The World Earth Day on April 22, a mindboggling event in the fraternity of environmental awareness, has come along a long way since 1970. It is not the day only to remember and retreat the concerns related to the mother earth, rather a day connecting moments of apprehensions to applaud the existence of 4.5 billion years old earth.
Thanks to the monumental move of seventies that alerts the alarming reaction of earth to our sustenance, at least we have understood the dignity of the day and availed the occasion to aware ourselves. The peak that has been attained for exploitation of natural resources recklessly and engulfing the environmental setting for oversized-modern lifestyle reveals a degradable and frustrating nature. The day drizzles universally every year to evolve the environmental waves in everybody’s mind and soul. Having solemn visions, it comes into sight every year with different themes; this year the thrust is on climate and environmental literacy.
Much of our labour and effort have been installed to achieve a sizable literacy level in society since long back. Transformation of literacy to educated mass has been prompted upon the promising life style. But when the environmental issues come, we again go back to the baby care ABC means- the so- called literacy stage. We in billions are yet in the dark to desire in adopting an environment- friendly world.
The way our earth nourished since long is nodding down to perform the same, the reason being we lead lives outstandingly against the exploitation of the earth. Even it is late to start with the expression of anguish, the minimum movement to aware and awaken the environmental issues can be justified by the theme of initiation i.e. environmental literacy.
When environmental disorder escalates vigorously, climate change culminates crassly, natural disasters devastate demonly, we must not remain ignorant and aloof, rather we should be thoroughly vigilant on the phenomenal and frequent environmental changes. Therefore, people from every corner of the world ought to be sensitized. The practice in developing interest in this line, of course in true sense, is the environmental literacy.
Are we meeting the natural disasters in a manner what they used to experience in the sixtiesIJ Certainly not. The 1998 heat wave, 1999 Super Cyclone and 2002 severe floods, followed by 2004 tsunami in a series, have plunged down the threshold of life and livelihood of Odia people. Having accommodating a number of floods, droughts, lightening, thunder storms, heat waves and even earthquakes in every or alternate year, the people of Odisha could profoundly stand strong to tackle the cyclone Phailin in 2013 and Hudhud in 2014 successfully. Isn’t it the example of capacity building and resilience development through education and experienceIJ But how far will we sustain to survive by suppressing the severe impacts without acquiring the preventive measuresIJ The whole world is experiencing regionally or locally the same story of worst happenings of environmental degradation and climate change. In this background, reminding the remedial measures for ruining environment is absolutely a clear message that the Earth Day dissipates.
Against the most uttered word of environment and glittering base of environment curricula in academics and outdoors, can we claim the instincts of environmental intelligentsia outburst in actionIJ Had it really happened, the environmental protection would have not been in doldrums. We have the strong environmental protection law; we have pollution control boards, eminent environmental activists, environmental experts, columnists and NGOs to safeguard the earth. Where is the voice and visibility when expansion of concrete roads carves out the age old trees in thousands, mining mutilates the vast stretched vegetation, industries emanate pollutants, rivers die out in dearth of water and ground water table depletes drasticallyIJ How long do we show the substitution of deforestation by nascent plantations in files and recordsIJ What extent do we extract the ground water without letting the recharge area free from concrete junglesIJ How many days can we hide in air conditioned rooms and avail bottle water for drinkingIJ What is about the habit and habitat outsideIJ The battle between man and animal has already been started for survival. It indicates that in true sense we are illiterate about the earthly matters in tune with endangered environment.
Therefore, it is high time we had had the climate and environmental literacy spread over the human space so that we can keep our mother earth fit to serve for some more million years.
(Dr Beura teaches at PG Department of Geology, Utkal University, Bhubaneswar, Mob: 986121472, Email: debanandabeura@rediffmail.com)