Understanding the Text
1. Locate the lines in the text that support the title ‘The Ailing Planet’.
Ans. The lines supporting the title are
- The Earth’s vital signs reveal a patient in declining health.
- Are we to leave our successors a scorched planet of advancing deserts, impoverished Landscapes and ailing environment?
- For the first time in human history, we use a transcending concern—the survival not Just of the people but of the planet.
2. What does the notice ‘The world’s most dangerous animal’ at a cage in the zoo at Lusaka, Zambia, signify?
Ans. The notice at the cage in the Zambian zoo signifies that man is the most dangerous of all the animals. By exploiting nature, without any concern for the future generation, man has proved to be an enemy of his race.
3. How are the earth’s principal biological systems being depleted?
Ans. There are four principal biological systems of the earth—fisheries, forest, grasslands and croplands. These are the foundation of our economic system. They supply us with not only food but also all the raw materials for industry, except minerals and petroleum.
But unfortunately, in large areas of the world, the exploitation of these systems is going on recklessly. As a result, fishes are vanishing, forests are disappearing, grasslands are changing into wastelands, and agriculture is at the dead end. Overfishing is common because of our need and hunger for proteins. In poor countries, forests are being destroyed to get firewood for cooking. Thus, all the four systems are being depleted.
4. Why does the author aver that the growth of world population is one of the strongest factors distorting the future of human society?
Ans. Our earth is in declining health chiefly because of enormous population growth. The number of human beings is increasing at an alarming rate. Every new mouth has to be fed, clothed and housed. In the year 1800, the world population was around one billion only. The next century added a second billion. But in the 20th century, the population was around 600 billion—a big jump. Naturally, the future of our race is badly affected. The population remains within control when people enjoy a better standard of life. Income with a better. With education, health improves and there is all-round development. But such development is negated when there is an increase in population. The rich get richer while the poor produce more children, remain jobless and half-fed. So, the root cause of our poverty is over-population.
Talking about the Text
Discuss in groups of four
1. Laws are never respected nor enforced in India.
Ans. Laws are made to improve the quality of life, to ensure safety, to fight injustice, and protect the environment. They are also enacted to safeguard forests and wildlife. Our constitution calls upon all the states to work in this direction. But unfortunately laws in our country are not enforced strictly and due to corruption, people have no fear or respect for laws.
Our constitution forbids casteism, untouchability, and bonded labour. But these social evils are flourishing even after seventy years of Independence. Take the case of forests. They are being reduced and overexploited. India is losing them at the rate of 3.7 million acres a year. This is an official figure. The actual loss is eight times the official statistics. This shows the state of lawlessness in our country.
2. “Are we to leave our successors a scorched planet of advancing deserts, impoverished landscapes and an ailing environment?”
Ans. The earth is so far the only known planet where life exists. But the way we are deforesting the land, and robbing the sea of fish, overcropping the land and overgrazing the grasslands, will bring doomsday in just a few decades. What we need is sustainable development. Our industrial growth should meet the needs of the present but without robbing the future generations of their means of livelihood. We must not use the natural resources to the extent that our great-grandchildren are left with only deserts and wastelands and polluted environment. We have not inherited the earth for our use. We are only the trustees of this planet. And we ought to use the resources keeping in view the needs of future generations.
3. “We have not inherited this earth from our forefathers; we have borrowed it from our children.”
Ans. The author NaniPalkhiwala rightly quotes the words of Mr Lester Brown—this earth is not our personal property inherited from our forefathers. We are holding it on behalf of our children. Since we have borrowed it, we are duty-bound to return it in a better condition, together with interest. We should be concerned about the purity of air and water and soil. We have to conserve the forests, the oceans and the pastures. Excessive fishing or clearing of forest or digging out minerals will create disorder. And as responsible trustees of this earth, we must not leave behind expanding deserts and vast wastelands for our children.
4. The problems of overpopulation that directly affect our everyday life.
Ans. Overpopulation is one factor which is chiefly responsible for the declining health of our earth Poverty, unemployment, pollution of the environment, deforestation—all these are the by-products of over-population. Every four days we add one million people to our already over six billion population. This evil is directly affecting our everyday life. Overpopulation means wide-spread poverty. When the population is under check, income Increases, and education spreads. People in the high-income group have small families. The poor only produce more children, acute poverty and widespread unemployment. They undo the gains of all development activities.
Thinking about Language
The phrase Inter cilia meaning ‘among other things’ Is one of the many Latin expressions commonly used in English.
Find out what these Latin phrases mean.
Ans.
Prima facie: apparently; accepted as true until proved otherwise
Ad hoc: made or done for a particular purpose
In camera: in a judge’s private room; not in public view
ad infinitum: endlessly or forever; up to infinity
Mutatis mutandis: with necessary changes
Caveat: beware; a warning let the doer beware
Tabula rasa: blank slate; smooth table
Working with Words
1. Locate the following phrases in the text and study their connotations.
1.gripped the imagination of – (created keen interest in)
One cannot recall any movement in the world history which gripped the imagination of the entire human race
2. dawned upon – (came to mind, struck)
A new awareness has now dawned upon the most dangerous animal in the world.
3. ushered in – (introduced/started)
The new world vision has ushered in an era of responsibility.
4.Passed into current coin – (came in common current use)
None has passed so decisively into the current coin of English usage as her felicitous words.
5. Passport of the future – (permission to travel ahead into the future)
The environmental problems do not necessarily signal our demise, It Is our passport of the future.
II. The words ‘grip’, ‘dawn’, ‘usher’, ‘coin’, ‘passport’ have each a literal as well as a Figurative meaning. Write the pairs of sentences using each word in the literal as well as
The figurative sense.
Ans.
grip: If you loosen the grip (hold), you will go deep down.
: This short novel is of gripping interest.
dawn: Leave your bed early and enjoy a few calm and quiet moments of dawn.
: I did discover that I had been cheated. But it dawned on me quite late.
usher: The receptionist ushered me into the manager’s cabin.
: Every government promises to usher in a period of prosperity.
coin: Every day hundreds of new words are coined and added to the English language.
: These coins belong to the Mughal period.
passport: You cannot travel abroad without a passport and a visa.
: A mere university degree is not a passport to success in life.
