The Last Sky: Countdown for an endangered planet

I'm happy to convey that my latest, eighth, book was released this week by Authors Upfront/Paranjoy. It is a book I always wanted to do, and I am glad that my publishers have made it possible.

The Earth is hurtling towards environmental apocalypse at breakneck speed, and every possible alarm is sounding. CO₂ emissions are going up every year instead of declining; the planet is about to breach the critical 2°C (increase in temperature) mark by 2035; 10 million hectares of forests are cut down every year and one-third of the Amazon rainforests have vanished; all Himalayan glaciers will disappear by 2100; and 10,000 species of life forms are going extinct every year (1,000 times the normal pace of nature).

The state of India’s natural environment does not offer much hope, either. The present government’s stated policy of prioritising ‘ease of doing business’ over protecting the environment has led to the dismantling and dilution of laws on the subject, converting the ministry of environment into a facilitator for industry and big capital. Between 2014 and 2019, it approved 11,500 cases of diversion of forest land — 99 per cent of the cases received!

Even the judicial guardrails — the Supreme Court and the National Green Tribunal — appear to have fallen in line, as the recent judgments on the Aravallis and the Great Nicobar Project demonstrate unambiguously. More effort is spent by the government on fudging figures than on taking proactive steps to move towards a more sustainable policy.

I will not bore the reader with more figures; the pieces in this book contain plenty of them. Suffice it to say that the present Holocene era has been rechristened by scientists as the Anthropocene in recognition of the human-induced impact on the planet, and it may very well be the last for Homo sapiens.

For things are only getting worse. The three most powerful forces at play today which have the power to destroy the world — AI (Artificial Intelligence), climate change and wars — are coming together, developing a synergy which is ominous for the survival of all living creatures.

The race for ever-increasing GDP numbers, unsustainable consumption and materialism, growing human populations, human avarice and greed, and visionless leadership all mean that the planet’s natural resources are being plundered at a rate beyond its powers to replenish them, and will lead to an inevitable collapse of global ecosystems. Mankind cannot possibly survive this collapse.

Sadly, there is little interest in our country in this subject, even as the effects of ignoring it are compounding every year, whether it be urban pollution levels, increasing toxicity of rivers, falling groundwater levels, melting glaciers, the emergence of zoonotic viruses, greater incidence of floods, landslides and GLOFs (glacial lake outburst floods), changing weather patterns or heatwaves.

No one appears interested in talking about this looming disaster — not governments, the media, political parties, the judiciary or the dormant intelligentsia. It is never made an election issue or a public cause, except in some rare instances, and even then it is quickly forgotten.

This book is an attempt to redress this (im)balance. The collection of 60 essays covers the period from 2014 to 2026, so that the reader can judge for himself the evolution of policies, impacts and urgency over time. He will, unfortunately, find that things are only getting worse with each passing year.

The essays address a wide canvas of issues: hydel projects, unplanned urbanisation, forest management, wildlife protection, rewilding, overtourism, excessive ‘development’ in the Himalayan/mountain states, short-sighted global and domestic policies, and climate change.

A whole chapter has been devoted to Himachal Pradesh for two reasons: first, I have served there for 35 years, am settled there, and it is the state I know best. Secondly, Himachal accurately reflects the issues confronting all Himalayan states in the country.

The book has been divided into six chapters, the pieces in each covering a broad sector/subject such as policy issues, tourism, hydel projects, etc. The essays are arranged chronologically within each chapter, and dated, to provide the proper context for a better understanding by the reader.

The purpose is not only to share information but to facilitate and encourage the reader to engage with the protection of our precious natural environment and ecology. Not just as an intellectual or academic exercise, but for a very selfish objective — to leave behind for our children a healthy, living and breathing planet. For, as someone said, this is the only planet we have; if we destroy it, there’s no Plan(et) B.

This book is available on Amazon in paperback and Kindle versions, and at leading bookstores.

More of the writer's works here

Avay Shukla is a retired IAS officer and author of The Last Sky — Countdown for an Endangered Planet and other works. He blogs at avayshukla.blogspot.com