Dr Yanthungrhomo Mozhui
The dictionary meaning of Ecology states that it is one of the branches of Biology that deals with the relation of organisms to one another and to their physical surroundings. Meanwhile, the National Geographic Society interpreted ecology as the study of living organisms and how they interact with the environment around them. To this day, the study of living organisms, their environment and habitat has been given much importance and have gain varied knowledge from this study. Right from elementary school topics such as types of plants, insects, reptiles, mammals, domestic and wild animals to the doctoral research being carried out, ecology has been of great concern and interest to many.
The US Environmental Protection Agency defines an “ecological system” (ecosystem) as a biological community consisting of all the living organisms (including humans) in a particular area and the non-living components, such as air, water, and mineral soil, with which the organisms interact. Ever since the creation of the earth, these relationships/interactions that exist between the living organisms and the components have been significant and cannot be ignored at all. However, human intervention in ecological system has also been of deep concern in his quest of thriving survival. To this day, much have been talked about how humans have been causing harm to his own whole ecological system. Ecological/ecosystem imbalance, degradation etc. have been a globally pressing issue to every government and many institutions and organizations.
Our whole environment has been affected and has even more been deteriorated as a cost of our survival. Modernization and industrialization have been some of the driving factors behind this ecosystem imbalance. Some other causes being deforestation, soil erosion, faulty dumping of hazardous substances, production of harmful gases and unwanted noises by factories etc. The list goes on and on.
These mountains which we call Home is affected to a large extent over the years. The climate which we used to called ideal is no longer one but we have started facing extreme weather condition, the air which was pure is not pure anymore. Rainfall isn’t how it used to be, the rainwater which used to be considered as safe for drinking is not anymore. To what extent do we know if the air we are breathing and the water we are drinking are safe. Not forgetting the other living organisms which exist, some flora and fauna species which our forefathers used to talk of aren’t anywhere to be seen. Forests and jungles are depleted and so have their homes been evacuated by human. In this decade time, the sounds of animals, insects and birds which used to be heard during different seasons have gone silent. The sound of the nature used to be so melodious and lively along the sunrise and sunset, they were so vibrant and shooting to our forefathers’ homecoming weary souls. The sound of the nature then used to indicate the different time of the day and seasons of the year. These were what made the earth lovable which cannot be found anymore. All these are caused by human and human alone. These are not just changes but have posed a challenge to us.
Many organizations have been holding conferences in an effort to spread awareness and to find a way on how to mitigate these changes and face the challenges. From Stockholm Conference in 1972, in this period of 50 years, countless conferences, compendiums have been held. There has been a rise in the number of environmentalists young and old, many papers have been presented and published in various journals, magazines, online blogs etc. All media talk about the earth being harmed, fashion houses talk about sustainability, big companies are obligated to take up CSR policies on environment. But how much have we heard about betterment, instead, we have only heard about the environment getting worse. These organizations, governments and environmentalists are not the only one who have a duty or are obligated to protect our ecosystems and environment. Each one of us, human is responsible for these challenges and issues that are being posed on us today.
We have been seeing and reading stories of many environmentalists and activists and the articles they have published. One of the very inspiring environmentalists is the six-year-old Manipuri girl by the name, Lucypriya Kangujam. A young girl from Manipur who has gone as far as addressing the United Nations Climate Change Conference, 2019 in Madrid all before she even turned 10 years. When a girl like her, as young as 11 years old can do so much, we the youth can also make a little effort to make our earth better.
The resources produced by mother earth is getting really used up and human, at recent times have turned to man-made artificial resources at this point, we may end up leaving nothing but an empty earth for the younger generations in our quest for sustainability. Right from the creation of heaven and earth, God had gifted this earth to mankind to look after it, produce abundantly and enjoy the varied richness of the earth. Contrary to that, what human has done to this gift is getting it exhausted and harming it. Genesis 2: 15 says that God places Adam and Eve in the garden of Eden to work and take care of it. Therefore, it becomes our responsibility to take utmost care of our surroundings even if we have to work and benefit the fruits it produces too. God also vested His authority on mankind to look after all His creations and exist with them in harmony. However, human, in his greed has violated this co-existence command, we have cut down the plants and trees for our own existence, we have killed the birds and animals for our own satiation.
We talk about species of flora and fauna getting extinct blaming it on natural calamities and climatic conditions. However, these are not natural extinction but are caused due to disruption in the food chain, for an instance, the birds which used to kill the worms infecting the trees are killed thus favoring the worms to cause the death of the tree. Dinosaurs are extinct, many more animals are endangered, slogans such as “Save the Dolphins” are what we are shouting today but what mankind has done cannot be restored. God created every creature and placed them perfectly in the right environment with the right component so that all creatures, small and large would be able to exist and despite His perfect design, what humans have done is disruption. However, we can still make an effort to save and protect what still exists. What we can do as Christian youth is still significant and can go a long way in doing a little justice to the intolerable harm already caused.
When God ascribes the task of filling and multiplying by being fruitful in Genesis 1: 28, God also gives us the task of replenishing and subduing which clearly meant that we are given the responsibility of taking care of His creation. The process of replenishing is a continuous process, we cannot replenish anything lest we take up any action. Further, He also gives us the authority to have dominion over all the living creatures and non-living components. This dominion is to this day, exercised unrightly by humans in most cases, it is rather used for exploitation than to be over and above the whole creation with grace. Proverbs 12: 10 also says that a righteous man cares for the needs of his animals so it also becomes a rightful thing for us to not harm the living creatures around us. Everything that exists on earth belongs to God, the wild animals and plants, the plants that give us food, the animals that give us company, the air we breathe, the water we drink. Therefore, we should make sure that whatever is bestowed on us is taken care of because what God has given us is all out of Love.
As Christian youth, we must learn to be good stewards of God’s creation. The meaning of steward as found is “one employed in a household or estate to manage domestic concern”. As stewards we must make sure that the creation, God’s estate that we are responsible for is managed well. We will be then called a good steward, dutiful and righteous. The Bible also talks about the creation groaning in Romans 8: 22. Its groan has been compared to that of a labor pain and truly, our earth is in extreme pain, all creations that exist are faced with their own pain.
What can we as Christian youth do? Not everyone can become the Lucipriya or the other environmentalists around the world. Everyone is capable of doing something at least and this can start with our own realization and our little act around us. Youth can in fact do the most as compared to the other age group. When Christian youth understand the responsibility, authority vested on us and act upon, this creation of God would much be better off and might even lessen the pain from which it has been groaning. It is time we do not avoid but talk about this conventional issue amongst us and try finding a solution together. Let us be kinder to our environment and the creatures around us. Are we really doing justice to the most beautiful stage of life i.e., youth if we aren’t doing good to God’s beautiful creation? We should make sure that we give reverence to His creation and replenish, nurture and protect it. We, youth should be wise and be an example to the ones around us though that may mean being unusual or being more than ordinary. A simple act as keeping our surroundings clean can honor God and His creation.
Each one of us can start small and make it big and together we can make it bigger.
