• The most important live resource is a man. If we concentrate on this ‘man’ what is more important? His Health or Wealth? The simple reply is both’, because men want both. But the well-known maxims like health is wealth, sound mind in a sound body, point out that the health is more important Yet it seems that the people take more care of wealth than the health. Many lose their health and life in a race for the wealth. The growing industrialization is also a race for the wealth. It has brought many hazards and threats to its creator a man himself? Health of people is day by day worsening and it seems that the wealth is constantly challenging the health.
• The great philosopher E.E. Schumacher explains, ‘In the excitement over unfolding of his scientific and technical power, modern man has built a system of production that ravishes nature and type a system of production that ravishes nature and type of society that mutilates man. The development of production and the acquisition of wealth have become the highest goals of the modern world in relation to which all other goals have come to take second place.
• The mad concept of wealth and growth is explained by Jay Forrester in the following words:
• If the developed countries continue to increase their demand for material goods as hither to, life on earth may come to a horrible end around 2070, owing to either massive starvation or fatal levels of pollution, for the affluent countries are spending themselves to destruction in a mad pursuit of growth that has ceased to have any meaning for them.
• In
an Agenda of Science for Environment and Development into 21st
Century, Maurice F. Strong, Secretary General, UNCED writes – “Mankind is in
the process of over whelming nature. And there is a penalty we must all pay for
our domination of the natural world upon which we have always depended
absolutely…. We are forced more and more to take up the burden of being
responsible for its survival forever…. Instead of being a minor guest at the
Earth’s table. The human species is on the way to consuming the whole feast and
we are in danger of being forced into a partnership with nature to provide the
feast forever. We must not turn the gift of nature into a Faustian bargain.”
Justice
K. Ramsawami of our Supreme Court, begah his landmark judgement (1995) on
asbestosis with the following words;
“Occupational
accidents and disease remain the most appalling human tragedy of modern
industry and one of its most serious forms of economic waste”
World
Environment (1985), a a brochure published by Lok sabha Secretariat, New Delhi,
in 1985, throws much light on environmental problems. Its introductory opening
paragraph runs as under.
“Over
the course of ten thousand years humans have successfully learned to exploit
ecological system for substance. While ecological system are supple, they can
snap viciously when bent too far. The land’s ability to serve human ends can be
markedly and sometimes permanently snapped. Humans out of ignorance,
short-sightedness, greed or desperation have polluted air and water, undermined
the productivity of the land through accelerated soil erosion, creeping
deserts, increased flooding and declined soil fertility. They thus destroy the
basis of their own livelihood and they violate the limits of natural systems.
The principal victims of these trends are the world’s poor, who, in their quest
for food and fuel, are often, forced by
circumstances beyond their control to serve as the agents of their own
undoing”.
Worldwide
environmental issues mentioned in this
brochure are :
1.
Climatic
Changes.
2.
Risks to
Ozone Layer.
3.
Acid Rain.
4.
Pollution
of World’s Oceans.
5.
Desertification.
6.
Loss of
Tropical Forests.
7.
Soil Loss,
and
8.
Depletion
of Genetic Resources.