It was in the 19th century that organizations for the protection of environment originated. They came as a protest against industrialization. But it was in the second half o the 20th century that environmental protection attracted world attention. This awakening was caused by the book “The Quiet Spring” written by the American scientist Rachel Carson. She warned the world against the overuse of fertilizers and insecticides which harm man and nature. It paved the away to establish a new discipline called Environmental Knowledge. Many environmental organizations are active now for the protection of the environment. There are Movements for the preservation of forests, against the construction of huge dams and for preserving rivers.
Green Peace, World Life Fund and Chipko Movement are famous environmental organizations. Chipko Movement was organized to protect the Himalayan forests. Environmentalists say that man must learn to co-exist with Nature in a mutually beneficial way. Man should not exploit nature for his greed and selfishness. Now people are overexploiting natural resources. If we go on like this we will be leaving only deserts, poisoned rivers and polluted atmosphere to the future generations. They ask the government to implement plans to make industries ecofriendly. The 1992 Rio (in Brazil) Earth Summit asked the government s to ensure that development is in conformity with the protection of nature and the environment. This development model is known as sustainable development.