Oceanic and avian cataclysm

Imagine a world where the seas are without fish and sky, woods or water bodies without birds. An oceanic or avian cataclysm is right on the cards. Research conducted by the University of Halifax in Nova Scotia has prompted scientists to predict that the 'world's oceans will largely be depleted of fish by 2048'. Then a report finds that at least 157 species of birds have become extinct since 1500. Data for the 20th century are still under processing but about the disappearance of 54 species there is no doubt. In pre-historic time, one bird disappeared each century but this rate was accelerated to one bird every four years in the 17th century and one bird every other year in the 19th century.

The extinction of fish and birds is an alarming symptom. They are an important indicator of the planet's health. Fish go extinct because sea water is heavily polluted and birds disappear on account of pollution of environment. Fish are an important element in the food chain. But birds in particular are essential for pollination, seed dispersal and growth of plants and trees. Then birds and fish are related inexorably in an ecosystem where some of the species of the former live on the latter. Fish contribute substantially to human foods.

A barren ocean or forest will spell disasters for the planet Earth. It is clear that species such as these are more sensitive to environmental pollution than man. Their extinction sounds the alarm bell ringing for the human kind. And already some of the human tribes with their special languages have also disappeared. The spectre that unfolds before human society is grim. It is so because people who have power in their hands to arrest the degradation of environment are not doing enough to start the process.

In the name of development, science is being misused and priority misplaced. That environmental pollution is taking place at a faster rate than was thought previously should have triggered a far more decisive response followed by immediate actions. That has not been happening. Still states are arming themselves to their teeth and resources diverted to areas where those easily prove to be a sheer waste.

The biological catastrophe as represented by large-scale extinction of birds and fish will have a cascading effect first on plants and then on other animals and finally on the human species. The realisation that man can survive without much of the luxuries now created to the ravage of mother Nature, is yet to take place on a massive scale. It seems environment is nobody's baby. How dangerous the notion is! People are driven by the thought that their small action will not make much of a difference in the overall condition when they spoil Nature, kill a rare fish, bird or animal. But the truth is that the sum of their individual actions becomes so overwhelming that they would have shuddered if they were fully aware of the total impact. What are damaged, exploited and destroyed are not unrelated to the direct killing of the species. Either way, such actions only hasten the process of extinction of one or the other species of plants birds and animals.

In this context, consumerism and avarice have connived together to wreak havoc with the planet's environment. There indeed lies the key to saving the planet from heating up and going bust. If man limits his luxury and comfort to a reasonable level, it will give the Earth enough breathing space to replenish. Once, highly desirable fashion, albeit bizarre, of wearing apparels made from animal skins such as leopard now draws contempt. Similarly, many such habits and practices people now resort to can be abandoned without sacrificing look and comfort. If people are not sensitive enough, let there be appropriate laws to deal with such aberration.