Visitors to the State complained that two days ago Delhi experienced a temperature of 23’ Celsius while Shillong was hot and humid. On Friday the day temperature of Shillong was 28’ Celsius and gradually reduced to 20’ Celsius by 8 pm. People come to Meghalaya to experience the cool summer breeze but that is not to be. However what’s more worrying is that it’s now June but the State has experienced very little rainfall. The Umiam Lake which generates electricity for large parts of the state has dipped to dangerous levels in the absence of rains. Whatever rains have come have lasted barely 30 minutes and then disappeared, leaving behind a hitherto unknown level of humidity.
Climate changes largely due to human activities and humans have been disdainfully ruthless in stripping nature of its green cover. Unregulated mining of coal and limestone and now of boulders and sand has left the earth wounded. Yet there is not a stir in those that have been elected to protect the environment and in those departments whose priority is to prevent environmental pollution. Rivers have all shrunken and clogged with garbage; they no longer flow with the rippling sound of happiness. They are sluggish and toxic as they have become the receptacles for the latrines that empty themselves into most of the rivers flowing through Shillong, Jowai, Nongstoin, Mawsynram etc., and garbage dumps as well.
This year the catchword for World Environment Day globally is, ‘Stop Plastic Pollution.’ Everyone knows the destructive nature of plastics, particularly those single-use plastics that are dumped at landfills and have no further use because they cannot be recycled. They are ultimately burnt at landfills and give out toxic smoke. The black plastic bag is known to be carcinogenic too but humans continue to do what is convenient and that is to rely on plastic bags to carry their wet purchases such as meat and fish, instead of carrying their own cloth/nylon bags or containers. The daily generation of plastic bottles by hotels/restaurants/institutions etc., make this earth unsustainable. Efforts have to be in place to reduce the use of plastics to the extent possible.
The tribes are so called because they had a symbiotic relationship with nature. They worshipped nature and all its elements. But conversion to a religion where people prayed inside buildings, quite detached from nature is perhaps what has alienated humans from the environment. What is even more appalling is that utility items produced by the first world and which are now embraced by third world countries such as disposable nappies (Huggies), disposable sanitary napkins et al have assaulted the rivers across the State and these if not trapped upstream all land up at the Umiam Lake which is now heavily silted.
Climate Change is the wake-up call. Will humanity wake up or allow the destruction of the earth?