This lesson from class 11th is based on an article published in 1994 in ‘The Indian Express’ by Nani Palkhivala telling you how the world is suffering from an ailment and we, the greedy humans are the cause behind its ailment. This will also help the readers to understand the crux of the article published so that little effort can be made from each and everyone’s side to provide remedies to the earth.
The Ailing Planet Summary – About The Author
Nani Palkhivala was one of the best jurists and liberal economists who described through her articles how human beings are the worst animals living on the earth. She also explains how we are destroying and incessantly exploiting to fulfill not our needs but our greed. She was a brilliant economist who has laid the foundation of economics many years back.
Main theme
The lesson will lay emphasis on the causes which are, making our planet diseased and weak day by day. It was an article by Nani Palkhivala published in ‘The Indian Express’ focussing on the green movement. It also tells us about the worrying nature of humans and how a zoo declared humans as “world’s most dangerous animals”.
The writer also wants that humans should change their perception towards nature and explains the term sustainable in her own way.
Let’s quickly dive into the lesson to know why in this article humans have been described as dangerous.
The Ailing Planet Summary Class 11
The writer through her article stresses the fact that human beings are continuously degrading the earth by its practices to fulfill its lust and exploiting the natural resources at a large scale. A zoo in Lusaka, Zambia calls humans the most dangerous animal on the planet earth.
In 1972 the Green Movement was launched to creating new awareness to pave the way for ecological balance. The earth is actually working upon its metabolism activities but it is continuously showing signs of ailment which have been diagnosed earlier as well but we didn’t pay any heed towards it.
He also describes Sustainable Development in a very simple fashion. Sustainable development- a development that meets the needs of the present but not affecting the needs of posterity. There has been a shift in the attitude of humans from being materialistic towards being environment friendly.
He also explains that we must consume according to our needs and leave them behind for the next generation. We must be partners in sharing and consuming the gifts of nature and not become the sole proprietorship of these nature’s resources.
According to Mr. Lester Brown, there are four biological levels; aquatic life, forests, grasslands, and croplands. They all form the foundation of all the ecological balance and if in case they are affected in any way the whole system would get affected badly, damaging their productivity.
The writer also shows concern about the massive cutting of trees and the lessening of the green pastures. He told us to use cow dung as a natural fertilizer. Then the author grabs our attention towards article 48A of the constitution, which states that the state should guard, protect, and also improve our forest and wildlife. The laws are not imposed properly and certainly, there are many loopholes. The UN aware that the environment has deteriorated so badly that it is in a critical stage due to our deeds.
With the increase in population, the two most common problems people are facing is that of Development and Growth. With this population explosion, Development looks very far away, and proper family planning is the need of the hour. The writer shows positive signs as people are a little bit concern about this factor.
He turns our attention towards the industries causing pollution and needs to take major steps regarding controlling these affluents from reaching the air, water, and soil. Many industrialists and politicians have realized this issue and are working in cooperation with the rest of the nations to preserve our natural gifts.
The population explosion has also started degrading our future children as development is not at all possible. Development behaves as the best contraceptive in controlling as fertility declines as soon as income rises and health and education improve.
Due to this rat race, we will soon be devoid of our beautiful nature and these valuable gifts will vanish very easily if steps are not taken.
Conclusion of Summary Of The Ailing Planet
To sum up, the lesson deals with an article published and focuses on how humans have made our earth weak and it has been diagnosed with certain ailments for which the remedy is to stop her exploitation and save its gifts for the future generations.
If we’ve given such a good understanding units on our books. So why are the students not aware of this and go just for marks in schools? We must understand the importance of knowledge, not the importance of marks on exams first. What do you think about it?