earth with wonderful plant and animal species. These are pleasures of life that should be preserved. They should not go extinct that future generations should not be merely reading about them in books or watching them in films and documentaries.

It is sad that the literate and sophisticated do more harm to our fragile environment than the benighted. Older generations were better off, taking care of the small things that degrade our environment because that understanding is inherent in our traditional knowledge. We, however, are stuck, eyes open, arms wide to the intensifying modernisation that has made us lose our connect with nature, so much so that we did not even take cognisance of the bird that made her nest in our ever-shrinking garden, or laid her eggs and later flew away with the hatchlings.

Thanks to improved climate change research, we know better how bleak the situation is. We are already seeing the implications of a changing climate all over the world. So ours is the generation that needs to actively make efforts which will determine the future trajectory. But if we delude ourselves by believing that if things don’t bother us directly, it doesn’t matter either, we are living in a fool’s paradise.

In this same world that we share with so many billion others, there are also people like music composer Abhishek Ray. He purchased a hill, laid bare due to deforestation, near the Corbett National Park. Using all his hard-earned wealth, he lovingly nurtured it back to its pristine self. There are also many like notorious poacher Bheema Bawaria, who gained infamy for killing at least 30 tigers across the country. Choose to lend a green hand or don’t, but desist from degrading the Earth any further. If the greens survive, we survive. In 2017, let us try to reverse climate change.

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