Protecting Earth to protect humankind

With the safety and care of Planet Earth only the entire humankind will survive but hardly anybody takes it on a serious note. While youngsters observing Halloween's day and Valentine's day with pomp and gaiety, on the other hand they keep observing World Earth day for the sake of name only. And which has once again been proven with last passing World Earth day. Your article (We are part of this Earth and should behave so, Edit page 24,April) highlighted the impending dangers in future if we neglect the present situation.

We must take extra care in planting saplings of medicinal value and ensure they should not be destroyed by hooligans. For some demonic people, destroying whatever be a pleasure trip. Minerals are mindlessly excavated on the pretext of development but our posterity would not forgive us for wreaking havoc. Earth belongs to the entire humans and other creatures and it should be remembered before taking any colossal action causing damage to the collective good.

K V V S Murthy, Bhadrachalam

V. Ramu Sarma deserves all praise for coming out with a thought provoking article, relevant to many crises affecting the people across the world now, "We are part of this earth and should behave so" (THI, 24 April) where he rightly points out the catastrophic consequences of rising levels of human greed across the globe to destroy mother earth to maximize corporate profits where materialism and consumerism are driving forces. To be sure, this type of mindless exploitation of earth and natural resources already set the warning bells ringing sending ominous signals to mankind in the form of global warming, air pollution, contamination of water resources, unseasonal rains, natural calamities like floods and famines occurring more frequently with increased level of destruction, outbreak of pandemics hitherto unknown.

If human beings fail to learn right lessons about the correct way of adopting nature friendly lifestyles by integrating themselves with nature and by not doing everything possible to protect mother earth from being ruthlessly ruined by their ugly clamour for sheer profits and for establishing their supremacy over nature, it would pave the way for nature and mother earth reacting furiously to neutralize the ecological imbalances caused by mindless human greed which would ultimately make mankind to pay heavy price for their misadventures.

There needn't be any second thought that people living on planet earth need to strive hard to lead a happy and prosperous life with improved living standards and with better use and management of natural resources. Obviously, this is possible only by achieving economic prosperity, industrial growth, technological advancement and infrastructural development. But, it doesn't mean that to achieve all these things, we should be oblivious to the health and wellbeing of mother earth. It is of paramount importance to not go to extreme in tapping natural resources by inflicting irreparable damage to nature and earth by letting greed supplant need.

The nature is well equipped to meet all the needs of people but not any of their greeds. It is right time for people and political leadership to exhibit sanity, sagacity, wisdom and maturity by balancing both development and ecology while attempting for better living standards. It is inexcusable on the part of people living on mother earth now and the current political establishments across the globe to continue to exploit the nature to the hilt which makes mother earth unliveable for future generations. Let us be mindful of our responsibility to let posterity lead a happy life on mother earth.

It is unfortunate that the most powerful and richest country in the world USA made an exit from "Paris climate agreement" which is nothing but abdicating its responsibility, as a global leader, of mitigating ecological and climatic imbalances. International solidarity and mutual assistance among various countries would certainly yield good results in this regard. To conclude, the insightful lines of V.Ramu Sarma are apt "In fact political leaders and political executive need to be sensitized more about the need to protect the planet."

Narne Raveendra Babu, Hyderabad

Ramu Sarma's essay "We are part of this Earth and should behave so' (April 24) is a reminder to the people on earth to consciously protect it in all ways always to enable themselves to be protected from all natural calamities. The other name of earth is mother. As mother looks after her progeny, earth also serves all creatures to live longer. Five elements of nature are known as 'panchabhootalu' namely Earth, Aakash, Air, Water, Agni in which Earth is only the feminine gender and the rest are masculine gender.

All kinds of sins committed by human beings like polluting the environment and surroundings of dwelling areas have pushed the climate imbalancing and resulting in damaging the healthy atmosphere. Lord Vishnu in the incarnation of Kurmavatara saved earth from the demon Hiranyakha and today again many Hiranyakshas are being born to spoil the sandle smell of Earth. Yet as the vedic dictum describes kshamaya dharitri, mother earth with lot of patience gives us all comforts for eking out a living despite disrespectful behaviour being showed to our saviour.

During lockdown in first wave of covid-19, vehicular traffic was drastically reduced and environmental pollution had gone down to minimum level, with the result there were torrential rains and depleted ground water resources were fully replenished. Can't we manage to continue the similar conditions by using pollution free battery vehicles? State and central governments take decision to ban phase wise the use of petroleum vehicles.

Trees are one of the main resources for balancing the environmental imbalances which are being felled for occupying the land. Government programmes for sapling plantations are welcome but it takes a longer period to reap its benefits. Saving the earth means saving our lives. So save our lives by saving the mother earth. Not only April 22, everyday is to be treated as Earth Day as we get our food everyday from our mother.

N Ramalakshmi, Secunderabad