Earth Day

Earth Day is celebrated on April 22 in many countries.Click on the link to find out more about Earth Day.I believe the concept of Earth Day is more important now than it was ever before.

Unofficial Earth Day flag,by John McConnell:the Blue Marble on a blue background . . .

Image:Wikimedia Commons

Dear Mother Earth,

Your own sons and daughters are killing you,
They are suffocating you with the exhaust from their fuel-guzzling and fume-spewing vehicles,
They are digging you up to extract mineral ores,
They are boring holes through you to extract oil and natural gas,
They are throwing their waste all over you,
They are letting out their sewage into your beautiful rivers and lakes,
They are killing your other sons and daughters for profit or even pleasure,
They are cutting down your beautiful trees,
They are destroying your wonderful diversity,
They are testing nuclear weapons in underground sites,
They are spraying chemical weapons over you in times of war,
They are releasing biological weapons to cause havoc,
They are releasing chlorofluorocarbons into the atmosphere,
They are skinning some of your children to adorn their feet,
They are killing some of your majestic children to use their bones in traditional medicine,
They are toying with your laws by genetically modifying food,
They are killing the largest mammals in the name of ’scientific research’,
They are melting your glaciers and polar ice-caps,
They are sinking you in your own oceans,
They are polluting your truly pure water and air and then sell them as ‘pure’ bottled water and oxygen,
If I ask them,
They tell me “Nothing comes for free“,
They tell me that ‘free trade’ is free,
They tell me that ‘free market capitalism’ is free,
They do not realise that those two concepts are dangerous oxymoronic nonsense,
They sometimes call me names for daring to call a spade a spade,
But I know that the best things-life,love,sunlight,air,water and natural beauty are always truly free,
Your love for me is always free,
My love for you is always free,
As I have learnt to control my greed,
As I never try to take anything more than I actually need,
As I try not to exceed the limits of what you can tolerate,
As I try not to exceed the average ecological footprint for humans,
For I truly love you,dear Mother Earth!

Save the tiger !

The tiger (Panthera tigris) is the largest cat on the planet.There are several sub-species of tigers and some of them are already extinct.You can read about tigers on this wikipedia article.

A recent tiger census reports that the number of tigers left in the wild in India is 1411.This figure may be higher than the actual number because the methods used to count them are outdated and inaccurate at best and grossly misleading otherwise.We shall have to wait for a more accurate number.This is possible only if the big cats are counted using modern technology.

But will they wait till we count them? I do not think so.The rate at which tigers are disappearing,no one would be surprised if they become extinct within a few years.Already some tiger reserves are reserves only in name.There are no tigers left in them.You can read about it on this link.

Not just tigers,other big cats like lions,cheetahs,leopards,panthers,etc. are on the verge of extinction throughout the world.The cheetah became extinct in India long ago and lions are restricted to a handful of isolated pockets,the largest among them being the Gir National Park in the state of Gujarat.Unless we put an immediate end to poaching,trade in body parts of big cats,destruction of habitat,etc. the big cats would disappear,never to return.That would be a sad fate for these majestic beasts that once roamed the planet fearlessly . . .

A Siberian tiger enjoying the sunshine . . .

Another adult . . .

. . . and an albino !

The above photographs have been taken from http://www.copyright-free-photos.org.uk