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The Ailing Planet : The Green Movement's Role
“No generation has a freehold on this earth. All we have is a life tenancy—with a full repairing lease”. Justify this statement of Margaret Thatcher.
Or
“We have not inherited this earth from our forefathers ; we have borrowed it from our children.” Justify it reasonably.
Man has entertained many false illusions. He considers himself to be the lord of this world. His arrogance and misdeeds have caused untold havoc and destruction. He considers that he has a freehold on this earth. He can indulge himself in plundering of natural wealth and resources at will. The protein-conscious and hungry world has ruined fishing. Forests are disappearing at the rate of an acre and a half every second. Grasslands and croplands are being converted into wastelands and deserts. Man is the most dangerous animal of the world who has made this earth an ailing planet.
We should remember that we are not the masters but only the trustees of this planet. We owe a duty to leave this earth in good health and good shape to the coming generations. As Margaret Thatcher says we have only a life tenancy and not the ownership. Nor have we inherited this world from our forefathers. We have borrowed it from our children. At all costs we have to maintain a sustainable development. We must meet our present needs without harming the interests and needs of the coming generations.
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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
1. 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
II. The words ‘grip’, ‘dawn’, ‘usher’, ‘coin’, ‘passport’, have a literal as well as figurative meaning. Write pairs of sentences using each word in the literal as well as the figurative sense.
Make posters to highlight the importance of the Green Movement.
Maintain a record of the trees cut down and the parks demolished in your area, or any other act that violates the environment. Write to newspapers reporting on any such acts that disturb you.
What is the Green Movement?
Describe the shift that has come in the viewpoint of man.
What is the holistic and ecological view of the world?
How do the earth’s vital signs ‘reveal a patient in declining health’?
What is the concept of sustainable development?
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