I can make a difference!
An old man, who regularly went for early morning by the beachside, always noticed a young man picking up starfish and filling them into sea. One day he asked him why he was doing this. The young man answered that started starfish would die, if left to the mercy of the sun. ``Butt there are so many beaches and so many fish,’’ countered the old man. ``how can your efforts are make any difference?’’ They young man looked at the starfish in his hand threw it to the safety of the waves. `` Yeah, it makes a di9fference to this one,’’ he said. Each one of us can make a difference to our environment. The famous actor Amitabh Bachchan emphasized this fact at the 2008 IIFA Awards in Bangkok and asked pointedly.
*If not earth where? *If not now –when? *If not you –who?
Mother earth
Food, clothing and shelter are the basic needs of all human beings. Mother earth provides us with these basic necessities. Yet in return, we often make it dirty and misuse its resources.
Earth in the danger-global warming
Just like the glassy roof of a greenhouse traps the heat of the sun and keeps the plants warm, carbon dioxide gas in the earth’s atmosphere works as a covering sheath to keep the earth warm. This is called the greenhouse effect. But this effect has been disturbed due to too many greenhouse gases (carbon –dioxide, methane and nitrous oxide) being given off into the atmosphere. This has result in over –heating of the earth. Exhausts from vehicles, waste from industries and deforestation are some of the main causes of excess greenhouse gases in the atmosphere.
An increase in the overall temperature of the earth is called warming. Global warming is causing the polar ice caps to melt, resulting in a rise in the sea level. According to a newspaper report-Indian seas are rising at a rate of 2.5 mm per year due to global warming. This can harm over 7 million people living along the costal areas in the next 50 years.
Acid rain
Smoke and other air-polluting gases mix with water in their air and produce acid rain. For example, acid rain caused by the poisonous gases from Mathura refinery situated near Taj has decolorized the white marble of the Tajmahal.
Pollution
Addition of harmful substances into the environment is called pollution. The substances which cause pollution are called pollutants. Pollution is a serious environmental problem of modern times. Air pollution is caused due to smoke from factories, vehicles, burning of coal and dry leaves. It causes acid rain, drought and various diseases in living beings. Water pollution is caused when household and industrial wastes are released into water sources. It kills millions of aquatic plants and animals. Soil pollution is caused when many harmful substance get added to soil. It reduces the growth of crops.