Fragile Environment

This we know, the earth does not belong to man, man belongs to the earth. All things are connected like blood which unites one family. Whatever befalls the earth befalls the sons of the earth. Man did not weave the web of life; he is merely a strand of it. What he does to the web, he does to himself." These words are attributed to Chief Seattle a native American in the mid 19 century. Accordingly, this book focuses on these interconnections and what man is doing to this web of life. The book has seven chapters including an introductory one; the other chapters are on species and population, the ecosystem, pollution, natural resources and their utilization, radiation and our environment, and a final chapter on conservation, public awareness and sustainable development. There is a short bibliography and an index to help locate topics of interest. The book has been written keeping in mind the syllabus of the senior secondary schools. The preliminary material contains a foreword by Professor Anjali Mookerjee, Former Dean of the School of Environmental Sciences, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi.