Have you heard about global warming? You may say- yes we have but how does it relate to us. Now the truth is that it relates to all of us. Earth is the giver and sustainer of life but humans because of their ignorance are unintentionally harming the ecological balance of earth.

Have you ever wondered that everything is interrelated; trees, plants, animals and humans, we all are connected – by life – by breath. We inhale oxygen and exhale carbon dioxide and trees inhale carbon dioxide and give us oxygen. Just think – when there won’t be trees, from where will we receive oxygen! To live, we need oxygen and oxygen comes from trees – these trees recycle the wasted poisonous carbon dioxide which we exhale. No wonder that our ancestors worshiped even trees.

Trees are part of our life and play a vital role in our day-to-day living. Look around your room – there would be enough wood around you – doors, tables, chairs, cupboard etc and most importantly your breath, which is being sanitized by trees. Just look out of your balcony or window – how many trees do you see? Most of the times you see cement jungle, buildings and more buildings, roads and more roads. Not an enthralling view! Human population has grown to alarming proportions. Need and greed for more houses and more money is the reason that agriculture lands are being changed into colonies and residential buildings. More and more green belts are being converted into modern buildings; spaces are being gulped up to make way for office buildings and factories.

Trees are being chopped off to make buildings. No one cares about alarming consequences of such acts. Builders, for customers, present a little manicured garden. First we had gardens and now city dwellers have gardens in small pots and many times these pots have just plastic plants. Greed is driving humans crazy and over population is killing the quality of life, especially in cities. In cities, do you ever find any home which doesn’t have one or another kind of water purification system? Would you drink tap water? No way, as you love yourself and you are wise enough to take care of your own and your family’s health; but what about the health of earth?

Villages too are contributing in their own way. Over usage of pesticides and chemicals in farms is poisoning ground water; vegetables and fruits are laden with poisonous chemicals, which are giving rise to diseases like cancer. Farmer wants more yields, as higher crop means more money.

Earth is dying; soil is loosing its capacity to grow; water tables are going down; temperatures are rising. Weather is changing worldwide – strange things are occurring: it is snowing in deserts and temperature is rising in mountains, as a result of which- wild fires are erupting every now and then. Recently, thousands of hectares of jungles were gutted in fire in Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh in India. In USA, bush fires have destroyed many houses as hundreds of acres of land enveloped in the lap of the bush fire. Glaciers are melting and sea levels are rising. Does it ring alarm bell to your ears or not!

Natural resources are getting depleted at an alarming rate. A survey says that in thirty years our natural gas resources will dry up which means there will be no availability of petrol, diesel. How will your cars, trucks, buses move without gas? How will our power plants and trains work without coal? You can’t shut your eyes to this man made danger. You can’t sit quiet. Do something.

1.    First step in right direction is to use electricity wisely; switch off unnecessary lights before going to sleep, switch off all computers, microwave, charger points or any idle electricity point.

2.    Use car pools; share rides to office. You will not only save money but can also relax when the other person is driving. Use mass transportation systems like metro or bus.

3.    Use no plastics and if you have to- then recycle them.

4.    Plant trees on your wedding anniversaries, birthdays, and death anniversaries, as deforestation is the biggest challenge for all of us.

These days, new and better colonies are being made. It is good for humans but what about the lives of animals and birds, who are dependent on forests? Forests are like lungs of earth. Just like humans cannot survive without lungs, animals and birds cannot survive on this earth without forests.

Deforestation is proving hazardous to earth. It is causing floods, drought, tornadoes, earthquakes and excess rainfall in some areas – somewhere humans are biggest contributor to such natural disasters. All of a sudden an earthquake happens and thousands of people die; there is no forewarning. Floods displace humans, kill animals and wipes out precious agricultural soil. Thus, fertile land turns into deserts. There is no guarantee to this life. Shouldn’t we be vigilant that we safe-guard our and earth’s life? There is no guarantee that those who are living today will be here tomorrow. Do you think that the houses, buildings, cities you are living in are safe? It is strange that people roam around with such arrogance, as though they are never going to die or the place they are living in is immortal.