Author (Reena Sharma)
The word “ecology” was coined by German biologist Ernest Haeckel in 1866 to refer to the study of the relationship between living organisms and their surroundings. All the living organisms are part of the vast ecological web and human beings are also one of the species which form an integral part of nature. In the past, humans lived in harmony with nature. Their needs were few which were satisfied easily by nature. But as the development of civilization and industrialization took place, in particular, as a result of the adverse consequences of Scientific Revolution of 17th century, nature began to be viewed as a “passive object”, and “exploitable resource” which can be tamed by human intellect. Humans were considered to be superior and powerful than nature.“Human beings are a part of the whole we call the Universe, a small region in time and space. They regard themselves, their ideas and their feelings as separate and apart from all the rest” (Albert Einstein).Humans, however, forget that nature does not need us to rule over it but runs itself very well without humans. The world of nature existed billions of years before the humans came on the scene. Human beings, in the name of “progress” recklessly exhausted natural resources and upset the ecological balance which led to drastic consequences. When radioactivity from nuclear power plants, toxic chemicals and hazardous wastes cause damage to ecology, our survival is threatened