“Take care of the small things and the big things will take care of themselves.” What is the relevance of this statement in the context of the Antarctic environment?
This maxim is very much significant as it warns us to maintain the ecological balance in nature. It specifies the need of caring the small things so that the big things may take care of themselves. The Antarctica has quite a simple eco-system but it lacks in bio-diversity. It is the most suitable place to study how small changes in the environment can have fatal consequences. With deforestation, different kinds of rare species have become extinct and the ecological balance is under disturbance. The danger of global warming starts from small things like burning of fossil fuels. Our ozone layer in the atmosphere is under threat. Thus the neglect of small things results in terrible danger.
The author points out small phytoplanktons. These are single celled tiny plants. They nourish and sustain the entire Southern Ocean’s food chain. These plants use solar energy and assimilate carbon. They synthesise organic compounds and this process is called photosynthesis. The scientists are warning us that the further depletion of the ozone layer will affect the activities of phyto-planktons. The holes in the ozone layer will affect the lives of the all marine life. Thus the entire global carbon cycle will collapse. Accordingly there is an urgent need to check the depletion of resources. The writer is appropriate in his statement, “Take care of small things and the big things will take care of themselves.”