Everytime I look out the window and see the many shades of green, I feel a sense of comfort, a sense of relief that helps keep me sane. The colours, the smells, the sounds. Brilliant. Simply brilliant. Mother Nature in all her glory is a sight to behold, there is simply no doubt about that.But as I take in all her beauty, I wonder to myself, will she stay this way? When my time ends, will people still see her beauty? And if so, when their time ends, will there be any left of her? I fear that there will be precious little left, if any, of nature in years to come. Every single day, in almost every part of the world, people pillage from nature, taking more than they should. Deforestation, emission of green house gases, whaling, overfishing, poaching - each and every single case an abuse of our planet. We, as a people, have overburdened this planet which we depend on, and I fear this will be our undoing. By some estimates, the destruction that we have wrought on Planet Earth will heal in about 75 years at the earliest. It makes one shudder to even think of what would happen to us all if the worst case scenario were to happen. We must move now to confront this malaise, and right all the wrongs. Efforts, have no doubt been made, but they are feeble ones. There are many international agreements out there, but each and every one has been neglected and forgotten. Talk simply is cheap; there must be action. The leading countries in the world should step forth, and show the way. There must be a stronger, more concerted effort to drive the international agreements to fruition, to accomplish the goals as stated in them. Singapore, despite its small size, is well-poised to be that leader. We have, as a country, punched well above our weight on many occasions. Cast your thoughts back to 1995, when Professor Tommy Koh chaired the UN Conference for the Law of the Sea. Or some years back, when Khoo Swee Chiow became the first man to conquer the highest peaks of every continent as well as both poles. Singapore has shown an uncanny ability to be at the forefront of human development in years gone by. Surely now, after more than four decades, we still have that ability within us. Let us be the champion for conservation and the enviroment. Let us take the first step to saving the world for our children, and their children.Singapore = Conservation? Why not?
i heard the crickets at 6:19 pm
--------------------
|
|
|
