Even a loner cramped up in a room mentally in his own world is surrounded by the omnipresent air; which in turn forms his immediate environment. The environment not only complements an individual’s life alone but also the lives of every living creature in this universe at large. Like the erudite prophets believe that God is omnipresent omnipotent and omniscient, I can safely say that our environment, the expanse which surrounds us is two out of the above three- omnipresent and omnipotent. I can justify my comment herewith- Omnipresent because air is a basic human need and the surrounding is a very powerful influence on every life. Similarly, omnipotent because, the way we all treat our surroundings manifests itself in the way we all are affected by it.
As the world is rushing at a fast pace, along with the undeniably magnificent advancements in technology and science, we humans look for a life that is accentuated by the highest possibility of comfort. Eventually, caring for the environment seemed to be uppermost worry in the minds of very few generalists though it is obviously the matter of utmost concern for specialized environmentalists. This though, is slowly changing and a whiff or awareness seems to be flitting through all the countries in the world, thanks to the media. As more and more people realize how much our environment affects us, environmental problems have expanded their scope globally rather than being restricted to one single area.
If India doesn’t have the right agrarian features to encourage the growth of tea, it can always import the plant from Nepal. This economic issue is enclosed within the boundaries of two countries whose economic dealings might not have an impact on the world at large. But the environment poses a more holistic concern. Global warming is not the result of one particular group of people, instead it is scientifically due to the widespread dispersal of certain chlorofluoro carbons, the use of which is not limited to one single country. An air conditioner or refrigerator is as much a basic entity of the people in the west as it is for the people in the east. Similarly, use of chopsticks and paper is not closed within the Chinese who use the former more often or the Greeks who invented the latter. The same goes for the beautiful filigree on an ornate wooden cupboard or the carvings on an apothecary tea-table which may adorn the living rooms of a Scottish poet or an Indian Scientist. This clearly states that the wood obtained resulting in deforestation, which is one of the primary detrimental causes of environmental degradation is spread across the world. Air is not stationary. The sulphur dioxide fumes which are emitted from an industry are not going to remain as a cloud just above the industries’ towers; they are going to drift in wide directions affection more than only one section of people.
Hence the concerns of the environment is, or as I would vehemently put it, ‘should be’ a united one. Only if all the people of the world unitedly take an effort to minimize the disastrous effects of their activities on the environment can a cleaner and greener surrounding be formed. The World Wars might have shattered most of the world but there are countries that haven’t been much affected. The same is not true for the whole in the ozone layer; that might lead to the destruction of the entire universe. Osama Bin Laden posed a severe threat to the safety of the people of United States and a threat to the integrity of the people of Iraq; and though the entire world empathized with the situation, it was not entirely necessary for every individual to worry about this political issue. The teachings of Buddha may have spread its branches across most parts of the world, but global warming is not restricted to “most”, rather it would affect the entire world.
The people of the world have realized that it takes contribution from all of them rather than just some of them to help make a better environment. For, unity and cooperation can lead to betterment; while negligence and disunity can lead to a common tragedy and suffering. Whether or not people join their hands to defend their country, there is always a constant need now, to join hands and worry about environmental problems together, with no boundaries.