Viola's Dreamworld

Sunday, July 29, 2007

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I refer to the article "Global warming: Don't blame it on the sun" published in The Straits Times on 13 July 2007.

It is so typical of us humans to always try and push the blame to others when we know perfectly well that we are the ones at fault. In school, when we forget to bring our homework, we blame it on our dog, our siblings, just to name a few examples. At work, when we forget to hand in a proposal on time, we blame our team for delaying the process or blame the computer for not being fast enough to finish our documents. When production for a drama series fails to end on schedule, the directors blame the actors for not portraying the role well enough the first time, therefore leading to more scenes being re-filmed all over again, which wastes time and delays the entire production. So why do we always push the blame to others, when we are at fault? Maybe it is because it is in our character to always look like we're on top of things, and refusing to admit that we are wrong even when we know it's our fault.

Global warming has been a sensitive issue that has pretty much been avoided by the world until recently, when light was shed on the amount of damage our human activities have been causing to the enviroment. We only started to be more aware of this issue because we were told that if we did not do something about it soon, the ones to suffer could most probably be us.
Scientists have been coming up with various theories to explain the root causes behind global warming, many of which credits the blame to other factors rather than mankind. One such theory suggested that the sun was responsible for the rise in global temperatures, citing the main reason being the sun's increased activity.

But a recent study shows that contrary to our beliefs, the sun has been less active in the past twenty years despite the rise in temperatures. So who exactly is to be blamed for the rise in temperatures?

The answer is, quite obviously, mankind itself. We have all been too caught up in the mad rush for a better world with higher levels of comfort that we have compromised our enviroment in the process. To gain something, someone has to lose something. This is what I believe, and so in this context, the enviroment has suffered in our fight for a more comfortable life.

But we have to remember that at the end of the day, it is humankind who will pay for the price of our actions. If we are lucky, we will not live to suffer the consquences, but our children and grandchildren definitely will. Even today no one can deny the fact that the Earth is getting warmer day by day. Temperatures are rising, and so are the sea levels. And when these sea levels rise, low-lying countries will go under. A recent documentary showed that a large city like Shanghai, who is in the midst of development for an even better tomorrow, is sinking by 2.5cm every year. It's ironic when you think about it. Shanghai, whose name means "above the sea", is now going under, and in the future, might be completely submerged. And this can only be due to us, for being irresponsible and neglecting our enviroment.

It is clear that something needs to be done. The newspapers have been flooded with reports of countries implementing various strategies to combat global warming and decrease carbon emissions, but my question is whether it will be successful in the long term. It is certainly not easy to break out of old habits and cultivate new, healthier ones, as everyone should know. Take for example the case of sleeping. Especially so for teenagers in Singapore, where we are used to sleeping late and waking up late. Because of this, we often forgo our breakfast, which is an unhealthy habit. We all know that we should change our cycle and start by sleeping early and waking up early as well, but how many of us are actually able to do that? Few, if you look around properly.

However, I believe that as long as we are all aware of the great extent of the damage we have caused, and as long as each person is willing to do something to save the enviroment, we can successfully minimise the damage we have done. It can be something as simple as reusing your plastic bags when you go shopping, or even better, using a proper shopping bag or basket instead. It may not sound like much, but if everyone does this, then we will be able to cut back our consumption by millions of plastic bags a year! We can also start by reusing our papers instead of throwing them whenever we make a tiny mistake. For myself, I tend to use only papers which have been (incorrectly) printed on one side, whenever I revise my work. My family has a separate shelf for putting these papers for our use, and I strongly encourage everyone else to do so as well. It may be a simple action, but similarly, if everyone does this, then we will be able to save thousands of trees each year!

I thereby urge everyone to look into your daily life and search for some areas where you can practise these enviroment-friendly habits. Remember, to save yourself, you must save the Earth.

-when are you coming back? ;