“Everybody talks about the weather, but nobody does anything about it.”

by Ronan

Oddly enough the issue of global warming only seems to be sinking in now and it took the lives of at least 10 Englishmen, in flooding unsurpassed by recorded history, to wake the world. This is only on my mind because I was talking to my uncle lately and he still claims that the whole notion of global warming is a hoax. The scary thing is that he’s not alone in his views. The realities of this problem were plainly denied until recent months when public opinion shifted so that it’s no longer a runner for a politician to ignore the state of our world.

What’s really worrying though is how aid groups in Africa are attempting to coax such developing nations to carry the burden of blame and reduce emissions. My first reaction to this news was to question ‘How is that fair?’. Not only is it unfair but it’s simply outrageous that people who are barely able to survive are even asked to accept blame. The developed world is so developed because of our complete disregard for the preservation of our planet. It was the gobbling up of the worlds fossil fuels that forced our industrial age forward. Now, if anything, it’s their turn. When I was in Lesotho I worked at a primary school which had a wind turbine attached…generously donated by westerners with an environmental conscience. This turbine supplies enough electricity to power the light bulbs yet the money used could have fed the children attending the school each day. Instead it soothed the worries of westerners.

Recently our ‘leaders’ have recognised the problem as such but as Mark Twain put it: “Everybody talks about the weather, but nobody does anything about it. ” We must therefore be aware that there is still much to be done. Yet global warming is no longer a problem reserved by the scientific community or even by politicians. Pope John Paul II spoke of how it is the duty of all of mankind to acknowledge and act on “the common commitment to the protection of the earth which God has given us.” It is a problem shared by all of the human family but this does not allow for blame to be laddled out to the underprivileged in the South. The people of Africa have a right to refrain from much of the work as they have lived by their commitment all along…

It’s not necessarily a nice job but that’s the way it has to be and to ignore the strain our race is putting on this planet is to take it for granted and so not appreciate the fullness of Gods creation.

Tuesday, June 26th, 2007 and is filed under Views on News.