9:30pm yesterday marked the end of the annual Earth Hour 2010 which lasted for 1 hour, a global event organized by WWF (World Wildlife Fund) every year starting in Sydney, Australia 2007. The main purpose is to raise awareness towards the need to take action on climate changes. Attendees are from all sides of the globe with approximately 1.2 billion people participated and still counting. According to the WWF 2010 officials, it was estimated that about 5 billion kWh of electricity demand has plunged globally, which was 3 times larger than the first event back in 2007. All in all, the event is a success!
However, sustainability should not only be limited to the cripple notion involving energy and environmental fall outs. On other perspective, Brundtland Commission stated that to be sustainable is 'to meet present needs without compromising future's demands'.
Compellingly, a native tribe leader in the heart of Africa once said 'Mother Earth is not what we inherited from our forefathers but the one we borrowed from our future generations'.
From these 2 statements, we can conclude with a degree of certainty that the main point to be stressed is RESPONSIBILITY towards the surroundings. Be it in the name of energy conservation, environmental degradation, economic turmoil, social welfare, scientific discoveries, research & innovations, cultures & biodiversity etc. In layman word, the true essence of being sustainable is to be responsible.
And here goes the lists that we've gone through in the pursuit of sustainability:
1. Formation of UN (United Nations) + all of its sub-organizations i.e. UNICEF, WHO, WWF etc. - which covers all aspects of global interests & represents the whole multitude of human beings. Checked.
2. Earth Hour. Checked.
3. Copenhagen Summit - to address the long lasting issue of greenhouse gasses. Half true with a big question mark asking is it a 'walk the talk' type of summit or just another 'talk & walk' kind of gentleman's occasion? Answer for yourself.
4. Rehabilitation & Conservation (R&C) of natural (flora + fauna) habitats. Not so close. While various laws, regulations and even gazetted lands are commendable but it seems that the equation of R&C is far from balanced. While there are efforts to maintain nature in harmony, there are still people who poached and lumber jacking illegally. You can see for yourself everywhere. So, where's the deal?
5. Economic stability & win-win situation among nations. We are very far indeed from even taking the first step to collaborate let alone unite. Other than self interest, anything else doesn't matter.
6. Social welfare in terms of public security, extreme poverty, marginalized individuals, underfed populations, educational setback etc.? Now that's louder than the explosions of 'Little Boy' & 'Fat Man' which befall Hiroshima & Nagasaki back in 1945.
Of course people may argue that different countries have their own ways in dealing on various issues but here, we are talking about the issue of sustainability as a whole, the Earth as we know it, is ageing and that happens to occur rapidly due to our doings. Is that matters only for Kenyans in Nairobi and doesn't concerns the Americans in New York? Hello, nobody lives in Neptune.
Sometimes I wonder, funny is this life.. While there are people especially those in the UN organizations who dine with silver spoons and drink in gold chalices while 'discussing' on matters pertaining to the world made up of 6.6 billion populations, there are others who are living on less than US$3 (RM10) a day!
Also, here are some alarming statistics for us to ponder:
1. In his book, The End of Poverty (2005), Jeffrey Sachs reported that 'more than 20,000 people perished every day due to extreme poverty'.
2. Every year some 10 millions die of hunger and hunger related diseases, a majority of whom are children.
3. Ironically, in 2006, an estimated 1.5 billions people are said to be overweight globally according to the 10th International Congress on Obesity.
4. The reality is, according to UN's Millennium Development Goals (MDG), in 2005 alone, some 1.5 billions people are still estimated to live on US$1.25 a day.
So, what's there in those figures? Painstakingly, those figures are over 100 times more than the number of people killed in Chernobyl Disaster, Ukraine (1986). But what's the difference? Here is one that I can figure out (anybody can simply figure this out, it's just a matter of saying it or not). We still remember the plights and outbursts of the Chernobyl tragedy, Tsunami, 9/11 attack etc. years after that, they still resonate in us.
But why is the case so different when 20,000 people dying of poverty? Is it less tragic compared to the others? Both are dying isn't it yet, why the ignorance? Could it be because most victims are from developing or less developed countries? Why the double standards and for how long?
I think this is where academic institutions fit in or shouldn't they be in the first place? Education, often touted as 'leveller of society' failed to live up to the expectations leaned upon them. Worse still, white-collar strategists, intelligences, masterminds and spin doctors are all undoubtedly talented scholars, products of established universities! Seems to me that education, believed to stem global disparity, in the end, guarantees its arrival.
Hence, with this acute awareness in mind (during an Earth Hour dinner while texting someone), I started to pen down this lengthy writing believing that 'Yes, humanity might has been robbed of a potential chances to unity but it takes more than all these to vanquish the idea of sustainable future, at least for now!' - D.M.B.L.
Till the next postings.
However, sustainability should not only be limited to the cripple notion involving energy and environmental fall outs. On other perspective, Brundtland Commission stated that to be sustainable is 'to meet present needs without compromising future's demands'.
Compellingly, a native tribe leader in the heart of Africa once said 'Mother Earth is not what we inherited from our forefathers but the one we borrowed from our future generations'.
From these 2 statements, we can conclude with a degree of certainty that the main point to be stressed is RESPONSIBILITY towards the surroundings. Be it in the name of energy conservation, environmental degradation, economic turmoil, social welfare, scientific discoveries, research & innovations, cultures & biodiversity etc. In layman word, the true essence of being sustainable is to be responsible.
And here goes the lists that we've gone through in the pursuit of sustainability:
1. Formation of UN (United Nations) + all of its sub-organizations i.e. UNICEF, WHO, WWF etc. - which covers all aspects of global interests & represents the whole multitude of human beings. Checked.
2. Earth Hour. Checked.
3. Copenhagen Summit - to address the long lasting issue of greenhouse gasses. Half true with a big question mark asking is it a 'walk the talk' type of summit or just another 'talk & walk' kind of gentleman's occasion? Answer for yourself.
4. Rehabilitation & Conservation (R&C) of natural (flora + fauna) habitats. Not so close. While various laws, regulations and even gazetted lands are commendable but it seems that the equation of R&C is far from balanced. While there are efforts to maintain nature in harmony, there are still people who poached and lumber jacking illegally. You can see for yourself everywhere. So, where's the deal?
5. Economic stability & win-win situation among nations. We are very far indeed from even taking the first step to collaborate let alone unite. Other than self interest, anything else doesn't matter.
6. Social welfare in terms of public security, extreme poverty, marginalized individuals, underfed populations, educational setback etc.? Now that's louder than the explosions of 'Little Boy' & 'Fat Man' which befall Hiroshima & Nagasaki back in 1945.
Of course people may argue that different countries have their own ways in dealing on various issues but here, we are talking about the issue of sustainability as a whole, the Earth as we know it, is ageing and that happens to occur rapidly due to our doings. Is that matters only for Kenyans in Nairobi and doesn't concerns the Americans in New York? Hello, nobody lives in Neptune.
Sometimes I wonder, funny is this life.. While there are people especially those in the UN organizations who dine with silver spoons and drink in gold chalices while 'discussing' on matters pertaining to the world made up of 6.6 billion populations, there are others who are living on less than US$3 (RM10) a day!
Also, here are some alarming statistics for us to ponder:
1. In his book, The End of Poverty (2005), Jeffrey Sachs reported that 'more than 20,000 people perished every day due to extreme poverty'.
2. Every year some 10 millions die of hunger and hunger related diseases, a majority of whom are children.
3. Ironically, in 2006, an estimated 1.5 billions people are said to be overweight globally according to the 10th International Congress on Obesity.
4. The reality is, according to UN's Millennium Development Goals (MDG), in 2005 alone, some 1.5 billions people are still estimated to live on US$1.25 a day.
So, what's there in those figures? Painstakingly, those figures are over 100 times more than the number of people killed in Chernobyl Disaster, Ukraine (1986). But what's the difference? Here is one that I can figure out (anybody can simply figure this out, it's just a matter of saying it or not). We still remember the plights and outbursts of the Chernobyl tragedy, Tsunami, 9/11 attack etc. years after that, they still resonate in us.
But why is the case so different when 20,000 people dying of poverty? Is it less tragic compared to the others? Both are dying isn't it yet, why the ignorance? Could it be because most victims are from developing or less developed countries? Why the double standards and for how long?
I think this is where academic institutions fit in or shouldn't they be in the first place? Education, often touted as 'leveller of society' failed to live up to the expectations leaned upon them. Worse still, white-collar strategists, intelligences, masterminds and spin doctors are all undoubtedly talented scholars, products of established universities! Seems to me that education, believed to stem global disparity, in the end, guarantees its arrival.
Hence, with this acute awareness in mind (during an Earth Hour dinner while texting someone), I started to pen down this lengthy writing believing that 'Yes, humanity might has been robbed of a potential chances to unity but it takes more than all these to vanquish the idea of sustainable future, at least for now!' - D.M.B.L.
Till the next postings.
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