Indian Talent, Global Content
|
Indian Talent, Global Content |
New and Improved: May 2012
Just Launched - New eStore selling travel guides, editing courses, ebooks and special offers |
Trees and Why They Matter to us
‘The human debt to trees is absolute.’ – Colin Tudge We are creatures of the forest. According to evolutionary theory, as primates we were arboreal beings, moving from tree to tree in the deep forests of prehistory, escaping predators, searching for food, and playing. It required great dexterity to swing and leap and good hand-eye co-ordination to find our way and survive amongst the foliage. Then as climate change made for more grasslands than forests, we climbed down to a different world - a dangerous world. Our brains developed, trying to keep up and our dexterous hands found other work –from plucking to hunting, from shaping twigs to making tools, creating, and inventing. We became bipeds and pre-humans. Even then, the pre-human looked to the trees for safety and shelter. Then, we discovered fire. Scientists say the pre-human was knowledgeable about forest fires and feared it but that over time, he learnt to control it. The pre-human evolved to the human. Thus, mankind started its long journey with the help of trees. For most of human history, nature has shaped human life. The seasons decided when animal herds migrated and people grew crops. Plants and trees provided sustenance according to the seasons and survival often depended on knowing Nature’s rules, and controlling them wherever possible. Nature was a living entity to be appeased. The birth of civilization Worship of the Forest Spirit and of trees is a part of most old cultures. The druids of Celtic Britain performed secret rites in oak groves. Maoris of New Zealand believe that the forest’s wealth depends on its Spirit. Sacred groves were used for rituals and the uninitiated rarely ventured into it - so afraid they were of the spirits and fairy folk of the forests. Yet if anyone sought sanctuary in a grove, he could not be pursued or harmed. The sages of ancient India retired to the forest for their penances and prayers and composed some of the highest philosophical theories under its shelter. So were born the scriptures called Aranyaks meaning ‘that of the forest’. The schools they ran (gurukul) were mostly at the edge of the forests. Such was the sanctity of forests. Trees provided fuel for our first fires. Early forests provided clothes made of bark and leaves; wood for building homes, canoes and boats. Later, palaces, chariots and ships were also made from trees. The first wheel was probably of wood and the first paper of birch bark and leaf. Our dependency on trees required us to understand the life of trees - where and when a species grew, whether it nourished or poisoned. Pre-historians tell us that the Paleolithic man had deep knowledge of his local flora – it was valuable, sacred knowledge which often determined the survival of the tribe. The wisest of the tribe stored this knowledge, carefully memorized it and passed on from one generation to the other. These were the healers - the first men and women of medicine. Nature, to them, was a living entity. So the healers also became the intermediaries between the supernatural and human worlds. The shaman, the bomoh and the witch doctor of tribal societies are still considered to have magical powers and are living databases of tree lore. Quinine is from a Peruvian tree, the yew has given medicine for ovarian cancer, aspirin comes from the willow and the homely Indian neem, and what would we do without it? Today, medicines are made only after careful research and testing in the laboratory and in controlled clinical setups. In its present form, drug testing and manufacture is only about 200 years old. But its roots go deeper- into the traditional medicines of the world. According to the World Health Organization’s estimates, 80% of the world’s population is still dependent on traditional medicines. Western medical practice is beginning to explore this large database of ethno-medicine. Technological advancement in the last two hundred years has given us unheard of comforts and gadgets. Longer and easier lives, an ability to build structures surpassing any of the past, knowledge of chemistry, physics, space, you name it. We are six billion today fighting for space, resources, and time. In this rush, many have gotten left behind – millions are undernourished or starving, illiterate and without basic needs. Little wonder then that Nature has suffered even more. It seems we are heading for the sixth largest extinction of species on this planet on a scale unprecedented in the earth’s turbulent geological past. 11,000 years ago, after the Ice Age, the forest cover was over six billion hectares. Tracts of forests were cut to eke out a living, make houses, and plant crops. Forests dominated human life as we see in our folk and fairy tales. Now the trees are almost gone. Palm-oil plantations take over millennia old rainforests; the fearsome forests mentioned in the Ramayana are now vast plains; soybean plantations and cattle ranches replace the dense Amazon jungles. Forest cover has dwindled to about four billion hectares and with the trees have gone countless animals, birds, and insects. Trees and plants make their own food. They use the energy of the sun and carbon dioxide to produce simple carbohydrates, fats and proteins. They produce chemicals for other metabolic functions like adapting to the climate and pests. Without their ability to cook these simple compounds no life would have existed on earth. Without their chemicals we would be hard put to find medicine. 470 million years ago, the earth looked much like Mars for there were no trees or plants, only some blue-green algae living on rocks at the edges of the seas. Around 370 million years ago, appeared the first tree and then forests of Archaeopteris – looking much like Christmas trees. Soon after, came numerous other species and paved the way for the Pre-Cambrian explosion in species diversity of trees and animals. Tree roots penetrated the rocky earth of the times and broke it into softer soil. Thus evolved the smaller plants. The forests began to consume the large amounts of carbon dioxide in the air and release similar quantities of oxygen. Many oxygen-breathing animals evolved and the forests became the lungs of this world. Today, our lungs are shrinking. Less than 30% of the earth is covered by forests but we look upon them as raw materials of our economy. In the story of evolution, the old give way to the new. The demise of the dinosaurs paved the way for mammals and humans. But our spectacular growth, along with a disregard for the ecosystem of the planet is threatening to change the balance. Atmospheric carbon dioxide is at an all time high since the tempestuous early ages of the planet. Species are dying out and fast and the climate is changing rapidly. This time, the change is man-made. But are we ready to move on as a species, to make way for a new one to thrive in a treeless, oxygen deprived world? “To you, for whom a hole in the earth is a tomb, Sir Francis Halle, In praise of plants
Editor's note: Most articles submitted to Chillibreeze go through a selection process. Only 30 percent of submitted articles are accepted for publication on the Chillibreeze.com featured article list. All accepted articles are edited and proofread for glaring errors of punctuation and grammar. Sentence structure is changed in certain cases and sometimes, entire sections are rewritten. If you notice any errors that have slipped through the cracks, do let us know! (Email us at info at chillibreeze dot com). Chillibreeze's disclaimer: This is a contributed article and was published on Chillibreeze in May, 2011. The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author(s) and do not reflect the views of Chillibreeze as a company. Chillibreeze has a strict anti-plagiarism policy. Please contact us to report any copyright issues related to this article. The relevance of the facts and figures cited (if any) could change after a period of time.
More on Chillibreeze.comRelated links Bangalore: How it Became Green
Other popular articles on Chillibreeze Libraries: What I Miss Most When At Home in India
>> Read more articles written by Chillibreeze writers:1. Articles related to Content and Outsourcing
|
Premium Services
Products Must Reads...
Upgrade Your Writing |
Copyright 2004 - 2011 Chillibreeze Solutions Pvt. Ltd. |
