10/05/2023
A MESSAGE TO HUMANS.
By KHABIR MORAES.
Earth. The only planet as of now which supports life and inhabits one of the most complicated & sophisticated species, Humans. Our planets existence might be millions of years back. I don’t really know. There are numerous theories, by renowned scientists and scholars that suggest the existence or formation of our planet. None of them are really believed to have happened due to lack of concrete or definite evidence. It’s just a bunch of “maybe” or “might have been”.
But what do I know for certain, is that our planet is the only body in space known to be located at the right distance from the mighty burning star, The SUN, which can support living organisms and prosper due to the favorable temperature, right gravity, moisture, atmosphere and most of all, due to the existence of water, in a liquid state?
I’m being quite frank here, I do not really know if we humans evolved from microorganisms to marine animals, to amphibians, then apes that evolved gradually to what we are now, Humans. Or if we are the decedents of Adam & Eve. But what I really do know is that we are living beings, who are on top of the food chain and dominate the entire millions of living species on this beautiful and undoubtedly immensely diverse planet.
The principal motive behind this write-up is to bring awareness to all humans. To make them realize that this planet is not ours alone and that we are bound to share this home with millions of other species, from the tiny microscopic organisms to the mighty Blue Whales. We are intelligent; we have the power to think, to reason, to evaluate, to calculate the possibilities of the future. We are supposed to be the protectors of all species on earth and they are supposed to rely on us.
And here we are, in the name of progress and development, in the name of power and assets, in the name of religion, in the name of economic growth and globalization, destroying our home, our only home. The EARTH.
Humans will never stop from being creative and even more curious to explore the possibilities and capabilities of our super intelligence. Are we?
Are we really intelligent? Or are we super stupid? I’m very sceptical about our intelligence. Or I would say that our greed for more has overridden our brilliance. If not, why are we still digging our planet for minerals? Why are we tapping into the pockets of sunlight? Why are we drilling and sucking our planet dry? Why are we draining our oceans? All these doings, makes me wonder if we’re truly intelligent beings?
To feed the growing hunger as we explode our population, we have turned our attention towards shortcuts, in producing more products and yield to meet the demands of the global consumer industry. We feed cattle’s that are raised in a concentration camp type of raising grounds, where not even a blade of grass grows. Tons of grains, soymeal, and protein-rich granules are fed to these animals that will in turn yield tons of meat in a remarkably faster than normal growth. An astonishing 13000 Liters of water is required to produce a Kilogram of meat.
Our agriculture has become oil powered; this makes our way of life totally dependent upon it. Taping into every possible pocket of sunlight has become more important to us. More the world develops, greater its demand for energy, and minerals that are the very earth foundations, are ripped off to satisfy our greed and cater to the l***y globalized industries.
90% of the trade goes by sea from the country of production to the country of consumption. Since 1950 the volume of international trade has increased by 25 times. 600 million containers of goods are transported every year around the world. All by massive thousands of container vessels, this burns our planets non-renewable fossil reserves. Do we have the right to do this?
Fish is a staple diet of 1 in five humans. Since 1950, the fishing industry has increased from 18 to 150 million tons per year. Most of the big fish are fished out; we are destroying their cycle of life, as we are not giving them enough time to reproduce. How hard is that for a common man to understand?
Our country, India will be soon among those countries that will suffer from water scarcity in the coming century. Due to excessive irrigation, in the last 60 years more than 23 million wells have been dug, and now in western India, more than 30% of the wells have been abandoned. Now, the drill has to get even deeper to hit the water. The underground aquifers are drying out, we are draining them at a fast pace than it takes to replenish. To counter this, the women dig massive reservoirs to replenish the underground aquifers.
Las Vegas in America consumes about a thousand liters of water per person per day. Is this really necessary? A city built out of dessert, and its inhabitants are the world’s largest consumers of water. The Colorado River, which brings water to these cities, has now become one of those rivers that don’t reach the sea. Water shortage could affect two billion people worldwide by 2030.
We are taught in schools about the importance of trees on our planet. Trees release to groundwater into our atmosphere as a light mist, these, in turn, elevates the impact of heavy rains along with the evaporation and condensation. The roots protect the soil from erosion, they provide us the right amount of humidity to survive, and they play an important role to maintain our climatic balance. They support thousands of species, directly or indirectly. Forests provide us with food and natural cures to hundreds of diseases. And yet thousands of hectors of forests are wiped out by us. Are we really intelligent?
Mangroves, they are the forests that extend into the sea, they support and shelter numerous species of fish and mollusc that rely on them to breed. They also protect the coast from tidal waves, and erosion caused by the sea currents. Yet these forests have been reduced and still face mass destruction to make way for industrial or leisure development. Among them, shrimp farming is the reason for even more destruction to these mangroves. Shrimp farming requires ventilation to aerate the pools full of antibiotics to prevent the asphyxiation of the shrimps. All these put together destroys our Mangroves forests.
In Amazon, cattle ranches and soya bean farms have made their way into the forests which have been reduced by 25%. 90% of these soybeans and grain end up in feeding livestock and poultry in Europe and Asia, so basically, forests are turned into meat. Do we really need this to happen?
The effects of Global warming are visible at the polar region and it’s happening fast. The Arctic cap is melting and has lost 40% of thickness in 40 years. The sun beams which were reflected back by the ice sheets are shrinking, and the sun penetrates the water and heats it up, in turn, the warming process gathers pace. In Greenland, and around the North Pole, 35% of the ice cap has been lost. This ice contributes to 20% of the planets fresh water, and if it had to melt, the world’s coastal areas would flood, as the sea level would rise by 7 meters.
The average temperature for the past 20 years has been the highest ever recorded. The slightest rise in temperature disrupts the biological balance. I’m talking about the coral reefs here. They are very sensitive to the slightest changes in the water temperature. They are a very important link to the marine lives which depend on them. And yet we have already lost 30% of these reefs around the planet. Are we not smart enough to recognize these threats?
In the atmosphere, the major wind streams are changing direction, rain cycles are altered, the geography of climates are modified. And yet we are not taking it seriously.
The glaciers play a very important role in the water cycle. They trap the water from the monsoons as ice and release it as water during the summer. The glaciers in the Himalayas are the sources of great rivers like mighty Ganges, Indus, Mekong, and Yangtze. Two billion people depend on them for fresh water and irrigation. Are we really intelligent? If yes, why are we not acting now?
In Siberia, it's so cold that the ground is constantly frozen. It’s known as Permafrost. Under its surface lies a 20 times more deadly gas than Carbon dioxide. It’s called METHANE. If this frost melts, the methane would escape and cause the greenhouse effect to accelerate out of control, with unpredictable consequences.
The world spends 12 times on military expenditures than on aid to developing countries. 5000 people die every day due to dirty drinking water. 1 billion people have no excess to safe drinking water. 1 Billion people go hungry every day around the world. Around 50% of the world’s grain is used for animal feed or biofuel. Every year 13 million hectares of forest disappear. But yet there is hope. I say this because I believe that people will change, I believe that we are not going to give up. I believe in our country and many other countries that are taking steps to bring a change, to reverse the catastrophic effects in whatever way we can.
✅I BELIEVE IN HUMANITY.
Antarctica is a continent with immense natural resources, that no country can claim for itself, it’s a natural resource devoted to peace and science. A treaty signed by many countries made it a treasure shared by all humanity. I've been visiting Antarctica for the past 6 years now. I've seen for myself.
In South Korea, the forest had been destroyed by war, but due to a NATIONAL reforestation programme, 65% of the country’s forests have re-emerged. And 75% of the paper is recycled.
Costa Rica has made a choice between military spending’s and the conservation of land. The country no longer has an army. It has devoted its resources to education, ecotourism & the protection of its forests.
Gabon is one of the leading producers of wood, it enforces selective logging, not more than one tree every hector.
There are houses that self-produce their own energy through Solar panels and are power sustainable. 5000 people live in a first-ever eco-friendly district in Freiburg, Germany.
The governments of New Zealand, Iceland, Austria & Sweden have made the development of renewable energy resources a top priority.
In Iceland, the energy is derived from electricity plant powered by the earth’s heat, i.e. geothermal power.
Some countries have come up with sea snakes lying on the swell of the sea to absorb the energy of the waves and produce electricity.
Wind farms of the coast of Denmark produce an enormous amount of electricity that contributes to 20% of the country’s electricity. India too has joined this programme.
In an hour, the sun gives the earth the same amount of energy as that consumed by all humans in One year. All we have to do is, stop drilling and digging the earth, instead start looking towards the sun. It has always been there for humanity. We must learn to cultivate and harness the suns energy.
As global citizens, we have to unite and stop thinking about what we haven’t done or lost. Instead take stern actions that would make this world a better place to live in, drop by drop, piece by piece, one by one, we must join hands and save our planet EARTH, which to me is MY HOME, MY GOD. The HEAVEN and HELL, ARE right here on earth and nowhere else.
Khabir Moraes
