Something’s not right with the world! Okay, many things are not right with the world. Even as the world becomes smaller and we bear witness to the theory of six degrees of separation actually take effect, there are still religious wars, violence, poverty and power trips. But that’s people against people. There actually might be a bigger problem at hand — Earth against people.
Statistics show that the number of natural disasters have risen over the last 20 years (I’m too lazy to compile the stats. Google it — that’s what it’s for). What’s worse is that the number of earthquakes, floods and cyclones are expected to increase even further. As we continue to walk around and live our lives as usual, our planet Earth on the other hand is going through some drastic and damaging changes.
A weak immune system
All living bodies have an immune system that fights back harmful bacteria. It’s the immune system that doesn’t let you die of a common cold. If we take Earth as one big living body, could these natural calamities be a way for the Earth’s immune system to fight back the unhealthy bodies created by man? I think so!
We have raised too many buildings, driven too many cars, set up too many factories and let out too much pollution on our lovely planet. Now, it has probably started breaking down under the combined weight of what man has created. We might have crowded out our planet.
Is Gaia dying?
Hey, I am not one of those freaks that’s telling you to shut down the factories, use no electricity and take a shower once in 3 days to preserve water. I am just thinking out loud (or to be more precise, on the net – that’s louder than loud).
But doesn’t it make sense? Gaia is probably a dying spirit and this is her way of trying to save herself. We call it global warming but most of us don’t know how global warming really works. The winters are becoming colder, the summers are becoming hotter, the ozone layer is becoming thinner, even the Mount Everest is becoming higher and could snap anytime (okay, so maybe not anytime but it is going to happen sooner or later). All of us discuss it and blame it on the global warming!
Maybe we need to treat Mother Earth as a human being housing billions and billions of ‘babies’ in her womb and give her a break. Maybe, the weight of all that we have created has become too heavy. Maybe there are just too many ‘alien organisms’ that have housed themselves in Earth’s body and now it is diseased.
Cure for cancer?
I am not saying the answer is to stop infrastructural growth and start living in the stone ages again. However, at the same time, I don’t think the answer lies in constructing 10 taller and stronger buildings where one fell.
Can the people of the planet not find a safer and less damaging way to inhabit this heavenly body without hurting it and at the same time achieving the prospects of a comfortable modern life? I’m sure that is exactly what scientists across the world are doing and I genuinely see people making efforts to reduce waste, use less plastic and save endangered animals (I swear I am not trying to be sarcastic here!).
But we need to cure a cancer that has had thousands of years to spread its cells in every corner of the world. That will take a long time. In the meantime, all we can do is watch Gaia struggle to keep herself alive while we try our best to save the victims of that struggle.