The right war

Battle against climate changes:

June 5th is World Environment Day

By Shanika Sriyananda

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Pin drop silence. All are in slumber, one can hear her screaming... crying and apologizing too... For the past few decades she has been pleading for her life.

Being the ‘Most beautiful’ woman in the world, her struggle is now to survive, not to retain her fading beauty: In this world, which is getting hotter and hotter, the blue lace cover which protects her from the powerful rays of the sun has burnt her skin.

Listen... she, mother nature, who loves her children and gives the best for them, is now pleading for justice not from any one, but from her own children, who are squeezing her neck.

Abused and raped for the sake of ‘development’ she takes deep breaths making the earth shatter. When people hurt her, mother nature, will shake the world, with floods, earth tremors, and disasters like the tsunami. She punishes us bringing the most unforgettable changes in her environment.

Starting from the tsunami to Hurricane Katrina to Myanmar to China, recording the world’s worst ever disasters in recent history, is Mother Nature trying to tell her story or warn us about impending disasters?

Or is she ‘influencing’ her children to take speedy actions to repair the damage and keep a tab on future disasters?

Now the frightening challenge her children are facing is, the threat of global warming that steadily destroys the environment. Global warming has become the main culprit for many natural disasters triggered by humans.

For centuries, heat trapping gases in the environment have kept the balance in the atmosphere. During bright sunshine they absorbed these gases carefully to maintain the required warmth that support life on earth. With the craving for more comforts of this modern world, humans have started releasing these gases into the atmosphere. The excalating population has axed millions of trees reducing the forest cover- the fine natural heat absorbents of Mother Nature.

Now all these gasses have made Mother Nature breathless. The problem is that over the last century, we humans have been releasing more and more carbon dioxide and other heat-trapping gases into the atmosphere. These gases, emitted far beyond their limits, have destroyed the eco-balance of the existence of Mother Nature.

A spate of disasters have hit countries around the world. According to many scientific researchers, the world in the future would face more devastating disasters unless all the countries get together to put a ‘durable’ lid on green house gases emitting from fuel burning power generation, transportation and over logging of forest cover and other ‘grave’ crimes against nature.

Can we justify the global warming as a natural disaster? No, it is better to use the term ‘human-caused global warming’. The serious threats from increased flooding to earth slips to tremors to the spread of deadly disease to losses in agricultural production in many parts of the world cannot be overlooked.

“It is important to tap these gases”, the scientists are blowing the warning sirens while the world is getting hotter and hotter. Minutes are ticking by, taking us closer to more disasters predicted by them.

The situation cannot be taken lightly. We are now living in the 10th most warmest year on record since 1990. According to scientific predictions over 50 million people around the globe will be displaced by 2010 due to weather induced flooding, rising of sea levels, dried up aquifers, desertification and other changes in the eco-system.

The scientists in the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) claim that in the absence of meaningful actions to cap the green house gases, the temperature could increase by more than 7 degrees Faranheit by the end of the century.

Climate change and its consequences on Mother Nature is a ‘popular’ topic that has got international attention. But who can really stop it?

The simple answer would be world political leaders, world business giants and scientists. But do you ever value ‘your’ contribution towards ‘cooling’ Mother Nature.

Yes. According to the World Health Organisation (WHO) you can do heaps. It is just like how ‘drops of water makes the mighty ocean’. Your little efforts step by step carefully taken will make a change in this world.

See the box above for the ways you can reduce the adverse health impacts from climate change, to help the polar bears on the mountains of Northern Spain to commence hibernation, to save the ‘magical’ coral reef barriers and to preserve many local species on the brink of extinction.

“Save the world, make it a better place for you, and for me and the entire human race”. Act now! - Do not delay Start your war against climate change straight away.

Climate shifts

* Rising sea levels, leading to more coastal erosion, flooding during storms, and permanent inundation

* Increased drought and increased incidence of wildfires

* Severe stress on many forests, wetlands, alpine regions, and other natural ecosystems

* Impacts on human health as mosquitoes and other disease-carrying insects and rodents spread diseases over larger geographical regions

* Disruption of agriculture in some parts of the world due to increased temperature, water stress, and sea-level rise in low-lying areas such as Bangladesh or the Mississippi River delta

Other projected impacts include increased intensity of hurricanes; the long-term destabilization of the Greenland and West Antarctic ice sheets, leading to much greater sea level rise; the acidification of the world’s oceans; and a vastly increased rate of species extinction.

Wonders such as the Great Barrier Reef and the Amazon could collapse under the weight of just a few more degrees. And hundreds of millions of people may be forced from their homelands as the climate shifts, creating increased political and economic instability.

Source: climatechange.com

Your Health Your World

Act Now!

Buy energy efficient appliances

Calculate your personal carbon footprint

Debate, discuss and distribute

Enjoy the sun!

Fridge - don’t leave fridge doors open for longer than necessary.

Go Green! If you have to buy a car, buy a fuel-efficient, environmentally friendly one.

Half your emissions

Involve your family

Join an environmental group

Kick start an environmental campaign

Lamps - replace the bulbs you use most with compact fluorescent lamps.

Minimize the use of toxic chemicals.

Network with specialized agencies, non-profit organizations and engaged communities.

Off - Turn off televisions, videos, stereos and computers when they are not in use.

Plant trees

Quit plastic bags

Recycle, repair and reuse materials

Save paper

Travel smart reduce air travel

Use less energy and conserve more of it!

Value wastes!

Write letters about the health impacts of climate change to the local newspapers.

Xpress your concerns on environmental health issues and solutions and stay informed.

Your president, prime minister, parliamentarian or local leader needs to know about the impacts of climate change on health.

Zoom in reducing emissions - It is the best way forward!

- World Health Organization