Environment Education: A Way of Life

In today’s scenario, when the work culture comes to a halt due to excessive pollution, it is indispensable for each responsible citizen to play a unique role in building a perception for reform in nature and directing actions revolving around it. In this essay, Heemal H Bhat urges individuals to participate in the effort of saving the environment.

- Heemal H Bhat

'One of the first conditions of happiness is that the link between man and nature shall not be broken,’ said Leo Tolstoy. Abiding by this principle and correlating nature with human race, I constantly contemplate upon environment and livelihood as two sides of a coin. Looking out of my window on serene Sunday mornings, I envisage man and nature as an interactive entity. The environment could be the other side of life in the sense that the very basic support system for life is truly provided to humankind by our environment. I often wonder if nature to us is like blood and veins to our body then are we nurturing it and taking good care of it. Our relentless neglect has brought nature to an extremely sorry state, yet it is a die-hard magnanimous force that keeps giving us all it has. Had nature behaved the same way with mankind, our race would have been endangered and probably extinct by now.

Where are we wrong? Is our education unable to develop the feeling of compassion and empathy for all living beings or are we simply brushing away from the gravity of this concern? I sincerely believe education plays a vital role in bringing constructive change in the world. It is critical for promoting sustainable development and improving the capacity of people to address environmental and developmental issues. True to the fact that Rome was not built in a day, wonders will not happen all of a sudden. Let us all give a thought to it and move beyond pointing out at the responsibilities of others, be it government, concerned departments, social organizations and so on.