Asanga Abeygoonasekera
“Actually, the forest is complete life, and it is the forest that gives strength to human beings to fight for the welfare of humanity.” Chief Almir Narayamoga Surui tribe leader
A father carries his three year old dead child from the heat wave in Karachi, Pakistan. More than 700 lives have been taken due to the highest recorded temperature in fifteen years 44.8 degrees celsius in Pakistan and more than 2000 dead in the neighboring India. Karachi a city of 20 million people who lives with limited access to electricity, limited for only few hours a day, the rich has got the generators and most of them would survive while poor has no option but to die as they cant switch on any cooling device. The demand of the 20m people in Karachi cannot be met by the electricity grids, unable to keep up with the demand. The technologically sophisticated globalized world we live still unable to protect these innocent victims affected from the heat wave. It is a sad plight to see people being killed for heat. We have global leaders and top corporate sector who earn billions who talk of the values of human life but unable to do anything.
According to a prominent scientist David Auerbach “Humans will be extinct in 100 years due to overcrowding, declining resources and climate change”. The goal for the century is to keep the temperature below 2°C will be difficult with the current trends. A 5°C increase, as predicted to occur by 2100 at the moment, would cause widespread flooding, famine, drought and mass extinction according to Auerbach.
This author at the foothills of Davos in January was fortunate to interact and listen to Al Gore former US Vice President who spoke to the young global leaders, explaining what CO2 does to the climate and what we all need to do to protect and create a world for the present and the next generation. One hundred and ten million tons of CO2 every 24 hours is released to our atmosphere every day which seriously needs a change in our individual way of life, specially to reduce man made pollution around the world. The affect of climate change to Island nations will be drastic and its time we all take serious measures to curb environment pollution. Not further going towards projects such s Norochcholai coal power, since the entire world is moving away from coal and transitioning towards renewable energy the area we should concentrate when making future decisions. Private sector a key contributor to our economy should make protecting the environment a top priority including to their corporate social responsibility.
This author met with another environment activist, tribal leader Chief Almir from Amazon forest at the World Entrepreneurship Forum. He is using google earth to protest Amazon forest and his indigenous Surui tribe. The Surui have put aside their bows and arrows and taken up new technology charting the Surui territory using Google Earth software, annotating the reserve with tags and photos marking villages, hunting grounds, and sacred sites, along with areas targeted by logging and mining companies. Outsiders could see the effects of deforestation and the attacks on tribal land. Chief Almir hoped to plant one million trees. A great individual using technology to protect the environment.
The role is for all of us at Government, civil society, international organizations and everyone has an individual role to save their own children and the future unborn children. Individuals should be encouraged to use public transport, foot cycles and walking in city limits. Government should focus to provide infrastructure facilities required for this. Limitation of vehicle imports and to encourage comfortable public transport to urban areas should be considered. The import tax should be reduced for electric vehicles and people should be encouraged with incentives given to consume less harmful products for the environment. Importance of renewable energy and climate change should be a taught with practical examples at schools and to all stake holders of our society. UN Secretary General, Ban Ki Moon clearly states “It’s not only government. Government cannot do it alone. The UN cannot do it alone. There should be full partnership… then we should have civil society coming together. Even one normal citizen – they have a role to play.” Saving our environment should be top of our agenda. Politicians should be an example for the people such as Ida Meier Auken Norwegian parliamentarian who use her foot cycle to goto parliament and fights to keep a better environment in her own country. The upcoming election in Sri Lanka people should consider voting for candidates who are environmentally responsible and does minimum harm to our environment without any banners, posters and usage of recyclable material. Its important we address and take small steps to minimize this climate catastrophe which will kill all of us.
Scientist / June 27, 2015
This article is full of emotive crap that is floating around as “science” aimed at diverting the public’s attention to an impending disaster.
The author merely reproduces the rubbishi propaganda of the vested interests without any apparent critical evaluation.
Only an ace fool will even attempt to link the loss of 700 lives in Pakistan’s heat wave with the so-called climate change. Temperatures in the region of 50 degrees celsius have previously been seen in Pakistan and in other countries – and will happen again – and the loss of life is due to people lacking facilities to put up with such temporary rises in temperature.
The author refers to David Auerbach as a “prominent scientist” in order to his selective quote “Humans will be extinct in 100 years due to overcrowding, declining resources and climate change”.
This is utter nonsense. Auerback or anyone else is not in a position to predict what will happen in 100 years time, and the prediction does not mention the significance of wars created by the American war machine in the equation.
The article also mentions the issue of children and grand children and others to pusg the emotion button!
As Google reveals, the author of this article has no scientific background, and he is being carried away by the cynical international campaign launched by the US and other parties with vested interest to divert attention of the world from more important issues of global economic and political injustices being perpetuated by these parties.
The four-yearly UN “forecasts” of gloom based on climate models based on inaccurate “global” temperature measurements and fraudulent computer algorithms(which pass for science in this rubbishy campaign) have been wrong by a wide margin. Right at this moment, the summer in the home of this lie, the US has been unusually wet. (Then they will cling to even the favourable change as climate change!)
Climate is changeable as proven by world history, and most likely it will continue to change in the future. Man trying to control such an eternal DHARMA through fear campaigns and non-effective “solutions” is a cynical exercise with other motives.
The author should relax and stop contributing to such conspiratorial global campaigns and turn to Buddhism to read about such concerns about the distant future. Hope he will be more alert and independent in analysing the politics of international affairs!
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Ben Hurling / June 27, 2015
Scientist,
Do you believe scientific conclusions based on overwhelming evidence?
Or are you just a religious lunatic who believes God will take care of it all? And you can just keep going as you do now, polluting the planet and ripping off all its’ natural resources. Beyond the point of no return.
Cheers!
PS: Well done Asanga. Appreciate your effort to educate our nation on this critical issue.
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Tripper / June 28, 2015
Scientist : And what exactly are your credentials? Unfortunately we can’t Google for them, as unlike Asanga you haven’t given us your name.
Only the unelightened will diss the dangers that global warming poses with crap like ” … fear campaigns and non-effective “solutions” is a cynical exercise with other motives.”
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Dan / June 27, 2015
What kind of a crapy comment from Scientist, brilliant article Asanga!
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sajeewa / June 27, 2015
” Individuals should be encouraged to use public transport, foot cycles and walking in city limits. Government should focus to provide infrastructure facilities required for this. Limitation of vehicle imports and to encourage comfortable public transport to urban areas should be considered.”
well said Mr Asanga I really agree with you because most of the developed countries are already fallow this methods to protect there environment but we are still arguing :(
@ Scientist Typical Sri Lankan Mentality :P
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Shanaka / June 27, 2015
Excellent article Asanga.
Good luck.
Keep on continue.
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vas / June 27, 2015
Thank you Asanga. !0% of Sri Lankans in the NCP is dying of Kidney disease by a poorly thought out mahawel scheme that apparently left a few people multimillionaires leaving the rest to be dying of environmental damage. Yes, Discretion in voting is most important. No more idiots who have a false impression of development based on creative destruction.
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Selectedevil / June 27, 2015
Nice Article. I fear for the coming generations as they will pay the price of our current short sightedness.@scientist while I am no scholar of the great dhamma books, in my limited knowledge I believe the theme of every religion is to protect cherish enrich do good unto your fellow human beings. If we do not pay due attention to the environment I think we will be failing in that no matter what religion we are affiliated with.
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Jim softy / June 27, 2015
I think climate change is only partly man made. What ever the damages, they must do, are already done. For the next 100 years or so, we will experience it, most natural disasters will be previously unheard of.
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vas / June 28, 2015
Every thing is impermanent and ever changing. The great pity is the false values of our corrupt rulers and so called intellectuals that think they are in control when they are not. Devolepment is today destruction created to fill the pockets of the elite with ponzy money. The rest suffers.
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Navin / July 1, 2015
Asanga Abeyagoonasekera is an unthinking wannabe word smith. Read his previous articles if you want to verify. Warning: you will waste your time.
On a subject that there is vast, vast literature available, thousands of genuine reliable research and information available, Asanga has for reference only an activist (meaning biased person) known as David Auerbach and Chief Almir from the Amazon Jungles. Asanga endorses Auerbach’s prediction of the extinction of humans in 100 years. On what grounds does he think more than 10 billion people will be dead in 100 years? And he is admiring Almir’s HOPE to plant 1 million trees. Why then can’t we simply HOPE to plant at least a thousand trees and hope climate change will go away.
Asanga wants people to throw away their cars and ride bicycles. Any one going to listen? And, at the forthcoming elections, he wishes we do not vote for candidates who are not “environmentalists”. I suppose we will all stay at home on polling day because there are no eco-friendly candidates.
There is not a word from Asanga about the Colombo Port City Project. Now there’s one project for you that will seriously disrupt the geology of the South-West, when billions of tons of earth are moved from peoples backyards in Panadura and other places to fill the China man’s front porch in the sea. Not a word about other projects which had and will have harmful eco effects – projects that are initiated and carried out only for the purpose of filling (more than lining!) the pockets of the ‘activist’ politicians, their lackeys and henchmen. Asanga is silent on the very real corruption among the politicians leading to environmental degradation. But to speak on that authoritatively will require province by province research; too much work; far easier to rely on Auerback and Almir.
Asanga is attributing the thousands dead in Pakistan and India to climate change. Is Asanga deaf and blind? What climate change? In those countries there has been no interference with nature, to the degree of interference in the Western Countries, US and Canada. Weather not very different from that known from the beginning of recorded history, is prevailing in those countries today. 2000 dead in India due to climate change? “A father carries his three year old dead child from the heat wave in Karachi, Pakistan”? This guy is mano.
If I was the Editor of CT, I would have returned the Article with a suggestion to stop writing and find something else to do. Commentors like Ben Hurling, Dan, Sajeewa, Shanaka, Vas, Selectedevil, and others who want to follow in similar vein, urgently get the analytical faculties of your brain tested.
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