“The Ailing Planet: The Green Movement’s Role” highlights the environmental crisis caused by human greed and industrialization. Nani Palkhivala emphasizes that rapid industrial growth, urbanization, and exploitation of natural resources have led to pollution, deforestation, soil erosion, and climate imbalance. He stresses that humans must take responsibility for the planet’s health and adopt sustainable practices.
The Green Movement is crucial in raising awareness about environmental protection and promoting conservation. Palkhivala explains that economic development should not come at the cost of nature. Human survival depends on clean air, water, forests, and biodiversity. He warns that neglecting environmental responsibilities will harm future generations. The essay calls for a balance between progress and ecology, urging individuals, governments, and organizations to act collectively. Conservation, tree plantation, reducing pollution, and spreading awareness are important measures.
Overall, the essay underlines the urgency of the environmental crisis and inspires readers to contribute to the Green Movement, emphasizing that a healthy planet is essential for human well-being and survival.
“द एइलिंग प्लैनेट: द ग्रीन मूवमेंट का रोल” मानव लालच और औद्योगिकीकरण के कारण पर्यावरण संकट को दर्शाता है। नानी पालखिवाला बताते हैं कि तेज़ औद्योगिक विकास, शहरीकरण और प्राकृतिक संसाधनों का अति दोहन प्रदूषण, वनों की कटाई, मिट्टी का क्षरण और जलवायु असंतुलन पैदा करता है।
वे जोर देते हैं कि मानव को पृथ्वी के स्वास्थ्य की जिम्मेदारी लेनी चाहिए और सतत विकास अपनाना चाहिए। ग्रीन मूवमेंट जागरूकता फैलाने और संरक्षण को बढ़ावा देने में महत्वपूर्ण भूमिका निभाता है। आर्थिक विकास प्रकृति के नुकसान पर नहीं होना चाहिए। मानव का जीवन साफ़ हवा, पानी, जंगल और जैव विविधता पर निर्भर है। उन्होंने चेतावनी दी है कि पर्यावरण की उपेक्षा भविष्य की पीढ़ियों को नुकसान पहुंचाएगी।
कुल मिलाकर, निबंध पर्यावरण संकट की गंभीरता को उजागर करता है और पाठकों को ग्रीन मूवमेंट में योगदान देने के लिए प्रेरित करता है।
1. Who wrote “The Ailing Planet: The Green Movement’s Role”?
a) Nani Palkhivala ✅
b) Rachel Carson
c) Aldo Leopold
d) Mahatma Gandhi
2. What is the main concern of the essay?
a) Technology
b) Environmental degradation ✅
c) Politics
d) Literature
3. What does the Green Movement aim to promote?
a) Industrialization
b) Conservation and awareness ✅
c) Urbanization
d) Mining
4. Which of these is mentioned as a major environmental problem?
a) Pollution ✅
b) Global trade
c) Sports
d) Education
5. Why should humans take responsibility for the planet?
a) For economic growth
b) For survival and future generations ✅
c) To travel
d) To reduce taxes
6. What role does awareness play according to Palkhivala?
a) Entertainment
b) Environmental protection ✅
c) Industrial growth
d) Fashion trends
7. Which is NOT mentioned as a conservation measure?
a) Tree plantation
b) Reducing pollution
c) Urbanization ✅
d) Protecting biodiversity
8. What is the consequence of neglecting the environment?
a) Economic prosperity
b) Harm to future generations ✅
c) Better health
d) Modernization
9. The essay emphasizes balance between:
a) Industry and politics
b) Development and ecology ✅
c) Education and health
d) Agriculture and trade
10. What is essential for human survival according to the essay?
a) Luxury
b) Technology
c) Healthy environment ✅
d) Travel
Q.1. What is the main theme of the essay?
Ans: The essay focuses on environmental degradation due to human greed, industrialization, and urbanization. It highlights the need for conservation, awareness, and sustainable practices for the well-being of humans and future generations.
Q.2. What does the Green Movement advocate?
Ans: The Green Movement advocates environmental protection, awareness, tree plantation, reducing pollution, conserving biodiversity, and promoting sustainable practices to ensure a healthy planet and future for all living beings.
Q.3. Why is environmental awareness important?
Ans: Awareness helps people understand the consequences of pollution, deforestation, and climate imbalance, encouraging them to take action and adopt eco-friendly practices to protect nature and ensure survival.
Q.4. What role does industrialization play in environmental damage?
Ans: Industrialization leads to pollution, resource depletion, and habitat destruction. While it promotes economic growth, unchecked industrial activities harm the environment and threaten human and ecological balance.
Q.5. How does deforestation affect the planet?
Ans: Deforestation destroys forests, reduces biodiversity, causes soil erosion, contributes to climate change, and disrupts natural ecosystems, making the planet more vulnerable to environmental crises.
Q.6. What is the author’s warning about the future?
Ans: Neglecting environmental responsibilities will harm future generations. Humanity must act now to conserve nature, adopt sustainable practices, and ensure a healthy planet for posterity.
Q.7. Name some measures suggested to protect the environment.
Ans: Measures include tree plantation, reducing pollution, conserving biodiversity, spreading awareness, controlling industrial emissions, and promoting sustainable development.
Q.8. How does human greed impact nature?
Ans: Greed leads to over-exploitation of resources, deforestation, pollution, and imbalance in natural systems, threatening human survival and ecological health.
Q.9. What balance is emphasized by the author?
Ans: The essay emphasizes balancing economic development with ecological conservation, ensuring progress does not harm nature or future generations.
Q.10. Why is biodiversity important?
Ans: Biodiversity maintains ecological balance, supports human survival, and ensures the sustainability of ecosystems. Loss of species harms environment and human well-being.
Q.1 Locate the lines in the text that support the title "The Ailing Planet".
Ans: The title “The Ailing Planet” reflects the environmental sickness caused by human activities, and Nani Palkhivala supports this idea throughout the essay. He writes about how rapid industrialization, deforestation, pollution of air, water, and soil, and over-exploitation of natural resources have harmed the Earth. For example, he mentions that soil erosion, climate imbalance, and loss of biodiversity are results of careless human actions. These lines directly show that the planet is “ailing” because it is suffering from neglect and greed. Palkhivala also emphasizes that unchecked growth and exploitation put human survival at risk. The Green Movement, he explains, is necessary to heal the planet through awareness, conservation, and sustainable development. All these points in the chapter support the idea behind the title, showing that the Earth needs urgent care to recover from human-caused damage.
Q.2 What does the notice 'The World's most dangerous animal' at a cage in the zoo at Lusaka, Zambia, signify?
Ans: The notice “The World’s Most Dangerous Animal” at a cage in the zoo at Lusaka, Zambia, is very meaningful. When visitors look into the cage, they do not find a wild beast, but a mirror in which they see their own reflection. This notice signifies that human beings are the most dangerous creatures on Earth because of their ability to destroy nature and exploit resources recklessly. Unlike animals, who live in harmony with nature, humans pollute air, water, and soil, cut down forests, hunt wildlife, and disturb ecological balance. The message is a warning to mankind that if they continue to exploit and damage the environment, they may destroy not only other species but also their own survival. Thus, it highlights man’s responsibility to protect, not harm, the planet.
Q.3 How are the earth's principal biological systems being depleted?
Ans: According to Nani Palkhivala in “The Ailing Planet”, the Earth’s four principal biological systems—fisheries, forests, grasslands, and croplands—are being depleted at a dangerous rate. These systems provide food, raw materials, and support all life on the planet. Overfishing has reduced fish populations, making many species endangered. Forests are being destroyed due to deforestation, cutting down trees for timber and land use, which leads to loss of biodiversity and soil erosion. Grasslands are overgrazed by excessive livestock, turning fertile areas into deserts. Similarly, croplands are suffering due to overuse of chemical fertilizers, pesticides, and unscientific farming practices, which reduce soil fertility and damage productivity. Human greed and overexploitation are the main causes of this depletion. If not checked, the collapse of these systems will threaten human survival itself.
Q.4 Why does the author aver that the growth of world population is one of the strongest factors distorting the future of human society?
Ans: The author, Nani Palkhivala, states that the rapid growth of world population is one of the strongest factors distorting the future of human society because it creates immense pressure on the Earth’s limited resources. With every passing second, more people are added, but the natural resources like forests, land, water, and energy remain the same or are shrinking. This imbalance leads to deforestation, overfishing, overgrazing, food shortage, unemployment, and poverty. The more the population grows, the more strain is put on the principal biological systems, which are already under threat. Palkhivala points out that developing countries suffer the most because they lack resources to meet the needs of their rising populations. Uncontrolled population growth, therefore, makes sustainable development impossible and threatens the survival of future generations. Hence, it is a critical factor distorting human society’s future.
Q.5. Explain the main environmental problems discussed in the essay.
Ans: Nani Palkhivala discusses multiple environmental problems caused by human activities. Pollution of air, water, and soil has become widespread due to industrialization, urbanization, and excessive use of natural resources. Deforestation destroys habitats, reduces oxygen production, and increases soil erosion. Climate imbalance results from unchecked human intervention, leading to natural disasters and adverse effects on agriculture. Overpopulation and overexploitation of resources accelerate environmental degradation. The essay emphasizes that these problems threaten not only wildlife but also human survival. Palkhivala warns that if humans continue exploiting nature, future generations will face scarcity, poor health, and a degraded planet. He urges adopting sustainable development practices, conservation measures, and awareness programs to counter these issues. The essay encourages collective responsibility to protect the environment while maintaining economic growth.
Q.6. What role does the Green Movement play according to Palkhivala?
Ans: The Green Movement plays a crucial role in raising awareness about environmental protection. It educates people about the consequences of pollution, deforestation, and resource depletion. The movement encourages tree plantation, biodiversity conservation, reducing industrial emissions, and promoting sustainable practices. Palkhivala emphasizes that the Green Movement bridges the gap between development and ecology, helping society understand that progress should not harm nature. It also motivates governments, organizations, and individuals to adopt eco-friendly practices. By spreading awareness, the movement empowers people to take responsibility for their surroundings. Overall, it inspires collective action, fosters a sense of duty towards the planet, and ensures that natural resources are preserved for future generations.
Q.7. How does human greed affect the environment?
Ans: Human greed drives the over-exploitation of natural resources. Industries cut down forests, extract minerals, and pollute air, water, and soil in pursuit of profits. Urbanization and expansion destroy ecosystems and biodiversity. Excessive use of chemicals in agriculture contaminates soil and water. Greed often leads to disregard for environmental regulations and long-term consequences. This exploitation causes climate change, deforestation, loss of species, and depletion of natural resources. Palkhivala warns that unchecked greed threatens human survival and the health of the planet. He emphasizes the need to balance economic growth with ecological responsibility, adopt sustainable practices, and spread awareness to reduce the harmful impact of greed on the environment.
Q.8. Suggest measures to protect the environment as mentioned in the essay.
Ans: Palkhivala suggests several measures for environmental protection. Planting trees to restore forests and prevent soil erosion is important. Reducing air, water, and soil pollution from industries and vehicles helps maintain ecological balance. Conserving biodiversity ensures healthy ecosystems and human survival. Sustainable development practices should replace overexploitation of resources. Public awareness programs educate people about environmental responsibilities. Governments should enforce strict environmental regulations. Communities should adopt recycling, energy-saving, and eco-friendly practices. These measures collectively reduce the negative impact of human activities, preserve natural resources, and ensure a healthy planet for future generations. The essay emphasizes that protecting the environment requires collective action from individuals, society, and governments.
Q.9. Why does the author emphasize sustainable development?
Ans: The author emphasizes sustainable development to ensure economic progress does not harm nature or future generations. Unsustainable growth leads to pollution, deforestation, resource depletion, and climate imbalance, threatening human survival. Sustainable development balances human needs with ecological preservation. It encourages using resources responsibly, reducing waste, and protecting biodiversity. Palkhivala explains that development should consider long-term environmental consequences rather than immediate profit. Policies promoting renewable energy, conservation, and environmental education are essential. Sustainable development also fosters social responsibility, public awareness, and ethical practices. By adopting it, humanity can enjoy economic growth while maintaining a healthy, livable planet. The essay underlines that environmental sustainability is crucial for survival, health, and well-being of present and future generations.