We live in a time
of uncertainty and imbalance. An unstable currency, price rise, instability,
poor governance – all these could make one feel as though these are troubled
times. On the brighter side we are in the golden space age. Sci-Fi movies of
the seventies are turning out to into reality. Technological advances have
certainly made our lives comfortable and certainly very complicated. The
internet boom, the reduced commuting times, smart phones, faster computers,
smart gadgets – all seem to have come as gift from the almighty himself.
We live in an
age where anything that is smarter, faster and better is acknowledged and the
rest discarded. Our obsession with this new age philosophy has also reflected
on our demands for better health. It is after all common understanding that a
good health is an integral part of a good life. I spoke to my grand mother a
few days ago with the intension of understanding the health situation during
her days as a young adult. I was surprised to learn that they enjoyed a healthier
childhood than the one we had, even with poor sanitation and low food
availability.
Human health can
be easily regarded as one of the most important priorities of mankind and the
total monetary expenditure in this sector can only be matched by defense. Billions
of dollars are invested every year on healthcare research and yet as the day
passes by – we are in a more insecure health situation. The basic question we
can then ask is – why?
Our grandparents
and our parents were brought up in an environment which was pristine. The low
pollution levels, good quality food and water, favorable temperatures – made
their childhoods memorable. The situation has however drastically changed in
the last twenty years! I pity the kids born today!
The high levels
of pollution welcome them into this earth offering them gifts of respiratory illnesses;
they grow up into an uncertain future of sudden climatic changes and
unpredictable weather patterns. Their lives would be miserable!
It’s a foolish
world we are a part of, and we are equally ignorant. I have a beehive on the
ceiling of my third floor apartment balcony. The moment the other tenants in
the apartment complex noticed it – they saw free honey; their immediate
reaction – burn it down. Even after my repeated attempts to make them
understand the importance of bees to maintain the natural cycle of life, they
were unrelenting. This standoff continues to the day. Introspecting on
their replies, I was convinced that this generation of young adults / parents
has either become extremely heartless or is just ignorantly stubborn.
I would go with the fact that most of us are ignorant. But the situation warrants that we must open our eyes and act. Global climatic changes would drastically affect our lives and those of our children. No parent amongst us would want to gift his / her child an uncertain future. We do a lot of sacrifices for our children - most notably by building a strong monetary system to support them. But we never pause to think about the basic necessities that would be required for their survival - good food, clean air and pure water. If you are a parent reading this, I am sure you have now understood what is at stake. Educate yourself first, then your neighbor.
Spread the word and save the world!
It’s a foolish world we live in. You can opt to make it less foolish!
I would go with the fact that most of us are ignorant. But the situation warrants that we must open our eyes and act. Global climatic changes would drastically affect our lives and those of our children. No parent amongst us would want to gift his / her child an uncertain future. We do a lot of sacrifices for our children - most notably by building a strong monetary system to support them. But we never pause to think about the basic necessities that would be required for their survival - good food, clean air and pure water. If you are a parent reading this, I am sure you have now understood what is at stake. Educate yourself first, then your neighbor.
Spread the word and save the world!
It’s a foolish world we live in. You can opt to make it less foolish!
Let greed not
destroy us,
Wake up!
A well written article. I completely agree with Roy. Unless man changes his ways and accepts a new form of life, human green induced climate change would destroy us.
ReplyDeleteYesterday I was viewing BBC Hard talk. The BBC was interviewing a small tiny village in Alaska. The natives explained how they have for centuries lived by hunting whales and fishing. Now there are no whales for hunting. The ice sheet on which they have built their houses is crumbling. There are about 10000 inhabitants.
ReplyDeleteNext BBC interviewed the scientists who are keeping a close watch on the dwindling ice sheet. One of them revealed that the ice sheet would at the most up to 2030. He also explained that the ice in Antarctica and Arctic used to reflect back the heat from the sun rays. Now with ice gone, more and more heat is absorbed. Further, the huge quantity of carbon dioxide and methane which is beneath the ice sheets will be released to the atmosphere, thereby adding oil to fire.
Then the BBC interviewed the energy secretary of USA about their plans to extract oil from the Arctic and Alaska area. The explanation she offered was terrific. Her explanation for such drilling is to feed the oil hungry population in mainland USA which consumes 90 million barrels of oil per day. She asks the BBC from where she could get that oil. She also said if they do not take control of Arctic then Russia would take control and Russia gives least respect to environmental problems. As regards the problem of the villagers of Alaska she said that man adopts himself to all kinds of climate!!! She also explained that climate change is not caused by man made factors alone.
The conclusion that can be drawn from this BBC Hard talk is that the rich are destroying this earth anyway. Their money power may take them to another celestial body for which the search is on. Thus 2% rich may find a safe haven in Europa a moon of Jupiter. But what about the remaining 98%???????????