QUILLS & QUESTS: WORLD ENVIRONMENT DAY: HOW IMPORTANT IS ENVIRONMENT AND CONSERVATION?

“நீர் மிகின், சிறையும் இல்லை; தீ மிகின்,

மன் உயிர் நிழற்றும் நிழலும் இல்லை;

வளி மிகின், வலியும் இல்லை”

(“Neer mikin, siraiyum illai;

Thee mikin, man uyir nizhatrum nizhalum illai;

Vali mikin, valiyum illai”)

The above verses, i.e., an extract from Ayoor Mudavanar’s poem in Puranaanooru, an ancient Tamil classical work translates as,

“If the water upsurges, there’s no bank that can contain it;

If the fire upsurges, there’s no refuge who can save living beings;

If the air upsurges, there’s nothing more valiant to stop it;”

It’s the realization that the ancient people had with regards to nature, elements of nature and environment as equal as they cherished and worshipped it. As we lose this realization about nature and environment, many mishaps happen.

But why does environment and awareness about it sound so important? Should we care about it now and immediately?

Generally, a good environment at school is important for shaping the childhood and teenage with good ethics, memories, and fundamentals of education; A healthy environment at college/ university is essential to mould the individuals to face the world after graduation individually and professionally; A collaborative and cooperative environment at workplace is crucial to have positive mental and physical health, productivity, and profits.

If such aforementioned environments where we spend few hours for couple of years should be so desirable and peaceful, the environment where we thrive for a lifetime should be more wholesome. A biophysical environment is nothing but the surroundings of an organism and/or a population comprising of both living and non – living things, and subsequently impacts the organism in aspects of living, growth, development, and evolution.

The main awakening to conserve environment lies in the following reasons:

1. We’ve only one Earth as of now to live and it has evolved over millions of years to be apt for organisms to thrive. Thus, having another earth may not be possible or can demand a lot more time.

2. Our actions don’t just affect our future generations, but also the piteous organisms apart from humans that sustain the world.

3. Nature and environment can possibly sustain itself without humans, but the converse wouldn’t be possible. (at least as of now;)
4. Every action has an equal and opposite reaction - Thus, what we do to our environment will come back to us one day in form of natural disasters like rise in sea levels, climate change, etc.

But we can still contribute to the cause of conserving environment by:

1.   A mindset change from, “What can I do for something big like this?” to, “What can’t I do, at least beginning with small steps?” and, “Why should I do?” to, “Why shouldn’t I do?”
2.   Being aware of the real scenario now and imparting the same education to people who aren’t still aware, especially children of next generation.
3.   Encouraging innovations, start - ups and enterprises that align with the Sustainable Development Goals and promoting such products and services at a larger scale.
4. Initiating at least small steps that are possible like using eco-friendly products, reducing waste, shopping for needs and not for wants, supporting recycling and reusing, etc., as environment conservation can’t be achieved by keeping it as a distinct goal to achieve but rather by making it a part of the routine and lifestyle.

Let this day, June 5 – “World Environment Day” remind us to always stay grounded to environment and conserve it, for “who we are tomorrow begins with what we do today!”.

Happy World Environment Day!

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