EIACP PC Hub: Kerala
State of Environment and Related Issues

World Earth Day is observed all over the world on 22^nd April. This is a special day that reminds us to share a responsibility to protect our planet.

Earth Day is a perfect time to express, initiate and put in practice the ideas related to protecting the environment. Our planet is a complex system of land, air, and water. Living things depend on each other and this system for existence. Over the thousands of years since life has existed on the earth, it has undergone some changes. The following are some of these changes:

Many species became extinct before mankind made its appearance, however, since humans have existed on the earth, the extinction rate has risen dramatically. More than 4,000 species are currently considered threatened. Plant and animal life become endangered for many reasons. Forest depletion, hunting, and pollution are the most obvious factors. When an animal becomes endangered, dozens of other species can also become endangered. For example, elephants disappeared from southern Africa about 80 years ago because of hunters. Elephants continue to be hunted, mainly for their costly ivory tusks. The endangerment of elephants also has endangered such animals in their area as wildebeest and antelope who live off of the open-grassland which elephants create by eating their way through a jungle.

Oxygen-producing trees and plants are being cut down for the purpose of growing foods, grazing livestock, making paper products, etc. The cutting down of forests puts forest wildlife at risk and decreases the oxygen in the air. It also defaces the natural beauty of the planet. Tropical rain forests are often cleared for farming. The soil in these forests are poor in nutrients, and within a few years the crops fail and the land is abandoned. New forests are cleared.

Pollution has become more and more a problem, especially in the past century with the drastic increase in technology. Garbage, sewage, chemicals, and oil are being dumped into the ocean. As human population grows, people are looking to the ocean more for resources. Landfills and littering have polluted the land. Dangerous levels of chemical emissions from cars, planes, factories, aerosol cans, etc., enter the air without end. Plants and animals are dying because of pollution.

Ozone is a form of oxygen that has collected in a layer about 30 km above the earth's surface. This ozone layer protects us from most of the dangerous ultraviolet radiation from the sun. Without this layer, living things could not thrive on the earth. Satellites have detected in the last ten or so years damage done to the ozone. The damage is often referred to as a hole in the ozone. This damage has been caused by certain chemicals being emitted into the atmosphere that react with the ozone. One major chemical is called chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs), which are commonly used in such products as solvents used for cleaning electronics such as television and computer circuit boards, cooling fluid in automobile air conditioners, aerosol spray cans, etc. Ozone depletion has affected the temperature of the earth. Some scientists say that if CFCs were not in existence, the earth would be cooler now than it presently is. This global warming is often called the greenhouse effect.

Environmentalists have been actively aware of these issues, and are doing their best to promote awareness. Though progress has been made in clean air, water, and wetlands, there is at least one environmental issue area where advancement has been lacking: Endangered species recovery.

In the late sixties, Senator Gaylord Nelson of Wisconsin first suggested the idea of an Earth Day to bring people to the realization that Earth has some problems, and we as humans need to do something about it. The first Earth Day celebration took place on April 22, 1970. It was a nationwide focus. Twenty-million Americans joined in to demonstrate for a healthy, sustainable environment. A series of events took place on a community level, most of which were organized by student groups. Since then, Earth Day has expanded.

Earth Day 2009, April 22, will mark the beginning of The Green Generation Campaign™ which will also be the focus of the 40th Anniversary of Earth Day in 2010. With negotiations for a new global climate agreement coming up in December, Earth Day 2009 must be a day of action and civic participation, to defend The Green Generation™ core principles:

• A carbon-free future based on renewable energy that will end our common dependency on fossil fuels, including coal.
• An individual’s commitment to responsible, sustainable consumption.
• Creation of a new green economy that lifts people out of poverty by creating millions of quality green jobs and transforms the global education system into a green one.