NCERT Solutions for Class 11 English Hornbill Chapter 5 The Ailing Planet: the Green Movement’s Role

NCERT Solutions for Class 11 English

The Ailing Planet: the Green Movement’s Role NCERT Solutions for Class 11 English Hornbill Chapter 5

The Ailing Planet: the Green Movement’s Role NCERT Text Book Questions and Answers

The Ailing Planet: the Green Movement’s Role About the Author

Nanaboy “Nani” Ardeshir Palkhivala (January 16, 1920 – December 11, 2009) was an Indian jurist and economist. Nani Palkhivala was born in Bombay to blue collar, middle-class Parsi parents. He was educated at Masters Tutorial High School, and later at St. Xavier’s College, both in Bombay.

The Ailing Planet: the Green Movement’s Role Main Theme

Nani Palkhivala, the well-known lawyer, has reviewed the ecological situation of the earth with particular reference to India. He points out that our point of view has shifted from the mechanistic to a holistic view of the world where ecology is concerned.

The earth has become like an ailing patient. The World Commission on Environment and Development put forward the idea of sustainable development. The idea is that the resources should be used with restraint so that they last for the future generations.

The principal biological systems such as fisheries, forests, grasslands and croplands are fast depleting. Forests are being lost at the rate of an acre and a half per second. Though rules exist for the preservation of environment, in India laws are constantly flouted. The actual loss of forests may be 8 times the government statistics. The environmental condition in eighty-eight countries is critical.

The growth of world population is chiefly responsible for the degradation of the environment. Population control must be given top priority.Now the thinking of the people has changed to holistic. We think not just about the survival of the people but of saving the earth too. Industries need to cooperate in the preservation of the environment. We have borrowed the earth from our children and we must return it to them intact.

The Ailing Planet: the Green Movement’s Role Understanding the text

Question 1.
Locate the lines in the text that support the title ‘The Ailing Planet’.
Answer:
“The earth’s vital signs reveal a patient in declining health. We have begun to realise our ethical obligations to be good stewards of the planet and responsible trustees of the legacy to future generations.”

Question 2.
What does the notice ‘The world’s most dangerous animal’ at a cage in the zoo at Lusaka, Zambia signify?
Answer:
Human beings are the most dangerous to the environment. They cause the most destruction to the environment. Human beings are the most dangers species.

Question 3.
How are the earth’s principal biological systems being depleted?
Answer:
Four systems

  • Fisheries—their productivity is impaired—overfishing is common.
  • Forests are decimated for firewood, several species face extinction—forty to fifty million acres of forests are being eroded every year—we are losing one and a half acre of forests per second.
  • Grasslands and croplands too are being depleted.
  • Croplands are overused and over exploited.
    These are being destroyed because of overuse by human beings.

Question 4.
Why does the author aver that the growth of world population is one of the strongest factors distorting the future of human society?
Answer:
It is true that the growth of the worid population is one of the strongest factors distorting the future of human society. The present world population is 5-7 billion. Increasing population hampers the development. If population growth is under control, income and education of people will increase thus, improving the standard of living.

The Ailing Planet: the Green Movement’s Role Talking about the text

Discuss in groups of four.

Question 1.
Laws are never respected nor enforced in India.
Answer:
In India, so many laws have been passed year after year, but, the attitude of Indians towards these laws has been non-serious and casual. As if laws are only for the name sake in India. So, many laws related to traffic rules, construction of buildings, cleanliness, etc. have been passed but they are never sternly imposed, as a result, people violate them frequently.

Question 2.
‘Are we to leave our successors a scorched planet of advancing deserts, impoverished landscapes and an ailing environment?’
Answer:
If human beings will blindly keep on cutting trees and forest covers, in no time this planet will turn into a barren land, devoid of greenery as well as beauty. If reckless activities of humans continue, we will have to pass on a scorched planet of advancing deserts, impoverished landscapes and an ailing environment. It is time to be active and considerate towards the preservation of environment. We should plant more and more trees, stop the usage of polybags, use eco-friendly fuel. We must not forget that the earth has been borrowed from the future generation.

Question 3.
We have not inherited this earth from our forefathers; we have borrowed it from our children.
Answer:
No generation can deplete the earth of its resources. The use of w ater, trees and minerals should be such that they are available to the coming generations too. Therefore, we should understand the concept of sustainable development, i.e. development which meets the needs of the present and.at the same time preserves the environment for future generations. It is essential that we preserve the four principal biological systems of the earth—the fisheries, forests, grasslands and croplands. So, we should plant trees for the future, take a holistic view of the environment and the planet and act with responsibility. This is what the Green Movement is all about.

Question 4.
The problems of overpopulation directly affect our everyday life.
Answer:
Today the world population is almost on the verge of explosion. It has almost reached 5-7 billion. If the trend continues, all of us will be severely affected by it. With the increase in population, the rate of development will dwindle.The rich will become richer and the poor will get poorer. Poverty and unemployment will be common. People will not get space to live. Price rise i.e. inflation will reach its peak. It will also lead to increase in the demand of the products. People will have to actually struggle for the existence. So, it’s the need of this hour to aware people about the need for family planning. Rather, government should enforce and make some laws for ‘population control’.

The Ailing Planet: the Green Movement’s Role Thinking about language

Question 1.
The phrase ‘inter alia’ meaning ‘among other things’ is one of the many Latin expressions commonly used in English.
Find out what these Latin phrases mean.
1.’prima facie
2. ad hoc
3. in camera
4. ad infinitum
5. mutatis mutandis
6. caveat
7. tabula rasa
Answer:

  1. Prima facie — at first view
  2. Ad hoc — for a special purpose
  3. In camera – in a judge’s private room; in secret
  4. Ad infinitum – to infinity
  5. Mutatis mutandis —with the necessary changes
  6. Caveat — a warning or caution, process to suspend proceedings
  7. Tabula rasa — an absence of preconceived notions, a clean slate, erased tablet.

The Ailing Planet: the Green Movement’s Role Working with words

Locate the following phrases in the text and study their connotation.
1. gripped the imagination of
2. dawned upon
2. ushered in
4. passed into current coin
5. passport of the future
Answer:

  1. appealed greatly
  2. realised
  3. brought in
  4. became popular
  5. leading to the future

The words ‘grip’, ‘dawn’, ‘usher’, ‘coin’, ‘passport’ have literal as well as figurative meaning. Write pairs of sentences using each word in the literal as well as the figurative sense.
Answers may vary, student’s own response.

The Ailing Planet: the Green Movement’s Role Things to do

Question 1.
Make posters to highlight the importance of the Green Movement.
Answer:
To be done by students.

Question 2.
Maintain a record of the trees cut down and the parks demolished in your area, or any other act that violates the environment. Write to newspapers reporting on any such acts that disturb you.
Answer:
To be done by students.

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