About Nani Palkhiwala

Page 1 of 9
Summary

Key Themes (for Notebook)

Page 2 of 9
 The Ailing Planet: the Green Movement’s Role

Question and Answers (for Notebook)

Understanding the Text

1. Locate the lines in the text that support the title ‘The Ailing
Planet’.

Ans: The lines that support the title ‘The Ailing Planet’ are:
i. “The earth’s vital signs reveal a patient in declining health”
ii. “Are we to leave our successors a scorched planet of
advancing deserts, impoverished landscapes, and the ailing
environment?”
iii. “…the environment has deteriorated so badly that it is
‘critical’ in many of the eighty-eight countries investigated”
iv. “There can be no doubt that the growth of world
population is one of the strongest factors distorting the future
of human society”
Page 3 of 9
2. What does the notice ‘The world’s most dangerous animal’
at a cage in the zoo at Lusaka, Zambia, signify?
Ans: The notice ‘The world’s most dangerous animal’ signifies
that human has deteriorated the planet from a long time that
his own survival is under threat now.
3. How are the earth’s principal biological systems being
depleted?

Ans: There are four principal biological systems - fisheries,

grasslands, forests, and croplands. These four systems provide
food and raw materials for industry except for minerals and
synthetics. These systems have reached an unsustainable
point where their productivity have impaired. As a result,
fisheries are collapsing, deforestation is taking place,
grasslands are turning into barren wasteland and croplands
are becoming worse. Overfishing is very common nowadays
where people are becoming protein-conscious. In poor
countries, the forest is being cut down on a large scale to
obtain wood for cooking. In some areas, firewood is more
costly than food. Many species are under destruction in
tropical forests.

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: The author avers that the growth of world population is

one of the strongest factors behind the distortion of the future
of mankind because overpopulation leads to unemployment,
rise in poor health conditions and ultimately poverty. It
deteriorates the environment and the four principal biological
systems.
The rich are getting richer and the poor is having more children
Page 4 of 9
which leads to more unemployment. Development is the best
contraceptive which will lead to more employment, a rise in
health conditions and improvement in education. It also
results in a reduction in the fertility rate. We have to choose
between population control and keeping up with poverty.

Talking about the Text (for Notebook)

1. Discuss - Laws are never respected nor enforced in India.

Ans: According to Article 48A of the Constitution of India, the

state should try to protect and improve the environment and
must protect the forest and wildlife of the country. But the
painful fact is that laws are not followed in India. For example
– casteism, untouchability and bonded labour are said to be
abolished in India but are still in practice. Over the last four
decades, India is losing forest at a harmful rate of 3.7 million
acres a year as per the report of Parliament’s Estimates
Committee. The large area of forestland is now treeless and
the actual loss is estimated to be eight times the rate given by
government statistics.

2. Discuss - “Are we to leave our successors a scorched planet

of advancing deserts, impoverished landscapes and an ailing
environment?”

Ans: The above lines were mentioned in the first report of the
Brandt Commission. With the rising scale of distortion of the
environment, humans are going to leave a burned planet with
aided deserts, poor landscapes and a poor environment for
our future generations. Our earth is like a patient with
declining health and it is not a good sign. Deforestation and
over populations are some of the reasons behind the
deterioration of the earth. We must realize our ‘Era of
Page 5 of 9
Responsibility’ before it's too late. We must conserve the
earth as if we have borrowed it from our future generations.
3. Discuss - “We have not inherited this earth from our
forefathers; we have borrowed it from our children”.

Ans: From many decades, humans are using the resources of

the earth at a very alarming rate without worrying about
future generations. Now the environment has become critical
enough that humans must realize the era of responsibility
towards it. With quite some time, human perception is
changing and the earth is seen as a ‘holistic and ecological
view’. Earth is seen as a living organism which has its own
metabolic and vital needs. We must protect the resources for
future generations. Use of ‘Sustainable Development’ which
means meeting the needs of the present generation without
compromising with future generations. Thus, the earth’s
resources should be utilized in a way that doesn’t affect the
future.

4. Discuss - The problems of overpopulation that directly affect

our everyday life.

Ans: Overpopulation leads to many problems that are

affecting mankind and natural resources. It leads to poverty
and unemployment. The poor children are forced to live the
same lifestyle as their parents did because of the lack of
resources and facilities. Overpopulation leads to lesser
education and low health facilities which results in more
problems like the rise in harmful diseases and fertility rate.
Natural resources are being consumed at a very fast rate to
fulfil the need of the population throughout the world.
Deforestation is one of the issues where forests are being cut
down. All this results in global warming and if the population
is not controlled, it will deplete the environment and earth.
Page 6 of 9
Thinking about language (Not for Notebook)

The phrase ‘inter alia’ meaning ‘among other things’ is one of

the many Latin expressions commonly used in English. Find
out what these Latin phrases mean.
1. prima facie
2. ad hoc
3. in camera
4. ad infinitum
5. mutatis mutandis
6. caveat
7. tabula rasa
Ans:
1. Prima Facie – At first sight, before closer inspection
2. Ad Hoc – for a specific purpose or situation
3. In-Camera – in secret
4. Ad Infinitum – having no end
5. Mutatis Mutandis – changing only those things which
need to be changed
6. Caveat – a warning
7. Tabula Rasa – without any prior knowledge

Page 7 of 9
Working with words
I. Locate the following phrases in the text and study their
connotation.
1. gripped the imagination of
2. dawned upon
3. ushered in
4. passed into current coin
5. passport of the future
Ans:
1. gripped the imagination of – received much attention
2. dawned upon – become apparent
3. ushered in – begin the new idea
4. passed into current coin – something which has been
brought into use
5. passport of the future – a thing that makes something
possible to happen
II. The words ‘grip’, ‘dawn’, ‘usher’, ‘coin’, ‘passport’ have a
literal as well as a figurative meaning. Write pairs of sentences
using each word in the literal as well as the figurative sense.
Ans:
Grip

Page 8 of 9
1) She held the balloon with a tight grip.
2) The movement of ‘Stop Rape’ has gripped the minds of
people.
Dawn
1) She waited for Ronald until dawn, but he never came back.
2) The idea of starting a new business dawned on him.
Usher
1) The attendant ushered them to their seats.
2) The internet ushered in an era of mass communication.
Coin
1) She asked him to give all the coins he had collected so far.
2) The term was coined by a famous Physicist.
Passport
1) He went to the visa office to get his passport stamped to go
to New York.
2) Education is our passport to the future.

Page 9 of 9