Nemo walloped the US East Coast
shortly after it was hit by yet more devastating Hurricane Sandy in
October 2012. Hurricane Sandy, the 18th tropical storm that occurred on
the territory of the US in 2012, claimed 72 lives and inflicted $50
billion in damage.
After two Japanese cities were
wiped out in the hell of a nuclear attack in May 1945, humanity was
quick to realize that a nuclear disaster had to be avoided at all costs.
The looming threat of a nuclear apocalypse forced people all over the
world to join forces and prompted politicians to adopt a wide range of
laws and sign a large number of treaties that are still in force and are
part and parcel of the international law. Those efforts turn out to be
crucial in warding off what scientists describe as ‘nuclear winter’.
The
currently looming threat of environmental disaster is as dangerous.
However, the international community and political leaders seem unaware
of that. Meanwhile, erosion makes 26 million hectares of land infertile
every year, desert areas expand by 6 million hectares annually,
thousands of rivers and lakes of the industrial North are biologically
dead and thousands of others become dead every year. Scientists warn
that one fifth of the world’s animal species and plants may disappear in
the next 20 years. According to the World Health Organization, six
percent of deaths that have occurred in the world over the past few
years were related to ‘deadly warming’. At least ten million people will
perish because of environmental pollution in the near future, the WHO
says.
The US industrial sector is responsible for
most pollution-related problems. Up to 60% of noxious emissions come
from American manufacturers. The production of shale gas which is
designed to make the US less dependent on imported gas, would be OK if
it were not for the price the US and the rest of the world are going to
pay for this so-called ‘gold vein’. The barbaric method of shale gas
extraction known as hydraulic fracturing or ‘fracking’, inflicts
irreparable damage on the environment.
Even though
President Obama pledged to take measures to ensure a cleaner environment
in his recent address on the situation in the country, these promises
did not lead to action.
The misfortunes that have
been plaguing the US should serve as a reminder of what is coming if it
remains deaf to nature’s warnings. Not only Washington, but politicians
in Europe as well should be alerted to these warnings. This winter
Europe was hit by devastating blizzards and was exposed to Arctic
temperatures. Natural anomalies pummeled Russia as well.
It’s
time to put an end to endless and fruitless talk at international
conferences and get down to business. Paper protocols are powerless
against the rapidly approaching environmental catastrophe. It’s not
words that are needed now but action, the way it was in wake of the
atomic bombardments in 1945.
Otherwise, it will be too late!
23/2/13
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