Name: Joshi Khushi Y.

College Name: KBS & NATARAJ Professional Sciences College, Vapi, Gujarat.

Year and Semester: S.Y B.com , Fourth Semester.

Mobile number: 8200746407.

NATIONAL LEVEL ONLINE ESSAY

COMPETITION

(On the occasion of “World Environment Day Celebration-

2020)
5th June 2020.

Synopses:
The world is facing a treacherous state of affair caused by
uncanny virus explosion – a pandemic of COVID-19. The
mankind is caught behind its own cage like tamed animal. The
table has turned and now the species exploited or otherwise,
nature traumatized or otherwise is playing its card and endearing
its own creation.
Is the nature’s game all for human beings or all against human
beings??
How the lockdown has come all the way through for the
environment worldwide ??

Mainstream Essay:
“The Earth is what We all have in common”
Earth not referred only in the sense of a third planet in the space
but everything that beholds all the living and breathing species and every
earthy substance that helps in growing and flourishing these species,
what we call our ENVIRONMENT.
Environment is generally defined as surrounding of an organism
or population. It is a place where different things such as living (biotic)
and non-living (abiotic) things occur. It includes physical, chemical and
other natural forces. Living things live in their environment , they
constantly interact with it and adapt themselves to conditions in their
environment.
Nature is the purest and evident thing that everyone cherishes but
in last few decade the rapid evolving process in human being has been
damaging it by their careless and selfish aptitude. Clean air to breath ,
clean water , proper life cycle and development of all species is
everything that environment balances, but mankind has taken the strings
into his own hands and the results are totally ignored.
Nowadays air pollution is the most largest health and
environmental problems. Air pollution is responsible for 5 million
deaths each year. That means it contributed to 9% - nearly 1-in-10-
deaths globally. Not only this but Ground level ozone O3 and nitrogen
oxide NOx the two most common pollutants are powerful oxidants that
can cause direct irreversible damage to birds’ lungs that can lead to
inflammation and lung failures to these species. California condor ,
Ivory billed woodpecker , Whooping crane and many more birds species
are going extinct.
Secondly the water pollution caused by industries and dumping of
garbage has damaged the quality of both the sea waters and river waters,
effect of which has been fatal and drastic for marine life and human
bodies too. In fact it caused 1.8 million deaths in 2015 and the ratio only
increases. It has given birth to some waterborne diseases like typhoid,
cholera, diarrhea etc which causes high illness and sometimes results in
death. Moreover this pollution generates algal bloom in lakes, rivers and
oceans which causes dearth of oxygen and suffocates the plants and
other lives creating dead zone and leaves water devoid of lives. Marine
lives such as dolphins, sea lions , whales, turtles are going extinct and
are endangered.
The max limit is these contaminations in the environment has
caused damage to the ozone layer causing it depletion. It started from
gradual thinning of upper layer of atmosphere which has now turned
into holes in the layers.
But the starting of 2020 has been something different for all of the
world as an uncanny virus called COVID-19 or CORONA VIRUS has
became a life threatening pandemic and its spreading its wings rapidly.
The governments of even developed countries has failed in stopping
itsspread and best medical services like france medical department has
also bowed down to this virus. World has no vaccine for this illness and
millions and millions of people are dying and suffering.
This threat to humanity has made each one of us stay at our
houses , indoors and locked down. The beginning of its spread was
subtle but the growth was terror of death. China, Spain, France,
America, India and majority of nations are facing immense danger. The
people died like mosquitoes but the contagious spread is not stopping its
path, there arose the need of immediate lockdown worldwide.
Now the world of 7 billion people is mostly vacant and billions of
people are locked in their own houses like animals in cage. 91000 people
were affected in the first week of its spread now the number has gone to
7,11,6,966 people affected with COVID-19. The world is in menacing
terror. This is not only problem but it is leading up to many major and
global problems like economic downfall, shortage of medical services ,
communal riots, outlooked defense systems, and of course the financial
crisis all over the world. These are most questions of atmost importance
at this time, where the only thing one can see is destruction and
numbness , a sense of fear and failure spins around every breathing
person.
But as it is said “If everything is falling apart, something is raising
together.” The most number of industries shutting down, very low
emission of carbon dioxide and COC gases , lower rate of garbage
dumping and peaceful yet healthy surroundings created a golden
opportunity for the nature to nourish and regain.
“With humans in lockdown nature seems to be flourishing”- said
many newspapers, social media and news channels all over the world.
The millions of people in lockdown and social distancing measures
meant to slow down the spread of noval coronavirus but it also brought
about a great change in nature around us. Clearer skies quite, peaceful
surrounding and tranquil shores have become the healing nostrum for
environment and biological diversity in the world.
 Starting from India , the air quality has improved over the small
period of time resulting in improved water quality and traffic pollution
along side. The capital of India, New Delhi was declared most polluted
city in the world by WHO but the government data showed the average
concentration of P.M 2.5 plunged by 71% in the span of a week –
falling from 91 microgram per cubic meter on march 20, to 26 on march
27 after the lockdown began. Nitrogen dioxide level decreased by 40-
50% in the cities of Mumbai, Pune, Ahemedabad compared with the
same period of 2018-2019.
Not only this the Uttarakhand Pollution control board has
reported that the water quality of the river Ganga and Har-ki-Pauri has
been improved and classified as “fit-to-drink after chlorination” for the
first time in decades and the river Yamuna has been clearer than before.
The state of Punjab witnessed the tops of Himalayas afar from about 100
miles in decades .
“Nature itself is the best physician” , they say, which looks like is
the true statement that as the unearthly activities slowed down the nature
started its haling and is on the way of betterment.
Globally, the impact of lockdown has also brought much better
changes in favour of environment. Due to the lockdown many region
and the planet as a whole has experienced a drop in air pollution.
European Space Agency observed a marked decline in nitrous oxide
emission from cars, power plants, and factories in Po Valley, Northern
Italy. NASA and ESA have been monitoring the significant dropping of
No2 and other COC gases. NASA uses ‘Ozone monitoring
instrument’(OMI) and has detected that the fallen rate of pollution has
helped ozone layers to regain the holes and damages over the period of 3
months.
 The water in the canals all around the world has been cleared and
experienced greater water flow. The increase in water clarity has been
due to the settling of sediment that is disturbed by boat traffic and
mentioned the decrease in air pollution along the waterways.
Where there is decrease in air, water and other pollutions the
biotic spices , animals, birds and marine life has also been improved.
There has been noticeable increase in fluttering of birds. Flamingos,
woodpeckers and other birds have been seen in the areas of human
livings. The animals like wild bores, rhino, deers have been roaming and
claiming the territories even in the cities of major population.
Dolphins and whales, sea turtles and sea lions have returned to the
shores of their own inherits. The coasts have noticed the increased
number of swans along with sea sides.
There is a quote that says “ Earth provides everything to satisfy a man’s
need but not to satisfy a man’s greed”
But now it seems that earth has given enough to humanity to subdue its
greed and vanity as the world has proved that earth is what we hold but
we are not only that world holds. This is the change that nature has
brought to itself but we will have to bring about every change that we
can to maintain this improvements and still work hard make it the best.
The restarting of emissions of green house gases by reopening of
factories and travelling vehicles will bring the same issue or more issues
than before. The event of industries restoring its position will contribute
to increasing emission of green house gases rather than reducing them.
All will have to take steps initiatively to stabilize the positive changes
brought by this lockdown. The national and international agencies,
institutions and research laboratories will have to declare guidelines
preserving and motivating the growth of better environment.
“ Unless we will try to do something beyond what we have already told
to do we will never grow”
This is the best line that can lead us to doing more than we have ever
done before. The governments will have to make rules and regulations
more strict and efficient towards the conservation of nature and wildlife.
Individuals should include the disciplined lifestyle with lesser wastage.
They should aware themselves as well as others to habit themselves with
co-existence of all the living being.
In conclusion the positive changes and effects of lockdown
maybe the sign of nature healing itself but at the end it’s the combine
atmosphere where we sustain our lives and we are the hands holding the
earth together. This change may result in short termed effects but it is
our responsibility to hold it as long as we can. Being human is given but
keeping the humanity alive is choice, hold the earth you live in
otherwise the earth won’t hold you.
And we should all keep this in our minds that,
“The Earth does not belong to us, we belong to Earth.”