The Essay "Two Long Term Problems: Too Many People, Too Few Trees" By Moti Nissani - Grade/ Class-12 Full Summary & All Questions Answer.

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TWO LONG TERM PROBLEMS: TOO MANY PEOPLE, TOO FEW TREES

Summary

By Moti Nissani

In this essay Moti Nisasani shows the twin problems of overpopulation an deforestation.

           In 1992 over fifteen hundreds of the world's scientists signed a document which expressed their worry about the condition of the biosphere. According to them, human activities have caused a great damage to the natural world. This will endanger human society, and the plant and animals kingdom. Such practices must be checked. The Royal Society of London the US National Academy of Science are also worried about environmental damage. Now more people suffer from cancer, emphysema and asthma. Many people have lost their hearing power before they are old because of  noise pollution. The rivers, lakes and sea are all polluted. We are uneasy about poisons in our food and drink. Some species of animals and birds are going to disappear, and some have already been vanished. But the number of human beings is rapidly growing. We are using natural resources wastefully. We are producing different types of poisons which can't be removed for thousands of years. We pollute even the space. Instead of preventing pollution, we clean it up after we pollute the land or water. Soil erosion, desertification are taking place quickly. As a and mass migrations.

                 Human populations always change because everyday some people die while others are born. But the birth rate was a little higher than the death rate and the population grew slowly in the past. After industrial revolution, the death rate decreased to a large extent and the population grew rapidly. Now every year there are 80 million more people than those of the previous year. In 1951, Nepal's population rise to 9 million. After less than fifty year, the number rose to 23 million. By the beginning  of the twenty-first century, Nepal's population will be 24,000,000. In 2026, it will be 46 million and in 140 years the number will be 368 million.

   On the first sight we may think that the more people we have the richer we become and that more people may invent more to make more profits. But the finite world is already overpopulated. For example, can Nepal support 44 million people?More people will need more food. To grow more food we must cut down the forest and there will be no trees. The land, water and air will be polluted. Both towns and villages will be crowed. Food production and facilities for health will not grow at the ratio of population growth and it may make crime, ethnic conflicts and warfare more common.

             In America some 60,000 people die each other from respiratory diseases caused by air pollution. The situation is even worse in Kathmandu. But this situation could be improved by controlling pollution and population. The main cause of environment problems is population growth. More people use more energy and it will have more pressure on environment. If we can control population growth, we can solve many of the environment problems. The example of Germany and Sweden show the population can by reduce. In China, Thailand and Egypt, the rate of population growth has slowed down because of combined government action. The major causes of this decline are modernization, literacy media campaigns, easily available contraceptives and equal opportunities for women. We know now how to control our numbers, but we must put this knowledge into practice.

                Because of rapid population growth, many people in developing countries are forced to cut down the tree in the forest in order to grow food. They are also cutting down the trees to sell them at higher prices. The people of the developed countries are also guilty. When they ask for more hamburgers, the Brazilians keep more cows by cutting down the forest. The demand for wood and paper products helps people to destroy the forest. Pollution of different kinds had affected the health of the forests. The problem of deforestation was faced in the past, but now the rate of destruction is faster.

                     In the beginning of this century 40% of the earth's total land was covered by the forest but now it is about 25%. The destruction of the forest will cause floods, landslides, soil erosion and filling the river beds. We may not know the result of massive deforestation. But human beings can't fell the trees and still hope for better future. We can save the forest by controlling the number of people and by educating them. We can also impose special tax on wood-products. Moreover, some money should be given to those who help to preserve the jungle. Reforestation, will have biodiversity, pure wilderness, and it will minimize desertification , flooding and declines in rainfall. The smokeless stove uses less firewood and the people will have more time to pursue study and other more profitable business. If we have fewer people and more trees, we can save the planets for our children. For this we need wisdom, courage and compassion.

1. Are most living Nobel Prize winners optimistic about the future of humanity? why or why not?

Ans: The Nobel Prize winners are optimistic about the future of humanity. They are worried about the present condition of the biosphere. Human beings have caused a great damage to the environment . The future of human society is dark if we continue our current practices. But if we check them, the living world will be able to sustain life in the manner we know. For this. complete changes are necessary. They that hope our urgent action will save the future of humanity.

2. What leads Nissani to the belief that the world is facing an overpopulation crisis?

Ans: After the world became industrialized, the human population started to grow rapidly. Now every hour we add 10,000 people to our numbers. Nissani is worried by this fact because it will have a direct impact on the natural world. In order to feed more people, more land should be cultivated and more people cut down the trees and cultivated the forest. Moreover, the growing population has polluted rivers, lakes, air, drinking water and soil. Now about 60,000 American die each year from respiratory diseases which are caused by human made pollution. Fourteen Americans die each day by asthma which is again made more serious by air pollution. Desertification, depletion of nonrenewable resources, acid rain, loss of wild species, ozone layer depletion, the greenhouse effect, flooding, landslides, soil erosion, droughts and weather extremes indicate that the world is facing the problem of over population.

3. What's wrong in his view, with a treeless Nepal?

Ans: If there will be no trees in Nepal, it will have a number of harmful effects. After trees are cut down, the topsoil will be carried away by rainwater and the river bed and dams are filled with such soil. It will cause devastating floods in the Tarai of Nepal, in India and Bangladesh. After the fertile soil is carried the land will be less productive. Deforestation will also cause landslides. Many species of plants and animals will disappear. It may contribute to droughts and the greenhouse effect.

4. How many children do you plan to have? Do you plan to follow the previous generation's example of having five children? Why or why not?

Ans: I plan to have just two children whether they are boys or girls, but I don't plan to follow the previous generation's example of having five children. As the fifth child of my parents, I know how they suffered as lot in order to rear us. I remember the poor health of my mother. She used to give birth to a child every year. She has always been lean and  thin. Now at age of forty she looks like a sixty-year old woman. My elder brothers and sisters could not go to school. They had to go to work in the field. All of them are illiterate. Our standard of living fallen down, but my neighbours with two children have been living a very happy and comfortable life although both of us have the equal area of land. Everyday we have to quarrel to feed ourselves properly. My father always looks sad and so does my mother. I don't like to live like my parents. With two children I would live a comfortable life. I would not have to spend much for a small family. I would be able to save some money for the future.

5. Is there anything you can do to help save Nepal's remaining forest?

Ans: There is a lot I can do to help save Nepal's remaining forests. First of all, I will ask all my friends and relatives and all my villagers to control the number of children. With less people, they won't have to cultivate the forest and the jungle will be saved. I will also request the government to enforce special tax on wood producers and discourage people to use wooden furniture. There are a lot of abandoned and unused lands in my village area. I would plant trees there. Reforestation will have many advantages.

Moreover, I would introduce more efficient cooking stoves. They would gives off the same heat while using less wood. Besides saving trees, such stoves allow villagers to devote less time to collecting firewood and more time to education and other useful activities.

I would also make people aware of the values of the forests. Once people really know the importance of the jungle, they will not take their cattle to graze there and more plants will grow. They will also not set fire to the jungle to make charcoal. They won't cut down the trees carelessly. In this regard, the idea of the community forest can be introduced. When people feel that it is their own property, I am sure, they will conserve it.