Has commercialization and globalization charged us too much? Well, it is difficult to answer precisely. While the world has turned into a global village, it has well been exploited at the optimal level. However, it is a little too confusing to argue in support or in opposition for such a premise. On the occasion of Earth Day, these ideas need to be highly thought about. After the outburst of the Covid-19 pandemic, nature has been telling and teaching a lot in some way or the other. The grey areas have unfolded and grey mentalities have come to the fore front. However, incessant researches and reports have been spelling out news which says that the natural environment that has so long been encroached only by human being has given out enough space to the flora and fauna to flourish and reclaim their long lost spaces.
Nature seems to be safer, cleaner and livelier for breathing now. However, it has been a challenge to establishment what is right and what is a misnomer. It is being repeatedly questioned if killing of animals for dietary needs is affecting the nature as such or is it that increasing amount of pollutants in the air has affected the immune and anatomy of humans to such a greater that we are merely unable to fight the pandemic and not too likely even uprooting it any time soon.
Earth Day came to be celebrated on April 22nd every year following a massive oil spill off the coast of California in 1969 that pushed many environmentalists to fight against environmental degradation.
What is to be thought about is that at times people’s dietary needs vary according to climatological factors, physical environment, availability of food and agricultural bottlenecks. For instance, in various parts of India due to the unavailability of dairy products that are a rich source of nutrients people rely having on protein substitutes like meat, eggs and fishes. Similarly, there is a region in India where the dependability on dairy products, lentils and pulses is so much that the intake of high protein diet like meat and fishes is relatively lesser. Therefore, the food habit of people may depend on various factors, including caste and class, depending on the availability.
The point that can be made out in this regard is that it is not rational to demonise a particular community, caste or race depending on what they are consuming since there are underlying reasons to it. It digresses the fight from the true cause.
But it may be wise to rationalise that exploiting too much of natural resources is at an all-time boom as a result of which the entire human race has been facing the crisis and has cut down even availability of bare minimum needed for survival. Too much of everything is bad and can have catastrophic consequences of the like the human race is witnessing now. Optimal utilization of resources in economic terminology is not as applicable when it is natural resources which is bound to exhaust and perish at some point in time.
The privileged lot need to understand their privileges and need to volunteer to stop the laundering that is not only depriving the other half from grasping what they are entitled to but it is leading to more and more exploitation and pressure on the resources. So equitable distribution in such a scenario is nothing but a sham.
Earth Day came to be celebrated on April 22nd every year following a massive oil spill off the coast of California in 1969 that pushed many environmentalists to fight against environmental degradation. This global economic, social, political and most importantly environmental crisis witnessed by human race might as well push us to unlearn and rediscover many facets that were hitherto lost under unlimited human wants and aspirations.
The other direction to it is what is being made available is not being distributed among all the sections. It is of course legit that there has been a resource crunch at this hour but making sure that every section of the population has access to them is getting tougher with every passing day. There are food and rations being allocated for the needy sections but when it comes to implementing such a step at the grassroots level, there unfolds the gap.
So resources are just being utilized by only one group of the population and is pushing the other half to the margins. The privileged lot need to understand while celebrating Earth Day, that their privileges and need to volunteer to stop the laundering that is not only depriving the other half from grasping what they are entitled to but it is leading to more and more exploitation and pressure on the resources. So equitable distribution in such a scenario is nothing but a sham.
Also read: Is Ecofeminism Relevant Today?
Holistic realisation is the need to the hour. Although capitalism has been more and more shoved people into being individualistic but it is time when human race has to unlearn and understand their self centric notions of individualism stricken at the whims of nature.
Featured Image Source: The National