Make Our Planet Great Again | Daily News

Make Our Planet Great Again

These were the parting words of French President Emmanuel Macron’s brief address in English aimed at the American people, following the withdrawal of the United States from the Paris Accord on Climate Change. Apart from three countries (US, Syria and Nicaragua), all other countries will abide by this accord aimed at reducing greenhouse emissions and making our planet safer for the future generations. As Macron said, there is no Plan B (on climate change) because there is no Planet B, at least not yet.

Climate change is a result of man’s relentless assault on the environment. In the long evolution of the human race a stage has been reached when, through the rapid acceleration of science and technology, man has acquired the power to transform the environment in countless ways and on an unprecedented scale.

The United Nations has set apart June 5 (today) as the World Environment Day (WED) for mankind to reflect upon the importance of saving Nature and Planet Earth itself. The WED theme for 2017 is ‘Connecting People to Nature’, which urges people to get outdoors and into nature, to appreciate its beauty and to think about how we are part of nature and how intimately we depend on it.

We really do not appreciate Nature and what it does for us. To cite one example, did you know that the world as we know it will grind to a halt in a couple of weeks if bees go extinct? Nature’s gifts are often hard to value in monetary terms. They are often taken for granted, at least until they become scarce. In fact, most countries will experience a severe water scarcity in the next 15-20 years. While we cannot really put a price on nature and natural resources, economists are developing ways to measure the multi-trillion-dollar worth of many so-called ‘ecosystem services’, from insects pollinating fruit trees to the leisure, health and spiritual benefits of a hike up a valley.

Man’s attempts to tame and overpower nature have resulted in alarming consequences. The excessive burning of fossil fuels has led to global warming which will see a steep rise in temperatures and sea levels over the next few decades, wiping many islands off the map.

The world’s forests are being degraded and lost at a staggering rate of 3.3 million hectares per year. While their steady destruction in many Asian countries continues apace, deforestation of the world’s largest tropical forest – the Amazon – increased 29 per cent from last year’s numbers. According to FAO’s Global Forest Resource Assessment in 2015, forests continue to be lost in many countries of the Asia-Pacific region, including Sri Lanka, though the Government has announced plans to increase the country’s forest cover by as much as 35 per cent. Deforestation has another consequence – the extinction of thousands of species of flora and fauna by 2100. Our rivers and oceans are also being polluted at an unimaginable rate.

Here in Sri Lanka, we have seen the ill-effects of harming nature – the Meethotamulla garbage dump disaster, the recent massive floods and the landslides, all tell a story of nature’s adverse reaction to our follies. The problem is that we hardly learn a lesson from any of the major natural disasters or disasters caused by man’s indifference to, and exploitation of, nature.

There are many challenges ahead – the world population will rise to nine billion by 2050, which means an extra two billion mouths to feed, with the same (or diminished) area of arable land. We will have to drastically cut down on fossil fuels and opt for renewable energy to save millions of people from rising temperatures and seas. We will have to strictly enforce the 3Rs – Reduce, Re-use and Recycle to reduce the massive burden on the environment.

Some experts fear that the way things are going, the Earth may no longer be habitable in just 100 years. Renowned cosmologist Professor Stephen Hawking has repeated his warning that human survival depends on finding a new home beyond Earth. The search for other planets to colonise should start now, he believes. Elon Musk of SpaceX and Tesla has already launched a programme to find new homes for humanity in the next 100 years, starting with nearby Mars.

In the meantime, we should try to save the one planet we already have. Every little bit helps in this effort. If you walk to the junction instead of taking the car, you will save some fuel. If you install a LED bulb instead of a normal one, you will save power. If you use a reusable bag for grocery shopping, it will reduce polythene waste. If you use a cup of water to wash your mouth instead of using running water, at least five litres of water can be saved. If every person on Earth does just one thing every day to save the environment and connect closely with nature, we might still be able to call the Earth home even by 2500. It is still not too late to start making the Earth Great Again. 


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