Wednesday, October 15, 2008

Benefits Of Sustainable Development

By Tommy Linsley

"Every fourth day we are adding one million human beings to our population". After hearing this statement, how you have felt? That's the burden we the human beings are putting on the natural resources of our planet. We have already made many animals extinct and driving rest to the extinction. The unplanned growth has resulted in cutting down of forest, blasting off of mountains, mining of minerals and metals, using up of petroleum resources at a very fast rate and last but not the least, an exponential increase in pollution.

The question is what we are going to leave for our future generations - the barren lands, vehicles but no petrol, factories with no power to run them, mountains of concrete and jungles of sky touching building? Can it be recognized as development? Is this development that can be sustained? We all are aware of the negative answer.

The development that we are pursuing has already taken toll of wild animals, forests and much of our natural resources. The increased pollution has resulted in global warming, ozone layer depletion, rising of water level in seas, melting down of snow at mountains and more recently at North Pole!

The constant erosion of forests has resulted in loss of habitat for the wild animals. No wonders that now and then we hear the incidents of wild cats being found in cities. They are considered dangerous and killed. But the fact is that human population has grown in a disproportionate quantum and has moved closer to the animal habitats.

So what should be the plan of action to preserve the humanity of the earth? The only way is to preserve the ecological balance. We need to protect the wild animals, forests and natural resources. Governments need to plan to cover more areas under the forests. Every individual should make an effort in that direction.

The increased pollution levels are already serious matters of concern. During peak traffic hours, one might see some people wearing pollution masks. This is in contrast to what we felt at mountains. We are responsible for such high levels of pollution in air and in water.

It is time that the ecology is preserved to make the development-sustainable development. Alternative sources of energy have to be used to relieve pressure from the natural resources. Solar power is being used to convert it into solar energy; similarly wind power has been translated into wind energy. Recycling of paper can be a lifeline for trees. Developing renewable sources of energy can help in longevity of natural resources like coal and petrol. Vehicles, using non-conventional energy resources can help in keeping low pollution levels.

With our combined efforts, we still can restore the right balance of ecology. Only with a green earth, we can hope for a sustainable development.

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