This article has been written for Techkriti Blog for a Cause Contest. The topic was: “We Do Not Inherit the Earth from Our Ancestors; We Borrow It from Our Children.” Keeping this philosophy into account how can we make sustainable development in the world For more information visit: http://www.socialscribblers.in/techkriti-blog-cause/

1. “We Do Not Inherit the Earth from
Our Ancestors; We Borrow It from
Our Children.”
Only the other day, a snake had wandered into own half of
the residence. Some "kindhearts" noticed it and, as is typically

2. seen in urban India, security was called and the creature was
beaten to death and it's battered body disposed of. "Just one
petty snake" you may snicker, but in my eyes, the incident just
reflects the stigma in our society against God's other creations.
Animals do not attack unless provoked, and if the snake had
been left on its own, it would have simply gone it's own way
and a mess could have been avoided. But no! Anything that
moves but is not beneficial to us? Kill it. Same goes for the flora
we have. We are hacking and shooting our way to a very lonely
future.
It is very hard to imagine a scenario where a kid sees an
elephant only in pictures and taxidermistic collections in
the museum, but statistics seem to be conforming to this
happening in the not-so-distant future. Each day we lose a
good-sized chunk of our rainforests and many thousands of
animals. And with every passing season, we can feel the effects
of global warming in terms of harsher weather conditions,
devastating flash floods and droughts in unlikely places and
a rise in sea level. We seem to be trying to make sure that
no life can exist on this beautiful blue planet. On the whole,
we are treating it as though it is our birthright and we can do
whatever we please with it. We'll live for today and worry
about tomorrow when it comes. The only problem here is that
tomorrow is approaching faster than we think it is. And it is

3. much worse than what we are anticipating .
Already we have received many wake-up calls, and turned a
blind eye to each one of the extinction of several species of
amphibians such as the golden toad due to climate change, the
breaking off of many ice shelves, the arctic ice lands getting
separated from the mainland for the first time, the green
cover of the planet reducing visibly, glaciers shrinking and
species dying out by over hunting and loss of the habitat. Still,
ignorance is bliss, and we are just about as blissful as angels.
Worse, we label environmentalist as impractical tree-hugging
hippies and they have a fight similar to Sisyphus pushing the
boulder up the hill endlessly, fighting sometimes against the
government we elect to work for us.
Still we have some hope, a thin silver lining to this dark,
ominous cloud of death and disaster. As we have seen this year,
when no Amur falcons were killed in their annual migration
after Nagaland ; tiger population in India stabilized a little ,
it is possible for us to alter radically, only if we shake off our
inherent laze and reluctance to change.
But even if you, my dear reader, aren't directly involved in the
conservation efforts, you too can make a change. Just follow a
few simple guidelines in day to day life like not wasting paper,
switching off the electrical and electronic appliances when not

4. in use, plant some trees whenever you can, travel by cycle or
pool automobiles, don’t litter unnecessarily and don't thirst
for the blood of every animal you see in your vicinity. Recycle,
Reuse and Reduce wastage. I know this sounds like a lot of
preaching, but these few measures aren’t that difficult, honest.
Atleast give it a shot, what’s to lose?
If enough of us do this, like drops of water, which add into
rivers and then into oceans, we can re-invent the world. After
all, we, the people have the power to modify what we don’t
like and make this world a better place, not just for us, but also
for all the future generations that will enjoy their life in this
wonderful paradise.
-Nikhil Nayak