Mother Nature In Tears…

“NUNYONAMEWO’’, a word in my ewe dialect meaning good things. I am always amazed with that adjective ‘’good’ in that worded sentence. Many are such good things that nature has bestowed on man. From the sun, sand, trees, animals, water, air and many more which has remained free and in abundance to man. The only responsibility of man from the genesis of generation to today is to ensure the sustainability of all that has been created.

There is an old age saying that goes; “If you cannot see, at least be able to hear”. That is even least to say about our attitude towards nature. We as people have developed a very sad culture of seeing and hearing of negative things that our actions and inactions has caused nature but remained conscienceless. Nature’s blessings has gradually become a curse to many. We indulge in all the activities that leads to the destruction and degradation of nature. From the days of sand winning, through the days of deforestation to the current age of environmental pollution which has become a major canker to societal development especially in Africa. The limited gutters that exist has become choked with plastic wastes posing challenge to the flow of water. A potent habitat for breeding some diseases that affects us.

We all aren’t prophets, certainly not soothsayers but one thing we could all perfectly predict is the harm that will befall generations to come if we remain adamant towards taking necessary measures to ensure sustainability of the universe. The effects of climate change and its effects on man and its environment. We are all witnesses to the rapid changes to natural phenomenon such as rainfall patterns and atmospheric temperature. We are obviously underestimating the effects of rapid climate change on agriculture, health and property.

It has become almost an unproductive venture to practice rain fed agriculture in current times. Smart means of farming has emerged to adapt to climate change effects which is a capital intensive venture for the average farmer. Various statistics has indicated the rising level of poverty and hunger in the various countries and also, a wide social standard gap existing between the rich and the poor. One of the implications often over looked which has a catastrophic effect on the youth and this generation is job losses due to unattractive nature of agriculture. With ever increasing population, the ripple effect will be social vices and poor standard of living.

We continue to pollute the environment day in day out with both gaseous wastes and solid wastes. Due to industrialization, we continue to release greenhouse gases into the environment especially from our energy sources which is mainly fossil fuel. We are seriously at the mercy of nature. Such gases are primarily responsible for the global warming that has become a source of worry to us all especially as Africans, the hardest hit.

Mother Nature shed tears but in hope. Her hope is we stop the politics and take a collective action to save her. We are at her mercy because climate change polices remain wishful thinking because of global politics. Her hope is that we take mitigation measures seriously, reduce the vulnerability of sea level rise and storm surges.

It’s a plea to global leaders to respect the Paris Agreement to put a smile on the face of Mother Nature. We are living today, but sadly we are choking the breath of those who are to come tomorrow. Let’s stop the selfishness.

Sustainability teaches us to utilize resources without compromising on the existence of future generations. We plan for today and prioritizes the needs of tomorrow. That’s what Mother Nature calls sacrifice.

The time to act is now! Let’s think clean energy that does not pollute the environment, sustainable transport, let’s convert our waste to energy, let’s grow what we eat and eat what we grow. The commitment to reduce emission levels must be the focus of all.

I end with a quote by Mahatma Gandhi that says “a good man is the friend of all living things”. That man respects nature irrespective of race and geographical location at all time.

Godwin Apenu
Ghana.
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