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Our earth has become just like a sick patient with multiple symptoms, needing urgent attention. Dirty air, global warming, polluted waters, deforestation and toxic wastes are just a few of the maladies of our very ill earth. No doubt, we have become accustomed to frequent news of dangers the environment, perhaps even thinking, “That is not of great concern as long as it does not affect me”. Although, most people are concerned about the environment, many ‘think’ and ‘see’ nothing in throwing trash on the ground, dumping garbage in a river, or leaving lights turned on when they are not being used. However, whether we realize it or not, the wholesale destruction of the earth’s environment affects the vast majority of people, including you. Since the contamination of our planet is now so pervasive, it likely already affects more than one aspect of our lives, if not all. Thus, we all should be concerned about the health of our earth.
Overtime, various organizations and individuals have voiced warnings about threats to the environment. Others have taken action to make a difference. Yet despite these warnings and the actions taken so far, problems related to or environment has lingered on. To many, the situation is a paradox. More information than ever before is available on environmental subjects. More individuals and organizations than ever are interested in seeing the environment cleaned up. Governments have established departments to help solve the problems. We have more technology than ever before to help deal with our environment. Yet, things do not seem to be getting better.
WHY?
The reason, I think lies in the fact that, we take ‘One step forward….two steps backward’. Just think! The industrial progress is meant to make our lives easier and better. In some ways it has. However, it is this very “progress” that aggravates the earth’s environmental problems. The inventions and advancements that industry has presented to us has made life a lot easier, but not better, because the very production of these and our use of them have often resulted in ruining parts of our world.
An example of this is motor vehicles. These have made travel quicker and easier. Nevertheless, this mode of transportation has contributed to a host of problems in our environment. One of them is global warming. Sadly, humans have been using inventions that generate millions of tons of gases, which cause the greenhouse effect, resulting in the warming of the atmosphere, as a result of an increase in the temperature of the atmosphere. This example shows how complex the results of technology are – inventions that are helpful for people in general may cause a multitude of related problems that affect multiple areas of life.
Even the cooperation of the world’s governments has not brought meaningful solutions to these problems. It is difficult for these governments to agree on how to tackle environment issues. Even when agreements are signed, some parties later back off from commitments. Others find the agreements difficult to enforce. An example of this is the International Summit that took place in Japan in 1997. An agreement called the Kyoto Protocol was reached, which mandated developed regions of the world, such as the European Union, Japan, and the United Sates, to reduce emissions by an average of 5.2 percent by he year 2012. But, in early 2001, the U.S. government indicated that it was abandoning the Kyoto Protocol.
In other cases, governments or corporations feel they cannot accept the expenses involved in cleaning up the environment. In some places, it simply boils down to greed, as powerful commercial giants exert strong influence on government not to implement measures that would eat into the corporations’ profit.
But is all hope lost? I don’t think so…I think we can individually and collectively contribute to a sustainable environment by taking responsibility. I strongly believe that, if each of the billions of individuals on earth were careful abut how he or she treated the earth and the environment, it could make a big difference. For instance, if we know how to use products, we should also know how to dispose of them properly. Also, corporations should consider how their products are disposed of. They should think in terms of production, use and disposal. These three elements are closely connected.
Thus, being conservative in the use of energy, cooperating with recycling programs, disposing of trash properly, as similar acts, make a contribution toward preserving the environment, and demonstrates our commitment to a sustainable society. By our habits and attitudes, we can thus demonstrate our care for the earth now.
Therefore, let me use this medium to recommend the following strategies for a global sustainable environment:
1. That deforestation is discontinued, as the loss of trees results in a reduction in the earth’s capacity to absorb carbon dioxide, which eventually causes global warming.
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Comments
Interesting ! Yassir El Ouarzadi | May 29th, 2008
Very interesting and well-written article Loy. I totally agree with you when you say that we all should be concerned about the health of our earth.
Especially in the developed countries, I think that all people should understand the fact that we contributed to the problem, now it is our duty to help solve it.
From April 4 to April 6, I participated to the Al Gore's Training on Climate Change (see: www.climateprojectcanada.org), it was really great to see that many young people and canadians from all over the world came to help solve the problem of global warming since each participant is asked to give at least 10 presentations in his city or region. This initiative was started by the Nobel Prize Laureate Al Gore himself in USA in Nashville and now he trained hundreds of people in many countries: Canada, Spain, India, United Kingdom, USA ...
Moreover, I think that the success of government's policies depends on the active support of citizens, that's what Premier Jean Charest said during the Training in Montreal.
Finally, each of us can become an ally in our collective fight against global warming, the solutions are multiple and simple: reducing our use of energy, privileging local food, walking or biking instead of driving, sensibilizing others,...
If you are interested, I encourage you to visit a website that I made about Climate Change, my experiences and the solutions to the problem of global warming, it is in French but some parts of the website are in English, it will be translated soon: http://tigurl.org/h65ocb
Yassir,
Volunteer Presenter of The Climate Project- Canada
TIG Staff
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