June 30, 2013: Monsoon, which has been the lifeline of this country for ages, suddenly turned hostile wreaking havoc in many places in northern India. Such was the magnitude of nature’s fury that Uttarakhand got completely devastated. Even the famous shrine of Lord Shiva and one of the 12 jyotirlingas faced the brunt of the tragedy, the temple remained intact. What do we call this? It is time to be honest and admit that this catastrophe was nature’s revenge for our acts of omission and commission of tampering with nature, exploiting it indiscriminately and taking it casually. Interestingly, the calamity struck barely a few days after we had gone through the annual ritual of celebrating World Environment Day.

The message has been loud and clear: Do not try to fool nature. Paying lip service will not do any good and it is time nature is taken seriously. If a study of the World Bank is to be believed, the inconvenient truth about the climate change can no longer be dismissed as scaremongering. The report sends gloomy forebodings, suggesting India might have to pay a heavy price for callous disregard of nature and face such disasters every 10 years. Our food production, which largely depends on monsoon, may witness a heavy decline, and if the mean temperature increases by even two per cent, the water level of rivers like Brahmaputra and Ganga may fall drastically, affecting food security of a large section of our population. What is needed is serious concern and not popular rhetoric.

Environmental activism in our country is more of a fashion. It needs to become a passion. And the solution lies in strict laws, serious activism and popular participation. One of the villains of the entire episode has been unplanned urbanisation. Unscrupulous realtors have contributed significantly to the rise in mean temperature, not only by high-rise buildings that drain ground water thus forcing the water table to fall, but also by absorbing heat of the sun and raising the atmospheric temperature. Further, the emissions of chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) through air conditioners and refrigerators have added to carbon emissions. The realty sector has to be regulated, particularly in smaller cities which are witnessing chaotic urbanisation. The carbon emissions must be cut if the mean temperature is to be brought down. It is to be understood that nature’s carrying capacity is being challenged to unbearable limits.

The problem is not with human needs. The problem lies with human greed which has brought us to such a pass. The answer then can be found in Mahatma Gandhi’s words: “Earth can provide enough to satisfy everybody’s need, but not enough for even one person’s greed.” The situation has become alarming because we are looking for commerce everywhere. And one final thing — nature and God are one. The unscathed Shiva temple at Kedarnath is a glowing example of this fact.

Source: The Pioneer, DT. June 30, 2013.