Global crisis:

Man’s interference with environment

Dr Telli C Rajaratnam

Nature is God’s Creation

Mans greed defied creation

God created cosmos

Made created chaos

God created man to maintain peace

Man’s greed for power created war

God created all above the skies

Man sent rockets, satellites to skies

All religions taught discipline and meditation

Man succumbed to temptation

Now scientifically, the world cannot survive for long

As foretold by the Prophets!

Evidence suggests that life on Earth has existed for about 3.7 billion years. All known life forms share fundamental molecular mechanisms and based on these observations, theories on the origin of life attempt to find a mechanism explaining the formation of a primordial single cell organism from which all life originates. There are many different hypotheses regarding the path that might have been taken from simple organic molecules via pre-cellular life to proto cells and metabolism.

Although there is no universal agreement on the definition of life, scientists generally accept that the biological manifestation of life is characterized by organization, metabolism, growth, adaptation, response to stimuli and reproduction. Life may also be said to be simply the characteristic state of organisms. In biology, the science of living organisms, ‘life’ is the condition which distinguishes active organisms from inorganic matter, including the capacity for growth, functional activity and the continual change preceding death.

A diverse array of living organisms (life forms) can be found in the biosphere on Earth, and properties common to these organisms - plants, animals, fungi, protists, archaea and bacteria - are a carbon and water-based cellular form with complex organization and heritable genetic information. Living organisms undergo metabolism, maintain homeostasis, possess a capacity to grow, respond to stimuli, reproduce and through natural selection, adapt to their environment in successive generations. More complex living organisms can communicate through various means. The ‘Natural disasters’ are more in this world than ever before due to the cause and effect relationship of man’s undue interference with the environment.

Air pollution

Acid rain - Acid rain is caused when fossil fuel emissions combine with water in the atmosphere. The environmental effects of acid rain include the acidification of lakes and streams, damage to trees at high altitude, the acceleration of decay in buildings and poorer air quality. Acid rain also poses serious human health risks by contributing to heart and lung disorders such as asthma and bronchitis.

Ozone issues - Ozone is a gas that occurs both in the Earth’s upper atmosphere and at ground level. Ozone can be ‘good’ or ‘bad’ for your health and the environment, depending on its location in the atmosphere. Ozone is produced naturally in the stratosphere. The ozone layer protects the Earth from the ultraviolet rays sent down by the sun. But this ‘good’ ozone is gradually being destroyed by man-made chemicals referred to as Ozone-Depleting Substances (ODS), including chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs), hydrochlorofluorocarbons (HCFCs), halons, methyl bromide, carbon tetrachloride, and methyl chloroform.

Ozone depletion can cause increased amounts of UV radiation to reach the Earth which can lead to more cases of skin cancer, cataracts, and impaired immune systems. In the earth’s lower atmosphere, ground-level ozone is considered ‘bad.’ Ground-level ozone is not emitted directly into the air, but is created by chemical reactions between oxides of nitrogen (NOx) and volatile organic compounds (VOC) in the presence of sunlight. Emissions from industrial facilities and electric utilities motor vehicle exhaust, gasoline vapors and chemical solvents are some of the major sources of NOx and VOC.

Global warming - Since the Industrial Revolution (around 1750), human activities have substantially added to the amount of heat-trapping greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. As a result, global temperatures have risen.

Water pollution

Decreasing water availability - Water pollution can hurt our ability to use water in our homes, for recreation and in commerce. It also harms other forms of life. We work to protect water in all its forms, on the ground, underground and coming out of the tap.

Transforming natural land

Climate change - Processes such as deforestation, desertification and urbanization often contribute to changes in climate (including temperature, wind and precipitation). A change in land use and cover can affect temperature by changing how much solar radiation the land reflects and absorbs. Changes in land cover and land use can also affect the amount of carbon dioxide taken up (or sequestered) or released by the land surface. This can contribute to an increased greenhouse effect, and thus, global warming.

To be continued