World Environment Day 2023: Challenge to save the deteriorating environment

At present, environmental pollution is the biggest global problem. It has been felt for three decades that the biggest problem at the global level is related to the environment. Due to the increasing interference in nature due to human activities, many natural resources have been destroyed on the earth. Modern lifestyle, lack of trees and plants on the earth, dreadful form of environmental pollution, merciless exploitation of nature by humans, etc. are causing a terrible gap of imbalance between humans and nature. We are now constantly experiencing the growing threat of climate change and polluted environment. That is why ‘World Environment Day’ is celebrated every year on 5th June all over the world for the purpose of protection and conservation of the environment. The day was announced by the United Nations General Assembly and the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) in Stockholm on 16 June 1972 to bring political and social awareness towards the environment at the global level and the first World Environment Day was celebrated on 5 June 1974. Was.

Although agreements had started in Europe, America and African countries since the 1910s regarding the protection of environment and proper exploitation of nature, but in the last few decades, many countries of the world have signed agreements like Kyoto Protocol, Montreal Protocol, Rio Conference regarding this. Many multinational agreements have been signed. The governments of most of the countries seem concerned about the environment, but amidst the concern of the environment, some countries have been making changes in the policies of environmental protection in view of their interests. Not only humans, but every living being on earth has to bear the brunt of the polluted environment. Because of playing with nature on a large scale, the giant forests of the world have started burning every year, due to which, apart from the loss of trillions of rupees to the global economy, many species of rare animals and plants are also burnt to ashes in the fierce fire. During the lockdown in the Corona period, improvement in the environmental situation was seen all over the world, which showed that if we wish, the environmental situation can be improved to a great extent, but in the absence of strong will, the expected steps regarding environmental protection are not being taken. are not picked up. The continuous rise in temperature and worsening weather patterns not only in India but globally has become a matter of great concern.

There are many discussions and concerns about dealing with climate change, various resolutions are also repeated, but due to the blind desire for comfort and resources, increase in GDP, uncontrolled industrial development and pressure to create more and more employment opportunities. Due to this, such discussions and concerns become meaningless. In my book ‘Pollution Free Breath’, I have explained in detail how important it is to understand the hidden signs and the silent language of nature behind the natural events of upheavals that are happening on earth. In the race of modernization and industrialization, we have violated the ethical limits of nature at every moment and all this is the result of human excesses with nature, the dire consequences of which are in front of us.

Due to human activities, the mixture of carbon monoxide, nitrogen, ozone and particulate matter pollution in the atmosphere has reached such a dangerous level that we are getting the gift of incurable diseases through breathing. Whether it is the discharge of sewerage into clean water bodies, or the discharge of acidic waste from industrial units into the rivers, or the poison in the atmosphere due to long queues of vehicles crawling on the roads, or the air from stubble burning in the fields despite strict court orders. Thousands and millions of tons of smoke dissolves in the air, our eyes do not open until the great havoc of nature does not break on us. The smoke generated from petrol and diesel has increased the amount of carbon dioxide and green house gases in the atmosphere to dangerous levels. Trees and plants have been playing an important role in balancing the environment by absorbing carbon dioxide, but in the last few decades, forest areas have been converted into concrete forests on a large scale. The temperature of the earth is increasing continuously, as a result of which the ice in the polar regions is melting, due to which there is a possibility of submerging many cities of the world due to the increase in the water level of the seas.

Nature has been continuously warning us by showing its formidable form in the form of storms, earthquakes, droughts and famines, that if we continue to exploit nature’s resources like this, then what will be the picture of our future. Despite seeing nature’s fierce form many times, by ignoring these warnings of nature, we are inviting our own destruction. If we look at the growing global problem of environmental pollution around the world, then it is clear that we probably do not want to do anything beyond expressing global concern in the name of dealing with climate change. It has been told in the book ‘Pollution Free Breath’ that due to the wavering of the balance of the environment, people all over the world are getting trapped in the trap of various kinds of terrible diseases, their fertility is being affected, their efficiency is also affected by it. Has been A major part of people’s earning is spent on the treatment of diseases. Nature is like our mother, who provides us many valuable things from her natural treasure, but due to our selfishness, if we have started making the mistake of considering ourselves as the master of nature, then how can we blame nature for natural devastation? can?

– Yogesh Kumar Goyal

(The author is a senior journalist and expert on environmental affairs and has written a popular book on environment ‘Pollution Free Breath’)