Drowning in air

The last few years were a period of intense work, involving both extreme mental concentration and physical strain. It led to a sort of breakdown of health; I experienced a sort of breathlessness. As if enough oxygen was not reaching the brain. It was a most curious and also scary experience. There was air all around, yet, a feeling of drowning in air.

I mention this experience for it comes back to my memory, when I think about the current environmental situation of our bio-system.

The bemused culprits

Before going ahead, I need to speak of another curious incident to which I was witness. It took place in the south Indian city of Madras many years ago. I was walking on a very crowded road with a most unruly traffic and pedestrian rush. The traffic line was long and slow. One auto-rickshaw (3-wheeler) was in front, followed by a car, which itself was followed by a heavy Jeep. Suddenly the traffic stopped and the auto-rickshaw applied sudden brake. The car behind also did the same. But the jeep behind was a wee bit late, and rammed right into the car, which jumped and hit the auto-rickshaw and damaged the auto-rickshaw’s rear. The auto-rickshaw driver immediately jumped out and examined the damaged and went for a verbal fight with the car driver, who was an upper class man. Both of them started a heavy fight, with the latter slowly gaining upper hand due to the deft use of feudal indicant words. At the same time, the real culprits were in the jeep behind and seemed to view the whole incident in a mood of, at first, uneasy expectancy, and then of bemused coyness.

The denuding

This incident I relate here when I see the huge debate on climate change. Actually, this was a theme that was in my mind and my continuous observation from my childhood. In my childhood, I lived occasionally near to the lower parts of the mountain system in south India called the Western Ghats (Sahyadris). The whole valley areas and the mountains and the hillocks were fully green. So much so, that even around 10am in the morning, the roads to the mountains were fully covered with mist. Now the whole area lies denuded of its vegetation and the place is burning hot. It has severely affected the temperature and other physical attributes of the climate.

The machines

Now what is the problem here? Even though I am not sure if the proper machinery that continually replenishes the oxygen content of the atmosphere is only plants, it is almost certain that the plant world does have a very significant role in this work. That is, this is the machinery that should do the work of removing the Carbon-dioxide content in the air. This much I say, for I heard on the BBC, talks about installing machines all around the world that should do this work.

The so-called freedom to loot

Now what happened to all the trees and vegetation in this area? The same that has happened to all forest areas all around India, since India got its so-called freedom. When I was in my Plus-Two class, I remember reading that only around 20% of the total forest areas that were in India during the 1947 is still intact. The rest having been fully cleared during the looting of the forest wealth, mainly timber.

The plunder and the connivance

How it happens is like this: Persons who have bureaucratic and political contacts, create documents that claim that a particular area is actually private forest land; or officials of the electricity board (and such) collude with the timber business and certify that a particular stretch of land has to be cleared to protect the electric lines; during this clearing a lot of other trees are also stolen. Then there is actual plunder with or without official connivance. Plunder with official connivance is a fact of life; for in the early years, the evidence was very much there in the very houses of the forest officials; now, I don’t think they would dare keep such evidence of public plunder right inside their houses in full public glare. Yet, it is a fact that no one really can speak with daring against any public officials, for the huge might of the whole Indian government would fall on his fragile head.

Dacoits on the route

Now, when the fact remains that less than 20% of the forest wealth protected and bequeathed by the British colonial rulers remains here, it is a matter for deep concern. For, what has been destroyed is the machinery that regenerates the oxygen in the world. It is not a matter of national concern alone, but also of international consternation. The question remains of who gave these persons the right to cut down the trees, which has travelled through immense centuries, and should have still travelled through much more time periods. None of these persons do have any right over these trees; it is like a group of bandits plundering a train whenever it passes through their terrain.

Sharing the spoils

It is a scary right these people have claimed to and exerted. In many ways it is like the way and manner of modern Indian administrators changing the names of place in this geographical area currently called India. Names like Bombay, Calicut, Calcutta, Madras and much more have evolved over time, and have been in the records of immense historical records all around the world for a long time. For example, the name Calicut may have mention in Roman records; and there comes a silly politician who has run out ideas to befool his followers. All such names are simply chopped down and names that cater to the delight of a few are placed in stead.

Wasting celestial energy

A lot of concrete buildings have been built in the nation since 1947. Each building has taken part in the destruction of vegetation, either in the clearing or in the wooden furniture. This has led to heat accumulation in the place. At the same time, it is the vegetation that garners the energy from the Sun and assimilates it into the bio-system. More and more Sun energy is simply being radiated back into the outer space.

Ideas that bemuses

Many years ago, in a class in Bangalore, which I was attending, I mentioned to the teacher that growing plants on all concrete structures in the nation would go a long way in reducing the affect of extreme deforestation, and of the heat islands formed between the building; it will cool down the towns and cities and also cool down the interior of the buildings. Moreover immense bio-fuel energy and also animal fodder would be created. It was heard by the teacher in a most bemused manner, as the whole theme was outside anything she had read in her textbooks.

The dark future of the Dark Continent

Now, it is a fact that all over the world, especially in Asian, African and South American nations, the same scenario is being enacted. I am sure in some of the East European nations also, this might be the scene. I tremble when I think of what is going to happen to the Amazon forests in the near future. When it becomes a clear place full of concrete roads and buildings, will the world experience what I did; a lot of air around, but no oxygen to fill the lungs? What about Africa? Won’t it be a huge stretch of desert land in the near future? What a change from when it was the Dark Continent, full of intimidating forestry!

A world government

Here we reach the frontiers of British Colonialism and its connection to current day problems all around the world. At the heights of the British Colonial days, British administration was in charge of a huge part of the world, Africa, Asia, and North America. In many ways, this administration was the best that most of these places ever had in their whole history. The British left; they had their own reasons to leave; otherwise the huge weaknesses in British Jurisprudence would have left this tiny island nation inundated with the whole crowds from all over the world (actually it has not escaped this disastrous outcome).

The criminal exit

It was not exactly in their leaving that they did the crime; but the ways and manner of how they did it. They left, leaving the deftly crafted administrative, social communication and police and armed systems right in the hands of persons who existed right outside the English social strings; right into the hands of persons who have had nothing to offer other than rambling rhetoric. It was a most irresponsible thing to do. Imagine leaving not only the vulnerable people, but also the vegetation, the animals and the other creatures, right into the hands of persons who stood for most selfish reasons. Efficient police and armed forces crafted into supreme efficiency and then handed to brutes. It was a deed, which even the gods would find hard to find excuse for. The others who stood with the English systems simply stood in a bewildered mess; having no one at the far ends of the strings on which they stood. It was like orphaning a lot of sub forums pages when a main forum is deleted. I think Forum administrators will understand this allegory.

The explosion and its simple reason

There is need to think about the explosion in world population. It is seen that in all poor nations population is expanding; inexplicably, sort of. The answer may lie in the language systems there; wherein healthcare to poor people is there, but poor people hesitate to make use of it, unless in dire situations. For example, during child delivery, the poor will accept the same and bear the lower indicant words and usages of the hospital staff in the public hospitals. Yet, in other times, who would go near a public servant when they use lower level indicant words with perfect equanimity? The government servants are at ease; no one can dare to use it back on them and get away with it.

Look at India. I think the total population of British India, which included present day India, Pakistan and Bangladesh was less than that of current day India.

Wrongs notions in Political Science

Now, there is another aspect to this population problem. The British (not the concepts of Hogges, Locke, Rousseau and others as mentioned in the subject called Political Science) brought in the concept of Democracy into these nations, where the language systems have no correlation with the concepts of democracy. It simply stirred up a new political weapon in the minds of the people here. That of gaining power by exploding their population. Not only political groups like the Communist parties, but also religious groups including both the Hindus as well as the Muslims openly went in for spirited campaigns towards this end.

A nonsensical ANC and a pragmatic China

In South Africa, the nonsensical group called the ANC also gave call towards the same ends. Now look at the results. When talking about population control, one needs to mention China. China is most probably a feudal language nation; yet, when in a feudal language nation, when the top person decides to move on a positive track, there is huge movement towards the positive direction. China went in for a single child national programme. It was a policy that needed much courage as well as political will and capacity. This policy was criticised by the West, even the English West. Yet, it must be admitted that it was a most pragmatic policy, and should have been given accolade. During the Earthquake scenes in China, one saw an immensity of healthy looking, well fed, and well clothed persons.

Maybe there are others who don’t don such looks; in what one saw can be an evidence of every family putting their concentration on a single child, instead of a multitude. The scene is in sharp contrast from that of many other Asian and African social scenes. Begging children can be a rarity in China; look at nations like India, where children literally beg on the streets and are shooed off as urchins.

Dismantling English social systems

Now what about America filling the air with Carbon dioxide? Maybe if there are enough machines (trees and plants) to regenerate oxygen; then it might not be a problem; but with the world slowly turning into a desert, it is a big problem. The second issue is that of America being filled up with people who speak two languages; one a most feudal language at home and English outside. They simply do not live up to the tranquillity of English mental moods. They get constantly irked into outlandish competitiveness and callousness that exist in feudal language nations. The same industrial competitiveness that exists in China and spoils the biosphere.