Destruction of Earth is biggest challenge for mankind : Mininster

Hyderabad, Mar 11 : Andhra Pradesh Higher Education Minister D Sridhar Babu said the biggest challenges for the mankind in both developed and developing nations was to control the day-to-day destruction and devastation of the Earth.

Inaugurating the 33rd five-day Indian Social Science Congress here yesterday, the Minister said in the pursuit of developing new comforts and luxuries, the greedy and exploitative humanity was inviting several environmental problems such as habitat destruction, resources exhaustion, wildlife extinctions, desertification and water logging.

He said last century had witnessed an increase of 0.6 to 0.8 degrees Celsius in the global average temperature and annually around nine billion tonnes of carbon dioxide was released into the atmosphere because of fossile fuel burning world over.

Green plants had the natural capacity of absorbing carbon dioxide and forests and oceans, harbouring green plants, were said to be two major sinks of carbon dioxide on the planet, Mr Babu said.

“If 600 million hectares of land is converted into thick forests, there will be not be any problem of global warming,” he added.

Six hundred million hectares means the extent of forest that had been lost since World War II.

The Minister said, “Now everybody is of the opinion that green cover, green power and green tech can be used as an integrated green solution to save the planet from the perils including global warming.”

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