PROTECT OUR PLANET
we must, at all costs and under any circumstances, since to the best of our knowledge this is the only bio-sustaining planet in the solar system and we have nowhere else to go. Already we humans have so cruelly caused the extinction of thousands of other bio-species on this earth. What is more appalling is that we are now inviting our own destruction – acting like a fool cutting down the very branch on which he is sitting. The unrestrained proliferation of our population, the mania for industrialization and the passion for construction of big dams causing untold human tragedies and irreversible eco-degradation and use of science and technology to wrong ends creating and increasing the risk of a nuclear holocaust and chemical catastrophes, the wrong sort of globalization processes depriving billions of our own kind the minimum means of livelihood – all this is slowly driving us to the brink of possible extinction even. In this context, it would suffice for us to concur with and echo this enlightening exhortation of the UNEP: “…humans are among only a handful of species whose populations are growing, while most animals and plants are becoming rarer and fewer. A total of 17,291 species are known to be threatened with extinction … The reason? – Human activities. With our present approach to development, we have caused the clearing of much of the original forest, drained half of the world’s wetlands, depleted three quarters of all fish stocks, and emitted enough heat-trapping gases to keep our planet warming for centuries to come. We … making species extinctions occur at up to 1000 times the natural rate. As a result, we are increasingly risking the loss of the very foundation of our own survival. The variety of life on our planet – known as ‘biodiversity’ – gives us our food, clothes, fuel, medicine and much, much more. You may not think that a beetle in your backyard or grass growing by the roadside has a fundamental connection to you - but it does. When even one species is taken out of the intricate web of life, the results can be catastrophic. For this reason, the United Nations has declared 2010 the International Year of Biodiversity. It is an opportunity to stress the importance of biodiversity for human well-being, reflect on our achievements to safeguard it and encourage a redoubling of our efforts to reduce the rate of biodiversity loss.” §§§
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