PERSONAL VALUE SYSTEM

A personal value system is the principles or ideas that guide our behavior, that defines our character.

It makes us understand what we are and what is good and bad for us. If we are unaware of our own values, we end up doing things instantly without proper reasoning and thus suffer due to irresponsible decision making.

" Values define our character." Character is the final output which takes us forward in any particular direction, that we choose to take up in our lives. So in order to build up a good character in general and a happy and contented life in particular , its very essential to set up our own principles or values in life; that is what we say as having "a personal value system."

A personal value system can be divided into many categories according to our wish. But more important among these are the personal values and the spiritual values.

Personal values refer to the principles that we frame for ourselves to live in a society; with family, friends, acquaintances,etc as well as for our careers and work places. Personal values are simply the traits we see as worth aspiring to, and that define our character, in the above mentioned cases.

Spiritual values connect us to things which are not materialistic, but to a higher or superior power that guides us whenever we feel distracted. It could be God for some and conscience for others. These values can tell us what is wrong and what is right for us. 

Moreover there are few values which are very essential and desirable these days in the present changing materialistic society; such as, integrity, respect, loyalty and accountability. These four things along with proper knowledge or education, builds up our character, which again is the most impotant part of our existence. 

Values determine our action preferences and priorities. Every choice we make or action we perform has its own good as well as bad consequences. So the best way to judge what is right and what is wrong and to face both the choices and their consequences is by constantly examining our own value system. Having a proper personal value system is not only important for our personal lives, but also it is very much required for a successful career and its growth.

No matter what values we choose to adopt in our lives, but knowing about its importance and following them on daily basis is highly recommended to all the readers of this article, especially to the college going students.

Land Reclamation : A Threat to Marine Habitat

Land reclamation is the process to create new land from sea or river beds. The land reclaimed is known as reclamation ground or landfill. Creation of new lands was always a requirement for human needs. Land reclamation increases the land area for countries. With more land, more buildings and infrastructure can be built; and for other reasons like agriculture (primarily before industrialization), beach restoration, landfills (for making the land re-usable for different usages like, for parks, sports fields,etc).

Some examples of land reclamation made at different places throughout the world is given below :-

    Netherlands - about 1/5 of the entire country reclaimed from the sea, lakes, marshes and swamps. About 7,000 km2 in total.

    South Korea - As of 2006, 38 percent or 1,550 km2 of coastal wetlands reclaimed, including 400  km2 at Saemangeum.

    Singapore - 20% of the original size or 135 km2.  99 km2 more are to be reclaimed in recent times ahead.

    Hong Kong - Hong Kong Disneyland, Hong Kong International Airport, Kai Tak Airport,etc were all built on reclaimed land. More land reclamation has also taken place on the waterfront on both sides of Victoria Harbour ( In total, around 70 acres).

    Macau - 170% of the original size or 17 km2

    Mumbai – The seven islands of Bombay (Isle of Bombay, Colaba, Old Woman’s Island, Mahim, Mazagaon, Parel and Worli) were gradually physically united through land reclamation projects over years to form the modern day Mumbai.

    Monaco - 0.33 km2 out of 1.98 km2 total is made up of land taken from the sea.

    Tokyo Bay (Japan) - 249 km2

    Kobe, Japan - 23 km2 (1995).

    Bahrain - 76.3% of original size of 410 km2

    New Zealand - significant areas of land totalling several hundred hectares have been reclaimed along the harbour front of Auckland, Wellington and Dunedin.

With so many advantages, there are many disadvantages attached to this. Land reclamation severely damages the marine habitat. Even if corals and other marine creatures are moved to different places from their usual home, where land reclamation has to take place; it usually  happens that, they are not able to survive in the new conditions allotted to them by humans; and so, maximum of them die out. Rampant cutting down of marine plants and killing of marine animals is leading to rapid decrease in their numbers, throughout the globe. This might affect the marine ecosystem balance badly by breaking the marine food chain. Already nature has been playing its own role of destruction by under-sea earthquakes, volcanic eruptions and plate movements; which was, and still is leading to the destruction of marine plants and animals. Although many projects are carried out to check marine habitat destruction throughout the world, still no such remarkable improvements are made or seen, till date. Even if land reclamations seem to be tempting and innovative to human beings, and is leading to rapid developments in different countries, but “Marine life is also a life!”