Polluted Water

Chemical Pollution

 Today toxic chemicals have transformed water bodies like rivers from life sources to toxic sources. Water released from the industries of Samalkha, Sonipat, and Panipat into the Yamuna increased the level of ammonia to such an extent that even the water purifying plant in Delhi many a times ceased to function. A hundred millilitre of water used for non-drinking purposes, should not contain more than 500 dangerous fecal coli form micro-organisms. But in many places more than 440,000 micro-organisms were found in Yamuna water. In such water, the percentage of dissolved oxygen is also very low. Currently no purification method is good enough to make the Yamuna water fit for drinking. The condition of the river Ganga is the same. Even after imposing several restrictions, most of the industries from Haridwar to Mujaffar Nagar drain their toxic chemical waste in to the Ganga, poisoning it. Many laws and acts have been passed to make the Ganga pollution free but these have remained confined to papers and files.

 Kali Nadi, which emerges from Antawada in Muzaffarnagar and merges with the Ganga near Kannauj, has become synonymous with cancer. The table given below shows the amount of chemicals drained into the “Kali Nadi."

Along with these pollutants, BHC, heptachlors and other banned pesticides are also found in this river. The same toxic water, mixed with ground water, is then drawn through pumps for domestic use, causing cancer and skin diseases. In Meerut there are 250 families within the range of a single block who have fallen prey to these diseases. Residents have repeatedly approached the government, administrative bodies and the pollution control board, but have not been heard. Out of desperation they have even held government officers captive.

Pollution in “Kali Nadi"

Pollution of Kali River 

In western Uttar Pradesh, the presence of TDS chemicals in ground water is leading to painful health problems in the form of renal stones. The saga is endless. The Hindon River which flows by Delhi is so polluted that families dither from marrying off their girls in villages near the river. 

Why should the upper class and their government bother about such problems if they can afford water filters and mineral water? Mineral water companies are also taking advantage of these conditions and making tremendous profit. Doctors are also profiting due to diseases caused by polluted water.

Polluted Ganga

Environmental crisis has also lowered the ground water level. Water suction with the help of tube wells in several parts of western U.P. has reduced water levels substantially and many wells have stopped working. Even expensive submersible pumps are unable to draw a sufficient amount of water. In 2007, the water level in the Ganga canal had reduced significantly. A weaker monsoon, dried up ponds, and over- exploitation of ground water are mainly responsible for lowering of the water level. The dumping of garbage has also lowered water levels, making the river shallow. The government’s negligence in preventing erosion of embankments has escalated the problems. In 2010, the shallow river bed of the Yamuna was unable to contain even rain-water and thus broke weak embankments, causing floods in rural Haryana.

The same situation more or less prevails in other countries also. Between 2000 and 2004, the people of South Asia were severely affected by acute flood situations resulting in their death and/or displacement.

Other parts of the country are also facing severe water crisis. Sambhar Salt Lake, which is spread over 230 km, is on the verge of drying up. Even after the extraction of up to 290,000 tons of salt per year from this lake, people of the region remain very poor. Over- exploitation of ground water in this region has caused drinking water problems in nearby regions. The market price of salt is 10 rupees per kg, but only 40 paisa is given to the workers, and the rest is swallowed by industrialists and traders. Several small and large scale industries have mushroomed in nearby region, out of which 74 per cent are illegal. Working 9-10 hours daily under severe conditions, the ill-paid labourers have blisters and wrinkles on their faces. This has spoilled the life of a complete generation of labourers. They die before the age of 45. More or less similar situation is prevailing for the workers employed in salt manufacturing industries at coastal areas in India.

Around 300 industries in Valsad district of Gujarat, producing chemicals, fertilizers, pesticides and pharmaceutical products, drain the chemical waste through long pipelines in coastal areas, making it a toxic, foul and marshy region. As per regulations, the chemical waste should be treated in the plant before discharge into the sea, and the quality of filtered effluents should be tested twice a day before draining. But industries blatantly ignore such laws. Leakage in pipelines pollutes the drinking water, which has caused skin, digestive and respiratory diseases in around 60 per cent of the people in the locality. Moreover, agriculture and cattle are affected significantly.

According to the standard of the Gujarat pollution control board, a pure sample of water is that in which fish can survive for 90 days. But in the sample, sea water sent for examination, the fish died within merely 5 minutes of examination. This explains why sea birds, tattlers, and cranes that depend on fish, crab, and shrimp for survival are a rare sight today.

Villagers are not even informed let alone consulted about the untreated discharge of industrial toxic residues that contaminate their environment. This is how the government that is “for the people, by the people and of the people” functions! It appears sadly to be a paralysed democracy dominated by a handful of capitalists. In the management of companies, neither villagers and nor their representatives are involved. People opposing the contamination, find their leaders either assassinated or bribed by management.

The situation is worse in Gujarat, where the Gujarat Pollution Control Board and Gujarat Industrial Development Corporation officials themselves flout the rules. On the basis of data, videos and scientific reports, the villagers, filed a writ petition, but did not get respite. Their protests got trapped in a labyrinth of legal tactics.

Taking advantage of legal loopholes, industrialists carry on their crimes as usual. Industries do not hesitate to tear apart Pollution Control Board standards and Supreme Court directions. The condition of other industrial sectors is the same, be it breaking of old ships at Alang (Gujarat) or textile industries in Tamil Nadu. Even a historical heritage building like Tajmahal is not untouched by the acidic smoke emitted by the factories of Agra. These factories adamantly ignored the notice sent by the Uttar Pradesh Pollution Control Board and the court. A myth is floated by capitalists that, if factories are closed down then the workers will be unemployed. Hence, they aim to show that what they are doing is for the greater good. But what they are actually worried about is their profit. The employers continue to brutally exploits workers by paying low wages and salaries and even oppress their demands by hiring local goons and sometimes even calling for the help of the police, all in the name of the ‘greater good’. When national and international environmental organisations mount pressure on the government, some reforms on paper and speeches are made, but the same saga of exploitation continues. Who cares for the plight of the masses when private profit is involved?

Poisoning the Air

 Gases emitted from industries, transport facilities, power plants and garbage dumps make the atmosphere toxic and result in deadly health conditions like emphysema, asthma, respiratory allergies, and lungs and cardiac diseases. Globally, over 2.4 million people are estimated to have succumbed to the harmful effects of these gases each year. 

At the national level, India meets 80 percent of its energy requirements by burning coal. This pollutes the air and takes the lives of over 300,000 people each year. In the guise of development through capitalism, the impact on nature and humans is downplayed. The greed or tremendous profit drives capitalists to bypass environmental rules and regulation. To secure huge profit margins, capitalists turn a blind eye to requirements like using filters on factory chimneys and providing water treatment plants for the toxic water released from their plants.

Emission of poisonous gases from factories has been the cause of several heart-wrenching disasters. In 1952, over a thousand people lost their lives due to the toxic smoke released by factories in a period of only 6 days in London. The toll rose to eight thousand the very next month. Similar incidents were repeated in Sverdlovsk (Russia), Donora (USA), Pennsylvania and Bhopal (India). In 1984, the gas-leak tragedy at Union Carbide (an American enterprise) gas plant in Bhopal saw the lives of thousands devastated by the disaster. The gas leak was a consequence of ignoring repeated warnings by workers and journalists, over leakage and safety norms in the Carbide plant. Even today, the aftermath continues to haunt India. In July 2010, leakage of gas in the Sewri industrial area near Mumbai Harbour severely injured 76 persons. Mineral fiber asbestos, baddly affects indoor air quality, which causes cancer and respiratory disease, is banned in many countries, but its production continues unbarred in India. The government oppresses local people who raise such issues, so that companies can continue to make profits.

 America is the former largest emitter of carbon dioxide in the world but it is now China. America and China are largely responsible for the world's air pollution and global warming. The effect of global warming is far- reaching, and is thus more deadly than the instant effect of air pollution. The emission of smoke from vehicles is a major source of global air pollution. Ownership of private cars is a status symbol for prosperous middle and upper class people, and 70 percent of air pollution is due to smoke emitted by these vehicles. 

In the last 20 years, vehicular and industrial pollution in India has increased by eight and four times respectively while economic development has merely grown two and a half times. Air pollution has crossed the permissible limits in Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai and other big Indian cities. Bengaluru even enjoys the infamous epithet of being the 'asthma capital'. Studies show that out of 6 million inhabitants of Bengaluru, 10 percent of adults and 50 percent of children below the age of eighteen years suffer from diseases caused by air pollution. Every year, 8000 citizens die of diseases caused by gases released by airplanes alone. This aspect of rapid capitalistic economic development is accurst yet veiled by the capitalist media and armchair intellectual.

Global Warming and Its Consequences

As the sun shines down upon planet Earth, the water bodies and land radiate some of its heat back to space. However, the presence of gases like carbon dioxide, methane and nitrous oxide in the atmosphere of the Earth tend to prevent such a deflection. An abundance of these gases act as a blanket over the earth, preventing it from cooling down completely. This in turn leads to an increase in the surface temperature of the planet. According to scientists, the atmosphere thus acts as a green-house that traps heat within the planet. These heat trapping gases are called greenhouse gases. 

 In the last 200 years, industrial development has enormously increased the quantity of carbon dioxide (a major greenhouse gas) in the atmosphere, which has in turn raised the average temperature of earth. This phenomenon is called global warming. Due to this, thousands of species of plants and animals have become extinct, and now the very survival of human beings is at stake.  Each decade is turning out to be warmer than the last one. The data record of temperatures reveals that the year 2005, was the warmest in 130 years, followed by the year 2009. Estimates say that by the end of 2100, average temperature will increase by 1.5 to 6 degrees centigrade.

The devastating consequences of global warming are evident, and in the near future irreparable loss is a given. Between the years 1970 to 2007, 40 percent of the ice in the Arctic Ocean melted. Molten ice-layers of Greenland and Antarctica are raising the temperature and level of sea water. Gradually melting glaciers across the world will continue to raise the level of sea water. Consequently, low altitude regions like China and other countries located in coastal areas will be submerged. Nearly 400 million people live in areas that are 5 meters or less in altitude, and there are one billion in areas within 25 meters of altitude above sea level. It thus seems likely that a large number of people will be rendered homeless because of the rise in sea levels. Around 90 per cent of the world's glaciers are receding across the globe. Himalayan glaciers are the perennial source of water for a large number of Asians. The shrinking of glaciers will lead to heavy floods on the one hand and scarcity of water on the other. The current scarcity of water in Peru and Bolivia, for instance, is the result of vanished glaciers. 

Melting Ice of Poles

The rise in temperatures will increase the humidity of the atmosphere, wreaking abrupt changes in climate. At the same time both floods and droughts will destroy lives and livelihoods within the same geographical area. This in turn will give rise to problems such as food crises and starvation, while taking the advantage of this situation, grain trading companies will make huge profit.

Carbon dioxide is the main cause of global warming. From 1750 (roughly the start of the industrial revolution) to 2007, atmospheric levels of carbon dioxide increased by 38 percent, methane by 150 percent and nitrous oxide by 16 percent. This fact reveals that 250 years of industrial development have resulted in disastrous consequences for our planet. Though profit-ridden capitalism brought advancement through industrial development, it was at the cost of uncontrolled carbon dioxide emissions, which is never controlled by capitalist class, greedy of super-profit. This is why carbon dioxide produced by transport, industries, power plants, home appliances and petroleum products contribute 73.7 per cent of the total greenhouse gas emissions, and there is no remedy to undo the levels of carbon dioxide currently present in the atmosphere.

Before the industrial revolution the relationship between man and nature was one of harmony as the harmful gases produced by humans and animals were balanced off by the abundant presence of trees. However, rapid industrialisation and deforestation irreversibly built up the stock-pile of carbon dioxide on Earth. There is no way out to reduce quantity of these gases from atmosphere. Additionally, these gases are still being emitted in large volumes. 

It is worth noting that every country and each individual of our planet is not equally responsible for carbon emissions. This is made clear from the following table:    

Top Seven Emitters in the World in 2014

Source: "CO2 time series 1990-2014 per region/country". Netherlands Environmental Assessment Agency. 

The per capita carbon dioxide emission of countries of American camp like Kuwait, United Emirates of Arab, Bahrain and other petroleum producing countries is more than 30 tonnes. The per capita yearly carbon dioxide emission of USA, Canada, and Saudi Arab varies between 15-30 tonnes, while that of a developing country like India is less than 5 tonnes.

According to a report produced by Greenpeace India Society, October 2007, even the rich and poor of a country are not equally responsible for carbon dioxide emissions. The report suggests that the annual carbon dioxide emissions for a family earning Rs. 3,000 per month is 335 kilograms, while for a family whose earning is Rs. 30,000 per month (four times more than that of poor families) emits 1494 kilograms. From this fact it is clear that 15 percent of India's population, which owns cars, refrigerators, televisions, washing machines and other energy consuming home appliances, is mainly responsible for excessive emissions. But the price of such a lifestyle falls upon the poor, who lead low-impact lives and comprise 85 percent of the population.

Carbon dioxide emissions and correspondingly global temperatures are growing rapidly, leading to dangerous consequences. The ice-covered region of the Arctic Ocean, which normally would reflect heat out of the atmosphere like a mirror, is now obstructing it due to the adverse effects of global warming. Melting of ice in the north Tundra region releases methane gas, which warms the earth even more rapidly than carbon dioxide. Moreover, the increased quantity of carbon dioxide absorbed by the ocean makes it more acidic, resulting in deaths of marine flora and fauna. Even the capacity of the ocean to absorb carbon dioxide is decreasing, giving rise to growing level of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere.

According to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), the rate of increase of sea water levels was 1.8 millimetre per annum in 1961, which has gone up to 3.1 millimetre per annum in between 1993-2003. It is clear that the effects of climate change are worsening day by day. As per estimates, by 2025 around 70 per cent land on earth will be drought affected while only 40 per cent of land of our planet is currently drought affected. 

(All Photos from Google Search)

जीव-जन्तुओं का अस्तित्व खतरे में

पहले गाँव-देहात तरह-तरह के पेड़-पौधों से गुलजार रहते थे। कलरव करते, गीत सुनाते रंग-बिरंगे पंछी सबका मन मोह लेते थे। गौरेया जिसका हर परिवार से घरेलू रिश्ता होता था, अब हर जगह फुदकती नजर नहीं आती। मृत जानवरों को खाकर पर्यावरण को स्वच्छ रखने वाले गिद्ध अब विषाक्त माँस खाकर लुप्त हो गये। ये जीव-जन्तु हमारे समाज और संस्कृति का अनिवार्य अंग रहे हैं। ग्लोबल वार्मिंग आज न केवल हमारी जीविका और जीवनशैली को तबाह कर रहा है, बल्कि इसने सदियों पुराने पेड़-पौधे और जीव-जन्तुओं की प्रजातियों के अस्तित्व को ही खतरे में डाल दिया है। ईंट, पत्थर और कंकरीट के बढ़ते जंगल, विषैला पानी, धुआँ छोड़ती फैक्ट्रियाँ, उजड़ते जंगल, बढ़ते रेगिस्तान और सूखती नदियाँ ही चारों तरफ दिखाई दे रही हैं। ऐसे में शस्य स्यामला धरती पर प्रकृति के निकट रहने वाले नाजुक जीवों की प्रजातिया खुद को कैसे बचा सकती हैं? प्रतिदिन दर्जनों जीव-जन्तु लुप्त हो रहे हैं। यह समूचे पारिस्थितिकीय तंत्र के लिए खतरे की घण्टी है। गिद्ध, बया, गौरेया, सारस और न जाने कितने अनाम पंछियों के दर्शन दुर्लभ हो गये हैं। प्रकृति के ये मित्र लुप्तप्राय हैं, क्योंकि स्वार्थलोलुप इंसानों ने इनके प्राकृतिक वासस्थान को तहस-नहस कर दिया।

पर्यावरण विशेषज्ञों का मानना है कि दुनिया के औसत तापमान में 1.1 से 6.4 डिग्री सेल्सियस की बढ़ोतरी होने पर जीवों की 30 प्रतिशत प्रजातियाँ सन् 2050 तक खत्म हो जायेंगी। आज करोड़ों साल पहले लुप्त हो चुके डायनासोर को पुर्नजीवित करने के लिए वैज्ञानिक एड़ी चोटी का जोर लगा रहे हैं, जबकि आज लुप्त होती हजारों प्रजातियों को बचाने का कोई सकारात्मक प्रयास नहीं दिखाई देता। पर्यावरण संतुलन के लिए जमीन के 33 प्रतिशत भाग में जंगल होना चाहिए लेकिन अन्धाधुन्ध कटाई के चलते अब भारत में मात्र 19.27 प्रतिशत वनभूमि बची है। कई राज्यों में स्थिति कहीं ज्यादा भयावह है। विकास को लेकर इतराने वाले हरियाणा राज्य में 6.8 प्रतिशत जंगल हैं जिनमें मात्र               3.52 प्रतिशत प्राकृतिक वन हैं। मुनाफे की हवस में जीवनदायी औषधियों और वन्यजीवों को पनाह देने वाले प्राकृतिक जंगलों को कभी बाँध बनाने के लिए, कभी खदानों के लिए तो कभी उद्योग लगाने के लिए मुनाफाखोर पूँजीपति और उनकी हिमायती सरकारें बेरहमी से उजाड़ रही हैं। इसके बदले कुछ सजावटी पेड़ लगाकर क्या इस प्राकृतिक विनाश की भरपाई हो सकती है? प्राकृतिक जंगलों में विविध तरह के घास-फूस, झाड़ियाँ, सरकण्डे, जंगली पेड़, चींटी, केंचुए, कन खजूरे, गिरगिट, चूहे, खरगोश, साँप, लकड़बग्घे, हिरन, शेर, विविध तरह की चिड़ियाँ आदि हजारों जीव-जन्तु और आँख से दिखाई न देने वाले सैकड़ों सूक्ष्म जीव पाये जाते हैं जो लाखों वर्षों में स्थापित परस्पर निर्भर जीवनचक्र निभाते आये हैं। यही जंगल का जैव-विविधतापूर्ण पारिस्थितिकी तंत्र है। कृत्रिम वृक्षारोण से ऐसा जटिल पारिस्थितिकी तंत्र और ऐसी जैव विविधता क्या सौ सालों में भी विकसित हो सकती है? वृक्षारोपण बीमारी का इलाज नहीं, बल्कि रोगी को दिलासा देने वाली छद्म दवा (प्लसींबों) है।

देश में खत्म होते जंगल और वृक्षारोपण अभियान की हकीकत किसी से छुपी नहीं है। उत्तर प्रदेश के महोबा जिले में मात्र 5.45 प्रतिशत वन क्षेत्र बचा है। जिसमें पायी जाने वाली औषधियाँ-सफेद मूसली, सतावर, ब्राम्ही, गुड़मार, हरशृंगार, धतूरा और पिपली के साथ-साथ भेड़िये, तेन्दुए जैसे जंगली जानवर खत्म होने की कगार पर हैं। इसी जिले में वर्ष 2008-09 में स्पेशल ट्री प्लान्टेशन कार्यक्रम के तहत 70 लाख पौधे रोपे गये थे जिनका अस्तित्व अब केवल कागजों पर है। नेताओं द्वारा दो-चार पौधे लगाकर फोटो खिंचवा लेने से क्या इस समस्या का समाधान हो सकता है? इन्हीं की सरपरस्ती में तो पूँजीपति, ठेकेदार, खनन माफिया और वन अधिकारी हर तरह से प्राकृतिक जंगलों को उजाड़ रहे हैं। यही हाल देश के अन्य राज्यों का भी है। उत्तराखण्ड में 64 प्रतिशत वनाच्छादित भूमि है जो उद्योग धन्धों के फैलते जाल के कारण दिनोंदिन घटती जा रही है।

भारत ही नहीं वरन दुनिया के सभी देशों का यही हाल है। ग्लोबल वार्मिंग के कारण दुनिया की सबसे बड़ी और सर्वाधिक जैव विविधतापूर्ण रूस के साइबेरिया की बैकल झील गम्भीर पारिस्थितिकीय संकट का सामना कर रही है। गर्मी बढ़ने और बर्फ कम होने के चलते ठण्डे जलवायु के आदी इस झील के जीवों और मछलियों का भविष्य संकट में है। लातिन अमरीका के वर्षादायी जंगल बहुराष्ट्रीय कम्पनियों के मुनाफे की भंेट चढ़ चुके हैं।

आदिवासी जातियों का विलुप्त होना

अनन्तकाल से प्रकृति के सानिध्य में रहने वाली आदिवासी जातियों को लुटेरी ब्रिटिश उपनिवेशवादी नीतियों के चलते दो सौ सालों तक उजाड़ा जाता रहा, यह सिलसिला आज भी जारी है। सर्वोच्च न्यायालय द्वारा सन् 2000 में जंगलों और राष्ट्रीय उद्यानों से सूखी लकड़ी और घास काटने पर भी रोक लगाना इसी दिशा में एक और कदम है। यह जंगलों में हरे पेड़ काटने वाले माफियाओं के खिलाफ उठाया गया कदम लग सकता है, लेकिन सच्चाई कुछ और ही है। इस फैसले के चलते अवैध कटाव तो नहीं रुका, मगर यह प्रतिबन्धित वन क्षेत्र में रहने वाले 40 लाख आदिवासियों की जीविका के लिए भारी खतरा साबित हुआ है। एक तरफ वन विभाग को उत्पीड़न का नया हथियार मिला तो दूसरी तरफ इसके चलते लाखों आदिवासी बेरोजगारी, भुखमरी, कंगाली और विस्थापन की पीड़ा झेल रहे हैं। साथ ही कभी खनिज पदार्थों के दोहन के लिए, कभी देशी-विदेशी कम्पनियों को जमीन देने के लिए तो कभी जंगलों की रक्षा के नाम पर उन्हें उजाड़ा जा रहा है। अनुमान है कि आजादी के बाद से अब तक लगभग 2 करोड़ आदिवासियों को विकास परियोजनाओं के नाम पर उनकी हजारों वर्षों से स्थापित जमीन और सभ्यता से उजाड़ कर उन्हें दर-दर की ठोकर खाने को छोड़ दिया गया।

दरअसल आदिवासियों की जीवनशैली में कार्बन उत्सर्जन की बहुत ही कम गुंजाइश होती है। वे पेड़ों के पत्तों से बने दोने-पत्तलों और मिट्टी के बर्तनों से अपना काम चला लेते हैं। लकड़ी के खड़ाऊ, बाँस की चारपाई और दैनिक जीवन की समस्त उपयोगी सामग्री उन्हें वनों से मिल जाती है। इस्तेमाल के बाद ये सभी सामग्री सड़कर प्रकृति में घुल-मिल जाती हैं। कोई कार्बन उत्सर्जन नहीं, कोई प्रदूषण नहीं और शहरीकरण से पैदा होने वाले कचरे के निपटारे की कोई समस्या नहीं। स्थानीय समुदाय और आदिवासी लोग किसी भी प्राकृतिक आपदा के आसन्न खतरे को सबसे पहले भाँप लेते हैं। मौसम और स्थानीय पर्यावरण बिगड़ने पर उनका जीवन तुरन्त प्रभावित होता है। इसीलिए प्रकृति के ये मित्र पर्यावरण प्रदूषण या जंगलों के विनाश के खिलाफ तत्काल संघर्ष छेड़ देते हैं। हम कल्पना कर सकते हैं कि मानवता जिस भयावह पर्यावरण संकट से गुजर रही है, इस स्थिति में प्रकृति को संरक्षित रखने वाले आदिवासी कितनी महत्त्वपूर्ण भूमिका अदा कर सकते हैं। लेकिन उल्टे उन्हें ही विकास के नाम पर उजाड़ा जा रहा है और विरोध करने पर पुलिस-फौज के दम पर उनका बर्बर दमन किया जा रहा है।

सन् 2006 में पारित और जनवरी 2008 में लागू वनाधिकार कानून वंचित समुदायों के साथ हुए ऐतिहासिक अन्याय और उन्हें उनका हक लौटाने के बारे में जुबानी जमा-खर्च है, जबकि जमीनी हकीकत कुछ और ही है। आदिवासियों का शोषण कर मौज उड़ाने वाले दबंग, परजीवी समुदायों ने कई इलाकों में आदिवासियों के घर जला दिये और उन पर तरह तरह के जुल्म ढाये। इन दबंगों को वन-विभाग, पुलिस प्रशासन और राजनीतिक नेताओं का संरक्षण प्राप्त होता है। लेकिन आज इन अत्याचारों से हार न मानकर आदिवासी और वंचित तबके जल, जंगल, जमीन पर अपने अधिकार के लिए जी-जान से लड़ रहे हैं।

Time to Entangle the Question of Climate Change with the Goal of Radical Change in Social Relations

Today the world is going through an unprecedented situation. Existence of billions of species of plants, animals, flora and fauna including humans is under threat due to climate change. This crisis is much more severe than the world wars, more dreadful than epidemics, and deadlier than nuclear bombs.

There is an increase of holes in the ozone layer and in the acidity level of sea water. Nitrogen and phosphorus cycles are already dismantled. The planet is warming up day by day. The consequence: melting glaciers, increasing sea levels, aggression of deserts, extinction of animal and plant species, unexpected drought and flood situations every day somewhere on the earth. The more dangerous consequence is climate change, which is devastating agriculture, giving cancer and T.B. an epidemic form, submerging coastal areas and threatening coastal populations with displacement. Drought in Bundelkhand, devastating calamities in Uttarakhand especially in Kedarnath valley, floods in Jammu & Kashmir and increasing incidents of landslides tell the heart wrenching story of environmental crisis. This brings about food grain deficit, blows to the working class and a miserable life for women.

The race for more and more profit rolled the wheel of environmental exploitation after the Industrial Revolution, which increasingly ruptured the consistency and relation between human society and nature. The change in balance of power that took place in 1990 accelerated the unipolar world system and imperialist globalization. Now the rate of environmental exploitation and destruction of the planet have received a greater impulse. Subsequently the phenomenon of climate change has crossed all limits. As evidence, the following information will be enough: carbon emission between the years 2000 and 2013 was one fourth of that during the preceding 250 years, from 1750 to 1999.

The effluents and smoke produced by the factories have toxified the atmosphere. River water is no more lifesaving, rather life threatening. Every year 2.4 million people die of diseases caused by air pollution. The neighbourhoods of Valsad district of Gujarat, Alang Port, farms of Punjab, Haryana and Western Uttar Pradesh are now engendering cancerous crops due to pollution. Medical science every day faces a new kind of challenge presented by the toxic environment. The ruling class of the world has not learned anything from the consequences of the dangerous radiation in Chernobyl, Three Mile Island and Fukushima nuclear accidents. Yet the government is determined to build nuclear plants in Jaitapur (Rajasthan), Mithivirdi (Maharashtra) and Gorakhpur (Fatehabad) despite people's continuous opposition. Today the world is facing many such burning problems due to climate change and environmental crisis.

During last two and half centuries, capitalist development has relegated the medieval, nature-dependent feudal production system to the pages of history. On the one hand, it has built big industries, fast transportation and communication-led skyscrapers with heavenly facilities, and on the other hand, it has led the majority of the population to a hellish life of destitution and danger. The activities of Multinational Corporations are inviting destruction of nature each moment. These corporations exploit the environment relentlessly, destroy biodiversity and accelerate towards the crisis by making a nexus with the ruling governments across the globe. As a result, each year we are seeing 6 million hectares of land turning into deserts. Overuse of pesticides, chemical fertilizers, genetically modified seeds and over-pumping of ground water are making the land barren and destroying biodiversity.

Research and conferences by many governments and non-governmental agencies on environment have shown clearly that USA, Japan, the European Union and the oil producing countries are primarily responsible for climate change. These countries had a fixed target of reducing carbon emission by 5.2 percent, abiding by the Kyoto Protocol. They ended up increasing it by 11 percent. Now, developed countries are even denying the token responsibility of mitigation efforts, and the heavy cost is coming upon the poor population. Each year 10 million children die of enteric and respiratory diseases which are caused by polluted environments and an anti-human socio-economic system. None of the dimensions of human life is untouched by environmental crisis.

If we do not take action against this destructive game, soon the planet will become a hell where greenery, clean rivers and a healthy atmosphere will turn out to be only stories. Sharp debates on the reasons for and solutions to this crisis are going on along with local level spontaneous movements by people on various local issues pertaining to this crisis. Many are personally and/or through organisations working on reforms like plantation, water conservation etc. But without understanding this all- pervasive phenomenon, we cannot approach a solution. The ruling class' addiction to ever-growing profit has engendered the crisis, and is still continuing the disaster. None of the climate conventions (Kyoto, Copenhagen and Cancun) have provided a conclusive remark that would help. One can be sure of not getting any solution from the free market and consumerism promoting ruling class, which is going to discuss this issue in New York on 23 September 2014. So, we cannot leave it to them, or to the opportunists living on them. At this point, it is our responsibility to add this agenda to the programme of radical change in social relations along with building a mass movement on these issues. Along with a view that captures the totality of the issue, the participation of more and more people in this protracted struggle is necessary. To what extent are we supposed to sacrifice our present and future for the sake of an antihuman system called capitalism? The need of the hour is a collective effort in a right direction.

Our Objectives

1. To study, campaign and build up a mass movement on following issues –

2. Restore the balance of relations between man and nature.

3. Wild exploitation and pollution of nature in the name of development have to be stopped.

4. Ensure safe food, water and atmosphere for every citizen as their fundamental right.

5. Ensure protection of health from the diseases and natural disasters engendered by climate change and environmental pollution.

6. Take steps to replace consumerist and luxurious life style by a rationally and scientifically just socio-economic system.

7. Conservation of bio-diversity as a means to secure the existence of human species.

Programme

1. To unite all concerned scientists, environmentalists, intellectuals and activists for this global problem

2. To publish and distribute books, booklets, and pamphlets in order to improve understanding of the problem as well as to find a right solution.

3. To make people aware of this problem through mass campaigns, debates, seminars, conferences etc. Conduct debates, film screenings and other creative programmes among the youth.

4. Study and research on the results of environmental crisis, as well as take it to the people and raise the issue in front of the ruling authorities.

5. Reveal the government's anti-environmental policies and show concrete examples of such activities.

6. In place of carbon emission-driven consumerist life style, propagation of alternative development policy dependent on balanced relation between society and nature.

7. Opposition to displacement and destruction of lives and livelihoods of various tribes in the name of development.

Climate Change & Environmental Crisis : Book Introduction

Paryavaran Lok Manch has brought this book to develop a holistic view on climate change. This book presents a correct perspective to understand the ongoing climate change and environmental crisis that is based on a class approach. An attempt has been made to identify the cause of the crisis and who is responsible for it.

Mother Earth and Human civilisation are in grave danger due to the cataclysmic effects of climate change.

Our planet, the Earth, is heating up continuously and rapidly. Its glaciers are melting and its sea levels are rising. Scientists believe that if this situation persists, from Bangladesh to Florida, villages, and homes of millions of people will be inundated. A rapidly-changing climate can also bring about the contamination of drinking water, heavy rainfall in some places and droughts in others, destruction of agriculture, extinction of animal species and desertification of forests. These are not but some of the problems that have already begun rearing their ugly head. In order to remedy this situation, it is imperative that action be taken immediately. Unfortunately, instead of taking quick measures, policy-makers around the world are adopting delay in order to serve their petty interests and satiate their hunger for profit. If they continue to tread on such a path, the crisis will worsen, rendering restoration of the environment close to impossible.

The developed capitalist countries are major contributors to climate change. Despite generating the most carbon dioxide emissions, they shy away from adopting concrete solutions to combat climate change. The price of this apathy subsequently is borne out by the poor across the world, with over 10 million children under the age of five succumbing to diseases wrought by environmental pollution, including diarrhea and respiratory diseases, which are the major outcomes of environmental pollution and the inhuman condition of the marginalised sections they are living in. The last two hundred years of industrial development have bought prosperity to a few but pushed millions into the trenches of dire poverty. The poor mainly depend on natural resources such as water, forests, and land for livelihood. Degradation of these resources thus spells doom for them.

Mother Earth does not discriminate among her children on the basis of developed or undeveloped, rich or poor. The rich however remain largely insulated from the effects of climate change. They have access to technology that helps them beat the heat, unlike the poor who often sweat it out in the sun to earn their bread. The helplessness of this population is heightened even more in the face of floods or droughts wrought by changes in climate. Negligence by governments adds to the misery. It is the women whose mobility is restricted by social norms who bear the maximum brunt of such calamities. Unlike their menfolk who travel from one place to another in search of work, they are pushed into a corner in the fight for survival. A grim example of this was seen in the year 2010 when women residing in drought-hit Bundelkhand were forced to enter the flesh trade to ensure food on the plate.

According to the World Health Organisation, climate change has left around 5.5 million people physically impaired in 2000. Of these, eighty-four percent belong to poor countries in sub-Saharan Africa, and Eastern and South Asia. With the arrival of the summer season, malaria and dengue start wreaking havoc in developing countries. Drought, flood, and depletion of groundwater level continue to ruin agriculture and with it the lives of farmers. While the government's anti-farmer policies add to the woes, starvation, and malnutrition are continuously increasing due to low production of food grains. Due to unhygienic habitation and malnutrition, the resistance to diseases is on the decline leaving the poor susceptible to diseases. In the midst of such crises, heartless market powers are only added to the sufferings of the poor people. Consequently, the economic and social structure is being upset.

In the past, natural calamities such as floods, droughts, storms, hail- storms and heat waves have destroyed several civilisations. Around 2300 B.C., the Mesopotamian civilisation, which extended from Turkey to the Gulf of Persia, was destroyed by a dreadful drought. Other civilisations have shared the same fate. In the year 1770, under the barbaric rule of the British, the famine that hit Bengal resulted in the death of ten million people, erasing one-third of the total population. From 1875 to 1900, around twenty-six million people lost their lives across the country due to natural calamities. The crippling economic policies of the British Government including exorbitant taxes, cess taxes on exports and imports, and the cultivation of cash crops like opium, rice, wheat, indigo, and cotton – magnified the intensity of the famine. But the rapid climate change that we see today is much more lethal. The relentless plunder of natural resources, by capitalist civilisation has invited this destruction, and its effect can be felt in all aspects of human life today.

There is a raging debate across the globe over the phenomenon of climate change. Different social sections in society, taking into account the nature, causes, and solution of the crises, have taken divergent stands according to their self-interest. There are some pertinent questions that arise in this debate. Is climate change an inevitable and normal phenomenon or a result of the sordid, uncontrolled plunder of the Earth by human beings? Who is responsible for this crisis and who should pay the price for it? What is the reason for the failure of world summits held on it? What is the view of different classes, communities, and organisations about climate change? What is the cause of negligence and irresponsibility towards these crises? Is this calamity really dangerous or is it an exaggerated truth? We have tried our best to answer these in this book. 

 Two important documents are provided as appendices in this booklet. The first is a speech by Fidel Castro made at the 1992 Earth summit, where he said: “An important biological species — humankind — is at risk of disappearing". In our view, this statement presents the environmental problem in an apt perspective, stressing the need to take serious action. The second document, 'World People's Conference on Climate Change and the Rights of Mother Earth; April 22nd, Cochabamba, Bolivia,' deals with the issue in its totality and proposes a realistic and permanent solution to this problem.

In the course of writing this book, articles by John Bellamy Foster, editor of the Monthly Review, and various other articles published in this prestigious journal have been used as references. We are very thankful to them. Two books by Foster, Vulnerable Planet and Ecology against Capitalism cite many important, facts and put forth precise data, and provide an ideologically exciting set of literature on the climate crisis. 

We invite criticism and suggestions about the booklet from our readers and friends. 

पृथ्वी दिवस पर कार्यक्रम

पृथ्वी दिवस के मौके पर मेरठ के एक विद्यालय में कार्यक्रम किया गया । जिसमे बच्चों ने पर्यावरण संकट पर नाटक किया और भाषण दिया । बच्चों ने बताया कि कूड़ा उठाने और पेड़ लगाने से आज पर्यावरण को नही बचाया जा सकता । उन्होंने ये भी बताया कि पर्यावरण संकट का जिम्मेदार कौन है ? इस कार्यक्रम में पर्यावरण लोक मंच के साथियों ने भाग लिया और साथियों ने बताया कि आज के दिन को क्यों मनाया जाता है। उन्होंने बताया कि अमेरिका में औद्योगीकरण और उससे होते प्रदूषण के कारण वर्ष 1970 में पहली बार इसे मनाया गया और तब से अब तक पृथ्वी को बचाने के लिए इसे मनाया जा रहा है । साथियों ने हाल में ही कराई गयी लेखन प्रतियोगिता का पुरुस्कार वितरण भी किया । 

आईपीसीसी की चेतावनी- कृषि संकट और गहरा होगा

हाल ही में संयुक्त राष्ट्र की संस्था जलवायु परिवर्तन पर अन्तरराष्ट्रीय पैनल(आईपीसीसी) ने अपनी रिपोर्ट जारी की है। इस रिपोर्ट में यह बताया गया है कि प्रदूषण से दुनिया भर की गर्मी (ग्लोबल वार्मिंग) बढ़ती जा रही है जिसके भयानक नतीजों से बचने के लिए तुरन्त ही कदम उठाने होंगे। यदि कार्बन डाइऑक्साइड का उत्सर्जन मौजूदा गति से होता रहा तो ग्लोबल वार्मिंग सन 2030 से 2052 के बीच 1.5 डिग्री सेल्सियसतक बढ़ जाएगी और सदी के अंत तक यह 2 डिग्री सेल्सियस को भी पीछे छोड़ देगी। 
 

औद्योगिक क्रांति से पहले के मुकाबले आज ग्लोबल वार्मिंग लगभग एक डिग्री सेल्सियस है। महज एक डिग्री सेल्सियस गर्मी बढ़ने के कारण हम मौसम में भयानक उतार–चढ़ाव, समुद्र का बढ़ता जल–स्तर, पिघलते ग्लेशियर, बेमौसम बारिश से लेकर सूखे जैसी समस्याओं का सामना कर रहे हैं। जलवायु परिवर्तन का भयावह प्रभाव भारत जैसे तीसरी दुनिया के देशों में कृषि क्षेत्र् पर पड़ रहा है। भारत में कृषि क्षेत्र् पर सरकारी नीतियों का संकट तो पहले से ही विद्यमान था परन्तु अब आगे आने वाले सालों में यह संकट और विकराल रूप धारण कर लेगा। मसलन, तापमान बढ़ने से भारत की कई मुख्य फसलों की पैदावार प्रभावित होगी। नये प्रकार के कीट–पतंग विकसित होंगे। एक अनुमान के मुताबिक, जलवायु परिवर्तन की वजह से चावल, गेहूँ, मक्का और ज्वारी जैसी फसलें सबसे ज्यादा प्रभावित होती हैं। 2030 तक चावल और गेहूँ की पैदावार में 6–10 प्रतिशत की कमी आने की सम्भावना है। जाहिर सी बात है कि सीधे–सीधे यह घातक संकट सुल्तानी ही है। पिछले 150 वर्षों में दिल्ली का तापमान लगभग 1.0 डिग्री सेल्सियस, मुंबई का 0.7 डिग्री, चेन्नई का 0.6 डिग्री और कोलकाता का 1.2 डिग्री सेल्सियस तक बढ़ा है।

साल 2016 में जलवायु परिवर्तन पर पेरिस में एक सम्मेलन हुआ था। इसी सम्मेलन में आईपीसीसी को जलवायु संकट की स्थिति का पता लगाने की जिम्मेदारी दी गयी थी। यहाँ सबसे बड़ा सवाल यह उठता है कि महज 1 डीग्री गर्मी बढ़ने की वजह से जलवायु की ऐसी दुर्दशा हो चुकी है तो पृथ्वी की गर्मी 1.5 या फिर 2 डिग्री तक और बढ़ने से कैसे खराब हालत होगी। जबकि बात पहले से बढ़ी हुई 1 डिग्री की गर्मी को कम करने की होनी चाहिए।

वैश्विक तापमान ऐसे ही बढ़ता रहा तो खेती चौपट हो जाएगी। पर्यावरण विदों का कहना है कि यदि आईपीसीसी की इस रिपोर्ट पर ध्यान नहीं दिया गया तो यह भारतीय कृषि के लिए घातक साबित होगा। इस रिपोर्ट में मानसून पैटर्न में बदलाव की आशंका जताई गयी है। इसके साथ गंगा घाटी के सूखे की चपेट में आने की भविष्यवाणी की गयी है। इससे किसान बेघर और गरीब तबाह हो जाएंगे। हमारे सामने आज सबसे बड़ी चुनौती कृषि को जलवायु परिवर्तन और वैश्विक तापमान वृद्धि के खतरों से बचाने की है। इसके लिए नए शोध करने होंगे और नई किस्में तैयार करनी होंगी। लेकिन चिंताजनक बात यह है कि इस दिशा में देरी हो रही है। आईपीसीसी की रिपोर्ट में 2015 जैसी गर्म हवाओं का प्रकोप बढ़ने की बात भी कही गयी है, यह बेहद चिंताजनक है। क्योंकि 2015 में गर्म थपेड़ों से भारत में लगभग 2500 लोगों की जान चली गयी थी। भविष्य में पर्यावरण संकट का सबसे ज्यादा प्रभाव गरीबों पर पड़ेगा। जिनके पास घर नहीं हैं, गर्मी से बचने के साधन नहीं हैं, वे गर्म हवा के थपेड़ों से बड़ी संख्या में मारे जाएंगे।

––कवीन्द्र कबीर

(किसान-10 पत्रिका से साभार)