Awadh Raj  Singh 

      Circle Organiser 
      Kalaktang Circle 
         Bomdila Area 

MOTHER EARTH IS FEVERISH

With the Industrial revolution in the 19th century the world broke
into a canter and in the last two and half centuries it is galloping at
break neck speed. This unprecedented growth has not been achieved
without a cost. Pursuit of materialism through industrial growth
produced a by product which has started to alter the furnishings in the
home which god had given to all living beings.

Our quest for innovation and inventions to make human life

easier and comfortable has led to rapid emissions of various green
house gases like carbon-dioxide, methane and nitrous oxide in the
atmosphere causing the atmospheres blanket to thicken and thus
preventing the rays of the sun from being radiated back ,causing the
heat to get entrapped in this process, thus raising the earth’s average
temperature.
Man accelerated the speed of his growth and development by
powering his factories & home using global resources, faster than ever
before. Each nation vied with each other to be faster, stronger &
higher be it in industrialization, militarization or the luxury of air
conditioned homes and energy guzzling instruments.

Human beings powered themselves through the last two

hundred years by generating various forms of energy through the
consumption of fossil fuels like coal & petroleum products. As a result
the concentration of Green House gases(GHG) has increased by about
40% from the preindustrial times. To make matters worse the
increasing global population has led to increased land use for
agriculture ,urban & rural settlements, deforestation , denudation of
natural resources thus inducing localized changes in climate weather
patterns but with the belching of the GHG in the sky - the threat is
global.
What are the visible changes that we see and hear?

• Temperatures across the globe are rising with the 1990s being the
warmest decade in the last thousand years.
• Sea surface temperatures have increased 0.4-0.8°C (0.7-1.4°F)
since the late 19 Century, and over the period 1961 to 2003, global
ocean temperature has risen by 0.10°C (0.18°F) from the surface
to a depth of 700 m.

• There has been an increase in heat waves, permafrost is melting,

glaciers are retreating and sea ice is decreasing .
• Sea levels have risen 10–20 cm and there is increased heavy
rainfall in some regions, and less in others.
• Epidemics of weather and climate-sensitive infectious diseases
such as malaria and meningitis will have a devastating effect

Closer home we see that ……..

• There are extreme temperatures and frequent heat spells over
Northern India, in summer and cold waves in winter often
causing loss of human life.
• The monsoons have become irregular, the snow line has
retreated, thus posing a great threat to people in India who are
dependent for their fresh water needs on the Himalayan
catchment area and their glaciers flash floods , cloud bursts
Floods and inundation have become common phenomenon.
• Climate change would adversely impact our food security
because Increased temperatures reduce the total duration of a
crop cycle by inducing early flowering.
• A trend of sea level rise of 1 cm per decade has been recorded
along the Indian coast. Sea level rise due to thermal expansion of
sea water in the Indian Ocean is expected to be about 25-040 cm
by 2050causing inundation of low lying areas, down coastal
marshes and wetlands, erode beaches, exacerbate flooding and
increase the salinity of rivers, bays and aquifers. Already a few
islands in the Sunderban delta have been lost.
• Further the Loss of coastal mangroves will have an impact on
fisheries. Large populations reliant on riverine resources will be
 affected by changes in water regimes, salt water intrusions and
land loss.
• On the health front rise in temperature and change in humidity
will adversely affect human health in India. Heat stress could result
in heat cramps, heat exhaustion, heat stroke, and damage
physiological functions, metabolic processes and immune
systems. Increased temperatures can increase the range of vector
borne diseases such as malaria, dengue, meningitis in regions
where minimum temperatures currently inhibit pathogen and vector
development.

The Scientific community says that we have reached a stage

where nature is providing us the last chance to rectify our
mistakes . If corrective measures are not taken now then the
point of no return will be reached and the man of today shall be
held guilty of destroying mankind.

How can humankind fight climate change? It's no use opposing

Nature-but we can reduce pollution and other adverse environmental
effects brought about by humankind.

We are morally obliged towards all living things and human

beings in particular to preserve mother earth so that they can see
the light of day or else God is going to ask us what we did with
the earth he created.

A way in which every individual can contribute to

reduce GHG impact……..
Livestock is just one factor in climate change but it accounts for
9% of CO2, 37% of methane which is twenty five times more potent in
its green house gas properties and 35% of Nitrous oxide emissions -
which makes it the second or third most significant polluter.

Methane emissions cause nearly half of the planet’s human-

induced warming and the number one source worldwide is animal
agriculture, producing more than 100 million tons of methane a year.
About 85% of this methane is produced in the digestive processes of
livestock, and while a single cow releases a relatively small amount of
methane, the collective effect on the environment of the hundreds of
millions of livestock animals worldwide is enormous.
 Global meat consumption has increased fivefold in the past fifty
years and the consumption of meat in India is on the rise with the
rising middle class .

Meat production, contributes not only to greenhouse gas

emissions but also to deforestation by over grazing and usage of arable
land for marinating and feeding livestock, increased water
consumption(100000 litre of water is required to produce I kg meat)
and water pollution .

Even the cooking of animal protein takes about twenty times more
energy in form of fossil fuel .

A conscious shift in consumption pattern towards vegetarianism will

lead to definite reduction in the emission of green house gases and
give mother earth a chance to recover. This is the most humble gift
that everyman is capable of giving to mankind.

“Let us be the change we want to see in the world”