Important Questions for CBSE Class 11 English Hornbill Chapter 4 - The Ailing Planet: the Green Movement's Role

A. Very Short Answer Questions: (1 Marks)

1. Word-Meaning

i. Eroding 

Dying/destroying slowly

ii. Scorched

Dried

iii. Precede

Come before something in order

iv. Felicitous

Pleasing, delightful

v. Impoverished

Poor

2. What is Article 48A of the constitution of India?

Ans: This article demands the states to protect and further improve the environment, wildlife, and the forest of the country.

3. What does the author mean by “what goes under the pot now costs more than what goes inside it”?

Ans: The line means that due to deforestation, firewood has become more expensive than the food being prepared in the pot.

4. What was the recent report of India’s parliament committee on India’s forest?

Ans: According to a recent report, the loss rate of forests in India is nearly 4 million acres per year. However, the actual rate could vary up to more than 8 times than the actual rate.

5. What and when was the article by Nani Palkhivala printed in The Indian Express?

Ans: The article written by Nani Palkhivala was about the declining health of the Earth. It was printed in the Indian Express on the 24th November 1994.

B. Short Answer Questions: (2 Marks)

1. Why is the chapter named “The Ailing Planet”?

Ans: The health of our planet, Earth, is deteriorating at a very fast rate. Our resources and the four chief systems are depleting fast. Our forests, fisheries, and agriculture are being surpassed which shows that our planet is ailing.

2. How has the green movement affected the imagination of the whole world?

Ans: The green movement has been working at a faster pace throughout the world today. This movement was initiated in 1972 in New Zealand. The movement focuses on creating awareness about the Earth and saving it by promoting afforestation, fisheries, etc.

3. How is a man considered the world’s most dangerous animal?

Ans: Man is considered the world’s most dangerous animal because he is causing a threat to life on earth. He is polluting the air, water, and soil which is threatening for other living beings (animals, plants, etc). Man is responsible for all the nuisance caused on the Earth.

4. According to Mr. Lester Brown, what principles form the foundation of the global economic system?

Ans: The four principal biological systems are: forests, grasslands, fisheries, and croplands. These four are responsible for supplying food for humans and providing raw materials for industry.

5. How is the man responsible for the depletion of sources of food and raw materials?

Ans: The man has reached every corner of the world in search of the resources to meet his needs. He cuts forests to make furniture and for the industries to set up. Overfishing in the seas, pasturelands are harmed by flocks of sheep, and a maximum number of crops are being harvested on the cultivable land.

C. Short Answers Questions: (3 Marks)

1. How has the writer defined the idea of sustainable growth?

Ans: Our natural resources are not in abundance. They are all limited except for the Sun and the ocean. While using resources like the forests and fisheries, we must keep in mind the needs of future generations. The sun and the ocean are the two infinite sources of energy. The forests, if we do not destroy them, could be sustained and can grow again. Our development plan should be such that our future generations get their required share of the resources and we should not use theirs.

2. What question did Mr. L.K. Jha asked in the Bradt Commission Report?

Ans: Mr. Jha raises the question about the kind of world that we are going to leave behind for our descendants. He believes that in the way we are consuming the resources today, we are only going to leave barren lands, polluted unhealthy environments, and deserts for our children.

3. How can industries save the environment and survival of animals?

Ans: Industries play an important role in the survival of the human race. However, it is also responsible for the destruction of the environment. Industries cause a lot of pollution. So industries should be handed the responsibility to keep the industrial growth sustained. 

4. What is a holistic view of the globe and our subsistence?

Ans: Today’s world has compacted and become very small because there is a huge availability of transportation and communication. Therefore, if any part of the world gets affected by a problem, it impacts the whole world. When it affects the whole world, it must also be handled on a bigger scale. This is the holistic view of the world.

5. How can we check the rapid growth of the population?

Ans: The most effective barrier to check population growth is growth or the improved criterion of living. As education increases and income rises, the birth rate falls. However, the current increase in numbers takes us to earlier times. The poor are having more children than the rich. The children of the poor also become poor and unemployed. This could only be controlled by voluntary family planning practices.

D. Long Answer Questions: (5 Marks)

1. How has the author justified his statement on the critical condition of our ailing planet?

Ans: The condition of Earth today is like an ailing patient. Natural resources are depleting at an enormous amount. There are four principal biological systems responsible for supporting life on Earth – forest, grassland, fisheries, and agriculture. They combine to form the global economic system. The man has overused all four sources. Our forests are deteriorating, fisheries are distorted, overgrazing has led to pasturelands turning into wastelands. The man is reaching new extents every day to deplete these resources to meet his own needs. It is because of the population growth. To ensure the survival of humans and to save the Earth it is important to remove poverty and plan families.

2. How Nani Palkhivala has emphasized the importance of forests for the survival of all sorts of life on Earth?

Ans: Nani Palkhivala emphasizes the importance of forests by saying that forests are man’s real friends. They are the providers of food for man and raw materials for industries. When the forests are wiped and cleaned, the deserts expand. Many species of animals and birds have become extinct. The question that arises is how to check deforestation. The world should also be left to be enjoyed by our children and descendants. It is our moral duty to keep it healthy, fertile, and green. The earth was full of forests and grasslands before man came but now it seems that what will be left of it will only be deserts and wastelands. The Indian constitution demands the states to keep the environment protected and improve the forests and wildlife. 

3. The growing human population is responsible for the declining health of the earth. How?

Ans: The increase in the human population is leading to a drastic decrease in resources. There has been an increase of 100 crores in the world population up to the year 1800, followed by more than 100 crores in the next century, resulting in a total population of 600 crores by the end of the 20th century. The more the population, the less is the availability of the resources. There is also an increase in poverty, poor health, and malnutrition due to the increase in population and decrease in resources. The increased human population is becoming dangerous to wildlife, the seas, and other animals as the increased population need more space and food due to which animals are being killed, forests are being destroyed. All of this can only be controlled if people are being educated about population control and the risks associated with overpopulation.

4. State the reason for the necessity of the present generation to leave the earth in a good enough situation for future generations.

Ans: The earth belongs to everyone. There are many species of fauna and flora living here. Each of them has the same rights on Earth as humans. We should see ourselves as tenants here who must pay it back with care and nurture. We should not have any ownership over it because we have not inherited it from our forefathers. We should not use resources as if we are the only ones to use them. We should not get greedy and use them very sustainably. The Earth belongs to the future generations as much as it belongs to us. We must keep it in such good health that it is not left barren for our future generations. We must focus on sustainable growth and development and this is the least we can do for our descendants.

5. Sum up in brief, the views and observations of Nani Palkhivala about the present and future of our planet.

Ans: The green movement is engrossing the attention of the world in the present day. It was initiated in 1972 in New Zealand. Let us take our Earth to be a living being. However, it is not healthy and looks like an ailing patient. Man has robbed it of all the forests, minerals, and various other resources. Man has become the most dangerous animal. We are meeting our greedy needs by cutting down forests, overfishing in the water bodies, overgrazing the flocks on the grasslands, and over-cropping the land. All this is happening because of population growth. As the population is increasing, more and more resources are being used. They are depleting at a much faster rate. Nobody is taking care of the environment and protecting the forests and the wildlife. To save the planet, there is only one solution, to control the population by family planning. The earth belongs to the future generations as well and we should hand it over to the healthy and nurtured.