People’s deaf ears to Earth’s silent tears

Earth is our home or rather, it is our only home. For the last two-hundred years, we have been trying our best to conquer nature. Now, we are beating her to death. For so many years, we have seen our fellow human beings plundering Earth. Sarcastically speaking, Earth is charred beyond recognition. Despite committing so many crimes and attempting to conquer Earth, we have failed big time. It is said that ‘fighting nature is fighting one-self’ and how true it holds! Breaking nature apart to build concrete jungles has its own negative impact. What we might not realize is that for whatever we do, there is an equally forceful reaction from Nature, and those consequences we will have to suffer, and so will our posterity. Much has been said about the responsibilities we ought to fulfill to make Earth a secure planet. To begin with, one must realize the need of the hour. It has to be understood that we have to unitedly do some simple things to ensure a future for this divine planet. Natural Resources Management is the topic that needs complete attention from people globally. Here are a few things we can do to help ourselves.

1. Think effectively:  Try to visualize a condition where there is not a drop of pure water to drink, not a tree to provide shade in scorching heat, not even an edible particle of food to eat. Hard to imagine, isn’t it? This would be the condition of our exquisite planet if things continue to worsen this way. It’s time to think of a CHANGE and educate people about it.
2. Act: Simply thinking would lead us nowhere. Doing things in reality makes all the difference. For instance, we throw lavish parties and spend a lot of money on birthdays and other events. Instead, if we plant a sapling and resolve to take care of it, the world would be a greener place. Bill Gates had said, “The best time to plant a tree was twenty years ago. The second best time is right now.” So, act wise and most importantly, act immediately.
3. Water:  This simple word denotes life. Our charming planet is two-thirds water. Imagining Earth without “aqua” is next to impossible. However, this dreaded phenomenon might prove to be true if conditions continue to deteriorate. Water is the most vulnerable substance to get wasted. Whilst wasting water, think of the Arab countries for whom water is more precious and sacred than oil or gold. It is very necessary for us to understand the need to save water before Earth gets parched.
4. We must try to protect our choked atmosphere. As ordinary citizens, we wouldn’t be able to do much to improve the quality of air we inhale. We can keep in touch with authorities and fund the projects planned by the government. Join hands with NGOs and environmentalists and support with all your might.
5. Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle: Practice these simple words in your day-to-day life and see the change it brings. For instance: we can use a one-sided print-out paper to scribble our home-work or schedule. Most of us are aware of these practices, but never really implement it. Its time for us to change that mentality.

 The Earth is silently weeping… We need to roar and let others know that we care for our land. As the famous quote goes, “As people alive today, we must consider future generations. A clean environment is a human right like any other. It is our responsibility towards others to ensure that the world we pass on is as healthy as we found it.”

Author’s Bio:

Gayatri Viswanathan is a student of FYJC, Arts. She plans to pursue Law after completing her 12^th Board Exams. In her free time, she writes political satire, stories or humour poems. She has worked with Times Of India NIE for 14 months, where she learnt the art of writing and journalism. Some of her poems have been published in DNA, Navi Mumbai.

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