- “Are we to leave our successors a scorched planet of advancing deserts, impoverished landscapes and an ailing environment ?”
- “We have not inherited this earth from our forefathers; we have borrowed it from our children”.
- Describe the terms ‘Holistic approach’ and sustainable development.
- For the first time in human history, we see transcending concern – “the survival not of the people but of the planet.” Elucidate.
- How are the earth’s principal biological systems being depleted?
- How can overfishing and decimation of forests prove harmful?
- How does the author point out the importance of Green Movement?
- How does the earth’s biological systems behave on reaching an unsustainable level?
- How has the population increased after the year 1800?
- How have human beings shifted their perceptions?
- How have the croplands deteriorated?
- How is growing human population responsible for the falling health of the earth?
- Laws are never respected nor enforced in India.
- Lester R. Brown divided the Earth into four biosystems, what are they? What harm is being caused by human beings to these bio-systems?
- Locate the lines in the text that support the title ‘The Ailing Planet’.
- The problems of overpopulation that directly affect our every day life.
- We have not inherited this earth from our forefathers we have borrowed it from our children. Elucidate.
- What are the earth’s principal biological systems? Why have they been depleted and how can they be preserved?
- What are the factors enumerated by Nani Palkhivala that have made our earth an ailing planet? How can we ensure its health?
- What do you know about the Green Movement?
- What do you understand by the concept of sustainable development?
- What does the author mean by a mechanical view of the world?
- What does the notice “The world’s most dangerous animal” at a cage in the zoo at Lusaka, Zambia, signify?
- What is new awareness that has dawned upon most of the countries in the world?
- What is the holistic and ecological view of the world?
- What is the new world view according to the author?
- What is the state of earth today? How should we act now?
- What makes the author unhappy about the laws in India?
- Who is the worlds’ most dangerous animal? Why is it called so?
- Why do we need to plant more forests in India?
- Why does Nani Palkhivala ‘call the earth’ ‘The Ailing Planet’? How can this ailing planet survive?
- Why does the author agree that growth of world’s population is one of the strongest factors distorting the future of human society?
- Why is population control essential in India?
- Write a brief note based on your study of this chapter on the ‘need for the protection of the environment’.
- Write about the importance of the forests according to the author Nani Palkhivala.
