Dark forebodings

Sir — Man has been using natural resources for centuries without caring about their replenishment, and it is clear now that nature will not oblige us much longer (“Earth cannot afford humans”, Feb 3). Agricultural and industrial activities have not only been exhausting the resources but also damaging the environment irreparably. Pollutants, which have been released into the atmosphere since the coming of the industrial age, have heated the planet abnormally. Glaciers are melting, it does not snow in certain temperate regions in early winter anymore, and sea levels will soon rise to inundate low lands, while the air that we breathe will get more and more poisonous. In other words, life on earth may become impossible over the next few centuries. Even though corrective measures, such as energy switches and limits on emission levels, are already in place, they are nowhere near the degree to which they must be implemented. Scientists have shown that the most effective solutions, even if they are put into action from tomorrow, cannot undo the damage for centuries. Therefore, if global temperatures indeed rise by one to six degrees Celsius on an average, mankind can only pray for a helping hand to guide it to the grave it has been digging for itself.

Yours faithfully,
Saumya Jana, Naihati

Sir — In our pursuit of wealth and the benefits of industrial civilization, we have paid no attention to the harm we are doing to our planet. Unless all governments, across the globe, take action to strictly reduce pollution and the carbon content in the atmosphere, mankind cannot be saved from extinction. India, as a growing energy consumer, has a very important role to play in reducing global warming. Strictures against automobile and industrial emissions exist mostly on paper; there is little evidence of such norms being enforced. Calcutta itself is a major culprit in this regard. There are hardly any checks on vehicular emission — most city buses and cars belch black smoke that poisons our lungs every day. It is necessary to prevent the misuse of natural resources, and also to employ alternate sources of energy immediately. If we neglect environmental issues any longer, we will do so at our own peril.

Yours faithfully,
Swagato Paul, Calcutta

Sir — The report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change is alarming. It is time India woke up to the challenge of global warming and led global conservation efforts. But before we deal with the worst offenders — the developed countries — our own house must be put in order. The Union government must quickly take two steps: first, an independent environmental regulator should be set up, with branches in all states. It should be empowered to grant clearance to industries, provide information and punish violators of environmental norms. Second, there should be separate ministries for environment and forest. This environment ministry should deal only with broad policymaking in the context of global warming and leave the day-to-day environmental management to the regulator. To start with, India should frame a new and radical environmental policy.

Yours faithfully,
Pranav Sachdeva, New Delhi

Sir — The report, “Earth cannot afford humans”, will only gladden the alarmists. Lay men have long ceased to believe these doomsaying scientists. In the late Seventies, they told us that fossil fuels would be exhausted within 25 years, and men would be back in the jungle. About 40 years have passed, but the fossil-fuel-based upstart human civilization is still alive and kicking. One wonders whether the scientists have retired to the jungle or not. Global warming, like thalassaemia and AIDS, girl-trafficking and the Varanasi widows, makes for a good seminar subject. Besides, big money can be roped in if a global fear can be whipped up. People ought to be suspicious whenever they hear that a scientific conclusion is based on a consensus, as is the case of global warming. Even if one accepted the truth of global warming, for the sake of argument, questions would remain about it being man-made. The world has seen glacial cycles, with ice sheets advancing and retreating, on 40,000- and 100,000-year time scales. The last glacial period ended about 10,000 years ago. Between ice ages, there are million-year periods of more temperate, almost tropical, climate, but such periods also occur within the ice ages. The warmer periods are called interglacials, and the earth is in one such phase now. The current interglacial may be analogous to a previous one that lasted 28,000 years. Mammoths faced extinction due to global warming, but humans certainly had no role to play in that. So there is no reason to attribute the extinction of mankind, if it happens, to human beings alone.

Yours faithfully,
Tapan Pal, Batanagar