NCERT Solutions - The Ailing Planet: the Green Movement's Role

Q. Notice these expressions in the text. Infer their meaning from the context.

• A holistic and ecological view
• Inter alia
• Sustainable development
• Decimated
• languish
• Catastrophic depletion
• Ignominious darkness
• Transcending concern

Ans: 

• A holistic and ecological view - This means looking at the planet as a whole, recognising how living systems and human activity are linked, and understanding that environmental decisions affect many interdependent parts of life and the biosphere.
• Inter alia - A Latin expression meaning "among other things"; it signals that the item named is one of several.
• Sustainable development - Development that meets present needs without reducing the ability of future generations to meet theirs; it balances economic growth, social welfare and environmental protection.
• Decimated - Greatly reduced in number; used here to indicate a drastic fall in the size or health of a population or resource.
• languish - To suffer neglect or remain in an unhappy or weakened condition; many species or ecosystems are left to decline unnoticed.
• Catastrophic depletion - A disastrous or ruinous reduction in a resource or population, with serious and far-reaching effects.
• Ignominious darkness - A state of shameful neglect or obscurity; here it suggests that certain environmental harms are ignored and remain unacknowledged, to the planet's detriment.
• Transcending concern - A concern that goes beyond immediate interests or borders; it includes long-term, global responsibility for people and the planet.

Q1: Locate the lines in text that support the title. 'The Ailing Planet'.
Ans: The lines that support the title of the chapter are given below.

• "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?"
• "...the environment has deteriorated so badly that it is 'critical' in many of the eighty-eight countries investigated".

These lines describe Earth as a patient whose health is worsening and warn that current trends - desertification, loss of fertility and widespread environmental deterioration - threaten the planet and future generations.

Q2: What does the notice 'The world's most dangerous animal' at a cage in the zoo at Lusaka, Zambia, signify?
Ans: The notice points to the idea that humans are causing the greatest harm to the environment. It highlights that human behaviour - over-exploitation of resources, pollution and habitat destruction - is endangering other species and threatening human survival as well.

Q3: How are the earth's principal biological systems being depleted?
Ans: There are four principal biological systems of the Earth. These systems are fisheries, forests, grasslands and croplands. However, due to the increasing demand of human beings to such an 'unsustainable' extent, the productivity of these systems is being hampered. The excessive demand results in deterioration and depletion of these resources. In a country where protein is consumed on a large scale, over-fishing is common, which leads to the collapse of fisheries in that area. Grasslands have been turned into deserts, and the production of crops is decreasing. The forests are destroyed in large proportions to obtain firewood. Depletion of tropical forests has also led to the extinction of several species.

Q4: Why does the author aver that the growth of world population is one of the strongest  factors distorting the future of human society?
Ans: 

• Overpopulation is one of the strongest factors responsible for a nation's poverty and unemployment. It disturbs the earth's principal biological systems, leading to the degradation of the environment. The author highlights the problem of overpopulation by pointing out the mental setup of the poor, who feel that more children means more workers to earn money. 
• They do not realise that more children only means more unemployed people. He argues that development is the best contraceptive, which includes the spread of education, improvement of health and rise in income.
•  The spread of education leads to awareness among people, which in turn results in a fall in the 'fertility' rate. The author makes a comment that emphasizes the never-ending circle of population and poverty by asserting that "The choice is really between control of population and the perpetuation of poverty."

Q1: Laws are never respected not enforced in India.
Ans:  India, one of the largest democracies in the world, is often criticised for its weak enforcement of laws. Many laws exist on paper but are seldom put into practice. For instance, the Constitution of India declares that casteism, untouchability, and bonded labour shall be abolished, yet these evils continue to exist even after decades of independence.

The author points out that Article 48A of the Constitution states that "the State shall endeavour to protect and improve the environment and to safeguard the forests and wildlife of the country." However, very little has actually been done to implement this directive. The result is a near "catastrophic depletion" of India's forests over the last four decades. Forests are vanishing at the rate of about 3.7 million acres a year, and many areas officially listed as forest land are now virtually treeless. In fact, the actual loss of forests is estimated to be nearly eight times greater than what government statistics indicate.

Q2: "Are we to leave our successors a scorched planet of advancing deserts, impoverished landscapes and an ailing environment?"
Ans: The First Brandt Report raised this powerful question to draw attention to the worsening condition of our planet. The Earth today resembles a "patient in declining health." The depletion of forests, grasslands, fisheries, and croplands is the direct result of humanity's excessive and unsustainable demand for resources.

Overpopulation has placed a tremendous strain on the Earth's biological systems, pushing them to the brink of collapse. We have now entered what the author calls the "Era of Responsibility," where it is our moral duty to protect and preserve our planet. The Earth does not belong only to us; it is equally the inheritance of future generations. Instead of treating it as our possession, we must safeguard it for those from whom we have, in truth, "borrowed it."

Q3: "We have not inherited this earth from our forefathers; we have borrowed it from our children".
Ans: Over the years, there has been a significant change in human perception towards the planet. People have begun to view the Earth not as an object to be exploited but as a living organism with its own vital processes and limited resources. This "holistic and ecological view of the world" reminds us that the Earth's needs must be respected and preserved.

The idea of "sustainable development" has therefore become essential - it urges us to meet the needs of the present without endangering the ability of future generations to meet theirs. The environmental challenges we face today are not signs of our end, but a "passport for the future" - an opportunity to act responsibly and protect the planet.

This "Era of Responsibility" calls upon us to recognise that the Earth belongs as much to future generations as it does to us. We are merely trustees of this planet, borrowing it from our children, and it is our moral duty to return it to them in a healthy and secure condition.

Q4: The problems of overpopulation that directly affect our everyday life.
Ans: Overpopulation leads to the issues of poverty and unemployment. The vicious circle of population and poverty will continue unless the root cause i.e. population is taken care of. It hampers the development of a country. It leads to the consumption of the natural resources at a much faster rate. The fossils consumed, the resources depleted, the forests cleared, the heat produced, the global warming caused are all the repercussions of the fast-growing population.

Thinking about the Language

Q1: The phrase 'inter alia' meaning 'among other things' is one of the many Latin expression commonly used in English.
Find out what these Latin phrases mean.
1. Prima face
2. Ad hoc
3. In camera
4. Ad infinitum
5. Mutatis multanis
6. Tabula rasa
Ans: 
1. prima facie means 'at first sight, before closer inspection'
2. ad hoc means 'for the specific purpose, case, or situation at hand and for no other'
3. in camera means 'in secret, in private'
4. ad infinitum means 'to infinity, having no end'
5. mutatis mutandis means 'changing [only] those things which need to be changed', [only] the necessary changes having been made 
6. tabula rasa means 'blank slate', 'without any prior experience or knowledge'

Working with Words

Q1: Locate the following words 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: captured widespread attention or interest
2.  dawned upon: became clear to someone for the first time; they realised it for first time
3. ushered in: brought about the beginning of something new
4. passed into current coin: became commonly used or accepted in everyday language
5. passport of the future: something that enables or guarantees success in the future

Q2: 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 figurative sense.
Ans: 
1) grip:
a) She held the rope with a firm grip during the climb.
b) The idea of conservation gripped the imagination of the whole community.

2) dawn:
a) Dawn broke and the valley filled with golden light.
b) It suddenly dawned on her that small actions could make a big difference to the environment.

3) usher:
a) The attendant ushered the guests into the hall.
b) The Green Movement ushered in a new age of environmental awareness.

4) coin:
a) He found an old coin in the garden.
b) The phrase "sustainable development" was coined to express a new way of thinking about growth.

5) passport:
a) She applied for a passport before travelling abroad.
b) Education is often called a passport to better opportunities and a secure future.