Environmental Ethics

Author(s): S M Jain
Publisher: Prakrit Bharti Academy

Page 38

healthy and productive indefinitely. Over exploitation will result in its deterioration and ultimate destruction. Like wise under utilisation or no utilisation i.e. total stoppage of interaction between humans and animals etc. with forest would result in succession by uneconomic species
Likewise the rivers and other water bodies (hydrosphere), air (atmosphere), biosphere, lithosphere etc. have their carrying capacities to clean impurities and depredations but not if these are beyond their capacities as has happened in case of many rivers in India and other developing countries the water of which have been polluted to such an extent that they are not fit even for bathing and not at all for drinking. There is already scarcity of drinking and irrigation water and it will accentuate further. This is result of over exploitation, uncontrolled discharge of household and industrial pollutants. The same is the plight of atmosphere which is getting more and more polluted every passing day and people need breathing oxygen cylinders and masks. As a matter of fact normal pollution by optimum populations is beneficial e.g. in rivers for flora and fauna, in air CO, for plants. The methodology and indices to measure carrying capacities and health of various eco-systems have been well researched, documented, standardized and established.
Symbiosis at Planetary Level :
There is symbiosis, mutualism, harmony in all interrelations of all the constituents of environments not only at the levels of larger and smaller systems and subsystems but also at universal level between different planets, galaxies orbiting in their own orbits. Earth's moon may be cited as an example. It exerts a considerable influence on climate of the earth and thus on the inhabitants, its tidal influence is well known. It is the presence of moon that exerts stabilising effect on inclination of earth at 23°27' with its orbital plane around sun keeping the variation within 1°3' and it is because of this that there are regular seasons and climate
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