It is Time to Heal the Environment

Priyanka Saurabh

AFTER struggling through lockdowns, with a flood of new concerns and tensions, it’s finally time to rest. It is certain that a sign of ‘normalcy’ is to return to our wounded earth and the environment. So this is the time to celebrate World Environment Day. We should come together and work towards the betterment of this planet.

The theme of this year’s World Environment Day is ‘Time for Nature’. To celebrate life, various species, imperatives earth supplies us free of charge. And to know this planet well, once again, we must dive into the infinite wisdom acquired through research and innovations. And once again, we must unravel the team, resolve, and work to improve the environment that frustrates us.

The coronavirus is a kind of signal in today’s time, which leads us to the beauty of nature. This gives us an indication that if we want a clean and safe climate in this way, then in the future we will have to practice for an even bigger lockdown at our level, but without viruses like Covid-19. It also indicates that if we do not respect the rights of the environment, then we have to be ready to face the brunt of pandemics like COVID-19.

Global carbon emissions from the fossil fuel industry – the fossil fuse industry – could be reduced by a record 5 percent this year to 2.5 billion tonnes. The peak of the Coronavirus epidemic has caused the biggest drop in demand for this fossil fuel. Not only this, because of the epidemic, but unprecedented restrictions on travel, work, and industries have also ensured good days with good quality air even in our crumbling cities. In this sequence, the pollution and greenhouse gas emission levels have fallen in all continents.

The coronavirus epidemic has caused a global decrease in economic activity, although this is a major cause for concern, the reduction of human activities does have a positive effect on the environment. Now see, these days the number of industrial and transport emissions and waste generation has come down and the average data is working to clear the pollutants in the atmosphere, soil, and water. This effect is also in contrast to carbon emissions, which rose to 5 percent after the global financial crash a decade ago.

The month of May, which typically records peak carbon emissions due to leaf decomposition, recorded what the minimum levels of pollutants in the air could be after the 2008 financial crisis. Not only India, but China and Northern Italy have also recorded a significant reduction in nitrogen dioxide levels in their country. As a result of the lockdown, there has been a tremendous improvement in the Air Quality Index in major cities of the world in March and April. The quality of air has improved substantially due to the formation of carbon dioxide (III 2), nitrogen oxide (Hr &), and related ozone (Hr 3) and reduced factory and road traffic emissions in particulate matter. At the same time, water bodies are also being cleaned and rivers like Yamuna and Ganga have shown very significant improvements since the implementation of a nationwide lockout.

In this situation, when all nations are almost shut in the shadow of the coronavirus, better implementation of environmental, transport and industry regulations have proved useful in reducing the hormonal effects of human activities on the environment, although such developments have led to global production. , Have given huge economic and social shocks in consumption and employment levels, but issues like air pollution and a significant reduction in greenhouse gas emissions are also related to this, so as long as the coronavirus crisis continues to reduce economic activity, carbon emissions are relatively Will be less If seen, this is a big and sustainable environmental improvement.

Deaths due to exposure to air pollution at the global level are almost equal in proportion to epidemics with 7 million deaths every year.

There should be a wake-up call in India to overcome this problem. Yes, although the method of lockdown is not an ideal way to reduce air pollution, in the present condition it proves that air pollution is man-made and now we have also come to know that we are the only people who reduce pollution can do. The current coronavirus crisis is giving India opportunities to invest in a clean energy future, we have to capitalise on this opportunity. Short-term climate pollutants – including black carbon, methane, hydrofluorocarbons, and tropospheric ozone – are all-powerful climate cancers that promote global warming. They also significantly affect food, water, and economic security for large populations around the world. The effects of short-term climate pollutants represent a major development issue that seeks quick and significant global action, reducing short-term climate pollutant emissions. Mitigation measures are often accessible and cost-effective, and if implemented quickly, can prove to be immediately beneficial to the health and livelihood of millions of people along with the climate.

Through science on climate change, we have failed to recognise the danger to the public, which has led to the widespread denial of facts. The loss of habitat and biodiversity creates conditions for deadly viruses spreading in human communities and diseases such as Covid-19 and if we continue to destroy our land, we will also destroy the necessary resources we have, and thereby Our agricultural systems will also get a deep push.

There is no doubt that the drastic steps taken on climate change can reduce food and water shortages, natural disasters, and sea-level rise, thereby ensuring the safety of countless individuals and communities. is. Around the world, healthy people are changing their lifestyles to protect more sensitive people in their community. Similar dedication to climate change can drastically change our energy consumption.

In general – digging up fossil fuels, cutting forests, and igniting health for profit, convenience, and consumption – is fueling destructive climate change. Now the time has come when precautionary steps should be taken to protect our earth by looking at the present conditions. From this perspective, the coronavirus is a symptom, a sign, that leads us to the beauty of nature. This gives us an indication that if we want a clean and safe climate like this, then in the future we will have to practice for even bigger lockdowns at our level, but without viruses like Covid-19. This indicates that if we do not respect the rights of the environment, then we have to be ready to face the brunt of pandemics like Covid-19.

Now the time has come, we need to hear the call of Mother Earth. If we have given earth the status of our mother, then we have to deal with her in that spirit. Otherwise, we have to bear the pain of the prophecy of Stephen Hawking, the greatest scientist of the modern age, and the astronomer who solved many mysteries of the universe. He believed that the days of us humans on earth are now complete. We have spent a million years here. The age of the Earth is now only two hundred to five hundred years. After this, either a comet will come from somewhere and hit it or the heat of the sun is going to swallow it or some epidemic will come and this earth will be emptied of all and everything on it.

According to Hawking, if a man has to survive for one or one million years more, he will have to take refuge on another planet except for Earth. Now, which planet will it be, it is yet to be discovered. The pace of this quest is very slow at the moment. Looking at the rapid pace of the Earth’s weather, temperature and the conditions of life here, there is no reason to not trust his prediction. But yes after lockdown the way the condition of our Earth and the surrounding climate has changed if we draw a lesson from it a lot can change.

• Author is a Research Scholar in Political Science and can be reached at:<[email protected]>

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