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| Sunday, 15 September 2002 |
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by Umangi de Mel
And at the bottom of all this is the issue of environmental awareness. From the air we breath to the water we drink and to everything in-between, the environment plays a significant role. But, just how aware are our youth about the need to preserve our forests, reduce waste, recycle what can be recycled....And are they concerned about what's being done to the environment. We asked a few youth, and this is what they had to say. Rochelle, 18 Well, I'm not really into environment and conservation. There's nothing you can call `nature' in Colombo. But that doesn't mean we should continue to ruin the little bit of scenery that is remaining in and around the City.
We lose out on tourist trade, we lose out on our environment and we lose out on the beauty. We will soon be a set of big time losers if we don't play it safe with our environment. Mukesh, 16 I am a nature lover.
As an individual, we should respect nature because we are closely related. It's more like a circle, a chain of which the pieces are connected to each other and if split, could be quite destructive. Premnath Munasinghe, 19 Nature is a very comforting place where you can go and forget about the rest of the world. The sun rise, sun set, misty mountains and slippery slopes..(In Colombo of course the only mist you can get is the poisonous smoke that comes out of industries.) Among the inanimate things, nature is the livestock of the earth. Thank God, the kind of environment we all yearn to see can still be found in villages. People over there get everything they need to live a healthy life, from the undiluted nature that exists. Heard of `lunatics' who jump off a cliff and die? Well, One thing is for sure, the nature over there is so breath-taking that anybody will want to be a part of it. It is man who has damaged the nature. It is never too late to start though. We, in Colombo might get all the riches and luxurious things but nothing can nurture and cure a human life like nature does. Danny U., 20 We can't depend on the 'big shots' to protect the environment. Those who are responsible don't seem to do anything about it. There's little we can do about it, but that 'little' also matters.
Schools should start educating the youngsters about the issue. It won't take much for an adult to tell their four year old, not to scatter the toffee wrappers on the road as it might block the drains. They can always tell their kids a simplified version of the whole procedure. And the other thing is the wastage. We always spend on utterly useless things and that indirectly adds to the pollution. For example, the aimless driving sessions of youth just to ogle at girls. Think about the gallons of fuel that is burnt and emitted to the environment. It's high time we gave it a little thought. Jasmin, 20 To tell you the truth, the city is terrible. The noise is killing and the fume is just horrible. Think of walking along the pavements opposite the `Salaka', the speed of the vehicles make you pray for dear life, the noise you think, might split your ear drums and you get the dirty fumes all over your face. Pollution is the middle name of all this. All this muck can affect your nerves. Those days, even the poorest person had a large garden surrounding their houses and you hardly heard a sound from the adjacent houses.
There's hardly anything worthwhile to look at. No trees, no birds, no flowers, no waterfalls... just the concrete structures and motor demons dragging a trail of smoke behind, leaving us with a cloudy future. Can we do anything about all this? That is a question for which we all would like to find an answer. |
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| Produced by Lake House |
Floods
in Ratnapura, drought in Hambantota, Ozone depletion, sea erosion,
desertification, oscillating weather patterns . . . And now we have the
spectre of the `Brown Dust' hanging over the horizon. Many attribute the
dark cloud - the end result of callus disregard for the environment in a
bid to be part of the industrial rat race - to the failure of the monsoon.
While the attribution is moot, the contrary weather patterns is indeed
cause for concern.
Quit
smoking; smoking is one of the key factors that contribute to the immense
pollution that takes place. Because smoke contains harmful chemicals and
this damages the big picture. It harms the air and the ozone layer. This
is like a chain reaction, everything that is in nature is connected. Once
the air is polluted, the beach is affected as air pollution triggers acid
rains which pour into the sea, rivers and lakes. And the marine creatures
are affected big time. That will cause an imbalance in the marine life
which will eventually affect us.
There
you find nature; the real, pure unblemished nature is found in those
areas. I am a scout and according to the law of the scouts, we are
supposed to respect nature and be kind to animals. As scouts we use
nature, our relationship with nature is a close one.
What
I feel is that we should try to lessen the usage of items that add to
pollution. Go to the mall and learn to say `NO' to the polythene that is
thrown around. If you don't want it, say so without taking that excessive
lot of polythene home, and throwing it around. Somebody has to start. And
let it be the youth. By doing such deeds, you are giving the others the
idea that you care.
So
now you not only work amidst noise, but go home to an equally raucous
atmosphere. Owing to the population increase, there's less land to go
around and there's over crowding in the cities. Houses are crammed
together. Radios blaring, children making such a racket and you are under
stress. Stress triggers on a lot of ailments.
