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TULSI-PRAJNA
Man and Science:
The contribution of science and technology to the enrichment of human cnvironment can not be ignored. Scientific advances have facilitated a gradual revolution in agriculture leading to high productivity and stability of major crops The impact of industrial progress has been tremendous, boosting our economy. Achievements in space research, electronics, atomic energy, medicines have been responsible for nurturing healthy human beings. But on the other hand this sceintific technological development has disturbed the ecological balance of the nature.
Man has exploited all living and non-living resources for his economic and even for recreational purposes without following natural laws. During the process of these achievements, the man has lost the grip over them and started breaking the law of the universe. The profit motive, may be individual or collective seem to be over-shadowed all things. This overriding concern with SELF is the basic cause of environmental crisis. Environmental Hazards :
The hazards due to uncontrolled technological developments and large increases in consumption of animal proteins in recent decades are also responsible for ever increasing environmental problems. It has been observed that about 70,000 Km. useful land goes out of production annually due to desertification, threatening the lifo of about 50 million people. Tropical forests are being destroyed at the rate of about 1.3 million hectares per annum in Africa alone. About 33% of total world's cereal output is used as animal food to get animal protein, which becomes about 1/10 of plant protein.
Today we are witnessing increase in flooded areas, deserts and soil erosion, genetic damages to buman systems, threat to living species, hazards from excessive fertilisers, pesticides, drugs and smokes, deforestation, allergy from pollens and noxious weeds. Several new diseases have gripped the human. The pneumoconiosis and solicosis in the workers of coal and mica mincs, lung cancer in the workers of uranium mines, leukaemia due to the radiation exposure, etc., The rate of death from cancer and other potentially curable diseases has increased more than 12% in the past decade. The 80% of cancer cases are due to environmental problems. The pollutions have become a threat to the living creatures including human. Noise pollution which is a result of industrial development leads to the loss of hearing, emotional distress, blood pressure, sleep
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