By Ogunjobi Oluwamuyiwa Felix
Ignorance is not an option – the environment is the “stage” for every “performance”, every entity is important to it if the world would remain an ecosystem – a self-supporting system. In the wake of recent global happenings, one cannot but think of what would become of our world in the next two or three decades. Would we have to fashion oxygen sieves on our noses before having assess to clean air? Or simulate artificial gardens only the rich would be able to afford? Maybe “air-conditioner wears” from Asia would have gained so many acceptances that the cooling effect of trees would no longer be important? One could go on with imaginative fantasies that would only prove one thing – Ignorance.
Yesterday, 5th of June, 2017 marks the celebration of the world environment day – the biggest annual event for environmental action with the theme “Connecting with nature”. The theme which aims to appreciate ideas from the commonplace is one that poses a mind-puzzling question to everyone – How am I connecting with the environment? Maybe this would be a better rendering – If the environment could talk, what would she say of me? While we may again feign ignorance of our environmental misappropriation, it would be a quantum leap in the right direction if we acknowledge our negligence.
A few days ago, the “Donald Trump administration” pulled out of the Paris Agreement which aims to strengthen the global response to the threat of climate change, strengthen the ability of countries to deal with the impacts of climate change by keeping a global temperature rise in this century well below 2 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels and to pursue efforts to limit the temperature increase even further to 1.5 degrees Celsius. As much as it would have been honourable to pay deaf ears to President Trump’s usual “knee-jack decisions”, it is disturbing to know that such decision was made by the president of the world’s second largest emitter of carbon claiming that the agreement is not in the best interest of America – Obviously, for Trump, its business as usual.
Speaking on the theme of the world environmental day, Mr Momoh Kayode, an agricultural entrepreneur and a postgraduate student of University of Ibadan commented, “We have to adopt better ways of handling the environment by putting up green initiatives that would at least mitigate the effect of climate change”. “The struggle to curb climate change is not a myth and the best way we can connect with nature at this crucial time is to sensitive ourselves on the best use of the environment” he added.
And so before the question “how am I connecting with nature?” is hastily answered, a few things are necessary. We should endeavour to carry out our fundamental obligation as global citizens. For developing nations, environmental hygiene such as cleaning sewage pathways, making blocked drainages flow, disposing refuse properly and tree-planting volunteering should be attended to.
For developed nations, a strong solidarity should be maintained towards environmental course, even against all odds. Then should we make attempts to raise up our camera and snap; a selfie in a beautiful garden, picnic in a nature park, a child feeding his pet frog, a politician planting a tree, a tourist skydiving connect with nature in every beautiful way our minds can think of. After all, the world belongs to us all. Happy World Environment Day Celebration!
Written by Ogunjobi Oluwamuyiwa Felix from Port Harcourt , Nigeria, Editing by Adebote ‘Seyifunmi
