so far, so much

A long discussion on the breakfast table today pushed me to imagine beyond the daily lives and think about how we human beings are degrading the living conditions on earth. While I was trying to argue that my 100+ sqft garden is my farming ground ( huh ? you too are laughing ?), the reality is we are damaging the earth in a pretty irreparable way. Farming land percentage has reduced year over year. To generate the food for the ever growing population, and to earn enough, farmers are pushed to use harmful pesticides, which in turn is having an effect on the health and environmental conditions, and the cycle goes on.

When I visit my village, I can breathe the difference! The air is so oxygen-rich as compared to that of Pune, I usually feel more energized and lively there. Same is true when I visit a place like Mulsi. During my early days in Pune, back in 2000, there used to be soothingly cool breeze every evening. Where has all that gone now?

Point is, what happens after 50/60 years? Will I live to see those days when a large percentage of the kids will start having elderly type diseases, diabetes, lungs congestion, liver failure, lead/arsenic content growth in blood ? Will our own environment un-friendliness end up extincting us ?

Driving down the Baner Road today morning, I realized that over last week, most of the trees along the road side have fallen. Don't know what to complain about. Roads needs to be widened as there is a severe traffic problem and it is going to go out of control, in september - for commonwealth youth games in Balewadi.

But then, we need wide roads to support the vehicle population, which is a by product of the ever growing human population, which needs as many trees as possible to survive! What a paradox ! How to solve it?

The imagination scares me! Though I admit that I was the one who was so courageously arguing about how it is all about 'survival of the fittest' theory, and how human beings will probably mutate to fit into the new environmental condition. And eventually, how, we should not be worried about getting extincted, as that is the law of nature and it does not matter which species rules earth!

However small and insignificant, I am trying to grow some trees to increase the green population on earth. Are you ? Will it stop the environmental disaster that is waiting to happen? The answer is a clear NO!

But, it will make a difference! And I will live with that.