This famous quote by Sir Albert Einstein "If the bee disappeared off the surface of the globe, then man would have only four years of life left", makes us ponder deep about the intricacies of nature, and makes us realize the perfection and craftsmanship by which Almighty GOD has created the world and how all the entities co-exist in nature in perfect harmony. We don't just exist in this world but we co-exist. Just like all the cells and organs of the human body constitute the full being, all the living organisms, flora and fauna together constitute what can be called as life on this planet.
The gist of
Einstein's famous quote is that if there are no bees there would be no
pollination, and hence no fruits or crops to sustain life. Pollination is
brought forth mainly by several types of bees and only a minor percentage
happens by wind, and other small birds like Humming bird. Hence bees play a
major role in the existence of other species.
When we look deep
into nature, it is clearly evident how all the elements of nature - plants,
animals, the environment, water bodies, etc are all mutually dependent and
exists in harmony, in such a way that any disruption in nature's balance will
cause severe repercussions and dire consequences. Nature always tries to regain
its balanced state, no matter what all natural catastrophes happen or what all
imbalance occurs.
For instance let's
take into consideration a scene that's at the top of my mind, just to get a
picture on the real meaning of co-existence in nature. Consider a hilly terrain
with green pastures and meadows and trees aligned all around, and with animals
like cows and goats grazing on the grass and a river flowing near by. The
trees, grass & the greenery around absorb water & minerals from the
soil, and it holds the soil firmly by it's roots. The grass and the leaves are
food for the animals while their droppings have minerals and nutrients required
for the plants. Thereby all these elements are co-existing. Any imbalance in
this harmony will have some ill effects. There are instances where severe
deforestation on hilly slopes have resulted in landslides and avalanches.
When we look into
the wild, in jungles, we can clearly see this harmony and balance. Animals emit
carbon dioxide which are absorbed by plants and trees and they in turn emit
oxygen. So is food and nutrients, which are mutually provided by plants and
animals. If we travel to a jungle and spend a day there we will feel more energized during the day than being in cities, due to the oxygen rich environment.
A balance is
maintained by nature among the creatures at several levels of the food chain as
well. Even though there exists wild beasts and carnivorous creatures which
devours other herbivores in the jungle, we can see that the number of off
springs of the herbivores always outnumber the off springs of carnivores
thereby maintaining a stable environment. Always the ratio between the carnivores
and herbivores are in such a way that perfect balance in maintained in nature.
Any change in the
harmony of nature, or laws of physics would have other dire consequences. The
universe is so crafted and all the entities and elements of the universe finely
tuned that a small deviation in the laws of physics or a disruption in the
pattern would have appalling effects.
For example,
unlike all elements which contracts while cooled, water expands on cooling. If
water doesn't expand when it is frozen and forms ice, it's density would have
been too high, and wouldn't float on liquid water. The ice formed wouldn't
floating on top of water. During winter, when lakes and rivers are frozen,
liquid water exists beneath the sheet of ice, thus marine creatures can survive
the harsh winter. Moreover salt in seawater, lowers the freezing point of
water, thereby seas and oceans won't get frozen easily even if mercury dips to
zero degree celsius. The anomalous property of water to expand on cooling and
the saline sea water has great significance for the sustenance of marine life.
Major part of life exists under the sea, and an impact to marine life will
indirectly affect all other forms of life as well.
Here is another
example. If sound could travel through vacuum or if air existed in outer space
instead of vacuum, then the whole universe couldn’t have come to existence as
energy from the stars would dissipate in the form of sound energy, (besides
electromagnetic radiation), and the enormous sound waves created due to the
nuclear fusion explosion in the stars would rip apart the orbits of the
planets, and shatter the planets and none of them would ever exist.
Suppose if you were
given the power to change the universe, and if you try to tweak a small iota of
the structure, pattern, properties or the way it works, it will lead to a
collapse of the entire system. Each entity is dependent on other, and no entity can
survive or thrive on its own, but together all survives and flourishes.
The extinction of
an animal at the bottom of the food chain, can result in the extinction of
several creatures or plants. For example, there was a bird called
"Dodo" which was native to the African continent. European explorers
during their journey to Africa and India, and during their colonial period,
used to hunt down the Dodo bird for its delicious meat. Due to excessive
poaching, the bird got extinct. Meanwhile, another tree called “Tambalacoque”
or dodo tree is now at the verge of extinction. This tree sprouts from the seed
in its fruit, which has a very hard endocarp. This fruit was consumed by Dodo
bird and from the seeds in the droppings of the bird, the tree used to sprout. Due to the hard endocarp of the fruit, the seeds cannot sprout other than from the bird droppings. The
extinction of Dodo, has resulted in the decline of Tambalacoque tree.
Similarly the impact of extinction of several crucial creatures, can ripple across the food chain causing several extinctions and also other consequences to the environment and life.
Nature has a
peculiar way of re-establishing the balance when there is any disruption to
nature's normal course. At times of volcanic eruptions and other natural
catastrophes, the way life flourishes there and how it comes back to normalcy
is a matter of great awe and astonishment for researchers. Researchers and
scientists still do not have concrete proofs and explanation on how life begins
at newly formed islands, which are isolated from the outer world. Similarly the impact of extinction of several crucial creatures, can ripple across the food chain causing several extinctions and also other consequences to the environment and life.
Man has always
tried to destabilize the balance of nature which has resulted in several
consequences. Most of the ill effects in nature is as a result of human actions
with little regard in preserving the natural habitat and the rich heritage of
nature. Hence today man is facing several of its aftermaths.
We live in an
advanced and sophisticated world. Lot of advancement and development has
happened in the recent years. Unlike olden days the mortality rate has
decreased considerably due to advancement in medical field. Deadly diseases and
viruses are nature's way of curbing human population and a way of
re-establishing the balance of nature. As several new vaccines were created by
man to get immunity from several diseases and as man has eradicated several
diseases like smallpox and plague, and as man learnt to "deal with”
several diseases newer and much complicated ones were formed by nature. For
instance, deadly disease like AIDS wherein the entire immunity system is
damaged, thereby no medication can be of any effect, is one of the cruel ways
of nature in establishing the balance.
In the last 10
years, technological developments have sky rocketed. Non-degradable waste like
plastics and polythene, the toxic gases that are let to the atmosphere, air and
water being polluted, the CFCs from air conditioners, are all affecting
mankind, environment, and all species alike. In our day to day routine life, we
come across lots of carcinogenic substances. Polluted air, contaminated food,
toxic emissions from air conditioners, food in plastic containers which are
hazardous, cellphone and WiFi radiations, and other harmful substances like
fizzy drinks, antiperspirant sprays, etc are some of the carcinogenic and toxic
things we are exposed to, daily. Cancers and tumors are on the rise since the
technological boom began. The causes of cancers are zeroed upon changes in
lifestyle and technological developments. For instance, one of the main reasons for breast cancer is found out to be the extensive use of anti-perspirant sprays.
Cellphone
radiations and WiFi signals are a huge threat both to mankind and nature. The
number of sparrows and bees have declined to appalling levels as these
radiations are on the rise in the environment. The decline of bees is a grave concern which has to be addressed at all cost.
Human intelligence
is limitless and man has reached great heights through technological
developments. However man's brains are not fully appreciated by nature and the
outbreak of the latest virus "Zika Virus" targeted at man's brain, is
one of the crude ways of nature in addressing this issue, by shrinking the
brain of newborns.
The impact of human
activities to our planet and the threat to the habitat is a very serious one.
The decline of natural habitat is happening at an alarming rate. Mass extinction is
the final destination where we are headed to, and the bitter and pitiful truth
is that we have already boarded the train to that final destination!
- Suveen Jacob Abraham.
- Suveen Jacob Abraham.
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An excerpt from Academy award winning actor
- Leonardo DiCaprio's speech during the Oscar night:
"And lastly I just want to say this: Making ‘The Revenant’ was about man's
relationship to the natural world. A world that we collectively felt in 2015 as
the hottest year in recorded history. Our production needed to move to the
southern tip of this planet just to be able to find snow. Climate change is
real, it is happening right now. It is the most urgent threat facing our entire
species, and we need to work collectively together and stop procrastinating. We
need to support leaders around the world who do not speak for the big
polluters, but who speak for all of humanity, for the indigenous people of the
world, for the billions and billions of underprivileged people out there who
would be most affected by this. For our children’s children, and for those
people out there whose voices have been drowned out by the politics of greed. I
thank you all for this amazing award tonight. Let us not take this planet for
granted. I do not take tonight for granted. Thank you so very much."
