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25.11.2010 Feature Article

THINKING GLOBALLY, ACTING LOCALLY.

THINKING GLOBALLY, ACTING LOCALLY.
25.11.2010 LISTEN

“We all moan and groan about the loss of the quality of life through the destruction of our ecology, and yet each one of us in our own little comfortable ways, contributes daily to that destruction. It is time now to awaken in each one of us the respect and attention our Mother (Earth) deserves.” Ed. Asner, actor, environmental supporter.

For many years, skeptics call climate change a myth. But today, science has proved them all wrong. But this fact remains: whether we face East or West, North or south, we face the same crisis - Climate Change. Whether we are black, white or yellow, we face the same challenge – Climate Change. Whether we are from Africa, America, Europe Asia, Australia or the tens of thousands of small island states around the world (globe), we face the same threat - Climate Change. Whether we are young or old, we face the same menace - Climate Change. We are all at risk. The multi-million-dollar question is who speaks for Mother Earth? Nobody! But this is the only home that we have as humans and other living beings.

Today more than ever before, the planet is in a great danger of being destroyed and its eventual extinction is not far from us. Scientific data abound to that effect. Everything points to the fact that a global catastrophe is at hand if we do not take drastic action now and start doing something. The challenge is now or never.

THE CHALLENGE
The greatest challenge facing the world today is that of Climate Change. It is one of the major international, environmental, economic, social and political challenges of our time. It is a defining challenge that ought to be faced squarely with definite plans and bold decisions.

No other issue (the credit crunch, reducing poverty, achieving and maintaining economic growth, ensuring world peace and stability, ending conflicts and wars, curbing HIV/AIDS pandemic etc) is more fundamental to the global challenges we face today than the issue of global warming and its attendant effects. The evidences of Climate Change are here and present with us: rise in sea level, high diurnal and nocturnal temperatures, erratic rainfall patterns, melting of glaciers and ice sheets, deforestation and desert advancement, low agricultural productivity, coastal floods, ocean acidity, acid rain, coral bleaching, change and loss in animal and insect species, prevalence of malaria and dengue, yellow fever etc.

It is already established that the first decade of the 21st century is going to be the hottest decade in recorded history. This is no good news at all. Projections and other forecasts point to the fact that the coming decades may be worse if nothing is done to avert the harrowing situations of the day. All this points to the fact that the very survival of man is at a great risk unless something is done and done speedily.

To us living today, all these happenings present to us great opportunities to change the course of history and charter a new course for posterity. The momentum is here and gathering.

THE RESPONSE/SOLUTION
Does it mean that there is no solution in sight? No. We can and we are well able to do something at the international, regional, national, local/community as well as the individual levels.

Various plans have been drawn up by world leaders, environmental experts and scientists, business communities, civil society organisations, religious groups and young people alike to implement and everyone everywhere is doing everything possible to mitigate climate change and its consequences. The momentum is gathering.

Since the Earth Summit in 1992 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil to the Kyoto Protocol in 1997 in Kyoto, Japan, to the Bali Roadmap in 2007 in Bali, Indonesia and finally the Copenhagen Climate Change Conference in 2009 in Copenhagen, Denmark, various action- plans as to how to tackle Climate Change and mitigate its disastrous consequences have been put forward.

Three main actions are being adopted worldwide. First, there are deliberate and definite plans to cut down on Carbon Dioxide (CO2) emission which will be as a result of the reduction in the consumption of fossil fuel. Secondly, there should be the adoption of new technologies and alternative sources of power such as Electric Vehicles (EV), the use of solar energy, wind power, tidal power, biogas, Hydro-electric power etc. Thirdly, we should adopt massive afforestation and re-afforestation exercises. This tree planting campaign should be approached with all the seriousness it deserves and without fail.

It is imperative that as part of a global action against Climate Change, something be done locally to help reverse the effects of climate change. This should necessitate some local actions against Climate Change. A very good campaign we need to encourage in Ghana is dubbed: One Child, One Tree, One Gift to Nature. This campaign only seeks to encourage every child in Ghana to plant a tree, care for and nurture it to maturity and by so doing he or she will be contributing to the fight against Climate Change at the individual and local levels.

This is how we can be thinking globally and yet, acting locally.

Written by: Joel Degue

Geography Tutor, KETASCO

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