Economic Gain Costing Nature’s Loss

Global Warming is a term not hidden from anyone living in the 21st century. Mother Earth is heading towards destruction in the fastest way possible. Earth has given us all what we have and all we could ever ask for. We grow our food, feed our cattle, construct our buildings, run our industries and earn money to live the best life possible here. But sometimes our urge to earn money, attain luxuries and to give our kids a noble life, force us to start damaging the core of it all, Earth.

In 2011, the International Resource Panel, hosted by the United Nations Environment Programme warned that by 2050, the human race could devour 140 billion tons of minerals, ores, fossil fuels and biomass per year – three times its current appetite –

There is a need that countries should start comparing their economic growth with their natural resources’ consumption and try to lessen the stake of nature to gain fiscal stability, as the task is not only the reduction of the usage of natural assets but also to  overcome the nature’s loss that we have earn in the past decades. It has also been noted that a citizen  of a developed or a so-called flourishing country consumes resources more rapidly as compare to the one living in the under-developed or developing states of the world. The above research also noted:

Developed country citizens consume an average of 16 tons of those four key resources per capita (ranging up to 40 or more tons per person in some developed countries). By comparison, the average person in India today consumes four tons per year.

Wastage generated by the industries is not only infecting our atmosphere but also our own bodies. We inhale the air that is manipulated with harmful gases. In United States, about 40 percent of chemical fertilizers used break down into ammonia and are released into the air. Here the example of the USA has been given because according to economic theories Western states are the most literate and rich lands of the world. But the dark truth is that they are the most demanding child of the Mother Earth as well.

Water, air and fire are the main factors of the presence of life on the earth. These are the essence of our presence, the reasons of our survival and our hope for our future. Without nature we couldn’t think of taking a single breath at this place that we call earth. But we are dragging it to the state of the other planets very vigorously, where the severity or scantiness of even one of these factors have made it impossible for a living creature to survive. A drop of water or even a slight evidence of the presence of oxygen  takes us to the farthest part of the galaxy with our technologies, but we are least  interested to safe our own land which is filled with the immense power of nature and the miraculous ability to hold so many creatures at the same time, including us.

We are so much addicted in the thirst of earning sumptuousness and growing the power of economy that we couldn’t see that in the end we would be left only with a hand full of money but no more air to breathe, not a single drop of water to drink and a barren earth to walk on.

Therefore, there is an urgent need to get hold of our actual assets and bona fide reasons behind our own survival. May be today it would be difficult for us to switch off the light  before we came out of the room but thinking about our offspring would make it easier to  do so. None of us would want to give our kids a future with no more resources for living left!

Another heart-hitting fact is that the status of the world’s seabirds has deteriorated rapidly over recent decades and several species and many populations are now perilously close to extinction. We are all responsible for releasing detrimental gases into the atmosphere by burning fossil fuels for transportation (driving and flying) and home energy (electricity, heating, and cooling). This leads to global warming, which is destroying Earth's fertility and our ecosystem. 

To get rid of these crises there is a need that we start reducing usage of fossil fuels, burning the most important natural resource for transportation purposes, protecting our forests and growing trees in urban and deforested areas. These minor steps might not seem good enough to overcome the massive destruction we have made, but as you see the larger picture this would definitely help in taking a step forward toward the betterment of the environment. The message from the earth is “keep the status quo ante”

AN INTERDEPENDANT WOMAN

Being a woman, asking for the right to live, learn, work, or to have the independence to decide or choose what is good for you is an old lore now.  No it doesn’t mean that you are being asked to give a deaf ear to the prevailing problems women are facing in our society, that include sexual violence, trafficking, dowry abuse, domestic violence, acid throwing and other ways of humiliation and chastisement adapted in the name of religion, honor and even love. Moreover endemic issues such as unfair lack of employment or poor education couldn’t also be left unaddressed. But here, we need to come up with a more progressive approach which could be acceptable for both the genres of the society and would be a win/win situation for two different kinds of people living in almost the same spectrum. It could be considered the next step taken, once women get what they deserve since a long very time.

“Every power comes with a greater responsibility”. Once you achieve your liberation, you need to realize, what actually it comes with. A liberal person is not the one who embraces his rights and is free to do whatever he wants. This rather, is a more matured and accountable phase of life. Liberation means that now you have the authority. You are on the decision-making side. Many people around you would be looking towards you, to find out that how you will manage this privilege, and whether this power would make you an improved and prolific human being or not.

Here, the term “Interdependent” comes up. An interdependent person is the one who is emotionally, economically and morally responsible for the other participants. Being new in the business you have to learn the ethics of being liberal. You need to understand how decisions are made and how rights are disseminated. Being at the same path you would also get a better understanding of what a man has to go through to fulfill the needs and desires of the family and of an over all society. With the experience of others you could also amalgamate your individual and miraculous visualization to find your own course, which has never been used or thought to be used before.

The so-called “liberal” people in our society generally talk about “giving” freedom to women. This is to tell them that the term “giving” in itself is an under-statement. An empowered and interdependent woman, where at one hand clearly knows her personal and professional responsibilities, she also has a decent knowledge of her own rights and privileges.  

“A right is not what someone gives you; it’s what no one can take away from you” Recognize your strengths and overcome your weaknesses. This fact needs to be understood and accepted that man and woman have two different mindsets and equally different temperaments of dealing with the issues of life; a glass half-filled could be a glass half-empty for the other. A new man at a place faces a lot of obstacles in the beginning, but once he proves his worth and makes his place, people automatically starts counting him as a part of the land. You also being new in the field of liberation and taking “the” authority in you hands would face many rejections and failures, but eventually when you understand the rules of the game, it will not take you too long to get what you want.

The last step is to handling the success and to controlling your powers. An enduring victory is the one that doesn’t leave you alone, rather it gives benefits to the masses; mutual benefits are what we talking about. Being a woman, you genetically know the art of managing relationships very well. To get the win/win situation, always make this ability your strength.

Liberty and progress is not about dominating or winning a race. It is rather about the prosperity and progress of the society as a whole. Strive becomes easier when intentions are good. Keep your goals clear and heads high. The change you are looking for has to come one day. Till then, keep pushing!

THE HARDLINES

Talking about religion with someone is a big task to take on your shoulder. I personally try to avoid it as much as I can to prevent myself hurting people’s feelings that they very firmly have about “THEIR” Deen.

But yesterday, I was caught to talk about what “I” think of religion. Having very cower knowledge of his ideologies, I played safe to say that everyone has his own understanding about religion and everyone has his right to work according to his belief.  That guy rejected my idea by saying that these are the reasons that we Muslims are divided into sects, and don’t have a single PATH. To agonies him more I said that what is wrong in having sections, people are segmented in the whole world in social, moral and spiritual values, and that is their right. Problem arises when you don’t let them do what they believe in and force them to follow a single idea, which is practically not possible.  

The conversation than turned to the topic of “Jihad”. He said that we should do Jihad, as that is why we Muslims have been sent to this world. This time I agreed with him and said that we should do Jihad by getting good education, helping people and by trying to be a good human being. But he argued that we as Muslims have a bigger responsibility of spreading the message of Allah among the mankind and preaching Islam to the whole world. I replied that even being nice to people and getting educated, is a fine way of portraying the real image of Islam and proving that we are good Muslims. He didn’t like the idea of me assimilating the general social ethics with religion. According to him religion could not be defined through these petty things and there is lot more involved with it.

To extinguish the fire, he ended up the conversation on a note that it’s not easy to learn the true essence of religion and left the chat. Even as our impulsive conversation abruptly ends, I kept on thinking about it and that where I had been wrong. The conclusion was that did I actually ever try to find out what God wants to tell me or why He has sent me to this world? The answer was no. We could have our own ways of finding God and the reason of our presence, but have we ever tried looking for Him? We have a right to choose our own path but let’s just start by taking the first step, “LEARN”. By your understanding and by the miraculous power of your mind that God has bestowed on you, find your way, draw your line, but kindly, not the HARD ONE!