Thursday, 1 March 2012
Last week we listened to the environmental talks by World Wide Fund (WWF).
The talk was highly emotive and inspirational because it aroused our desire to save the environment. The speakers from WWF did that through vivid, explicit photos and concrete evidence in the form of data and statistics. For example, we watched a video on a dying tiger who was caught in a snare set up by poachers. We saw baby turtles and sharks getting caught in fishing nets, even though they were not the intended catch of fishermen. These innocent lives were lost, just like that.
It was a really harsh reminder to us who are constantly using natural resources without consideration for mother earth. It was completely mind-blowing how we witnessed the complete eradication of entire forestlands over the short span of 50 over years. It just shocked us how Borneo Island rapidly changed from a lush, green, bountiful forest into a barren plain, the result of the relentless march of industrialization (as revealed on the map they showed us). However, the zenith of our enlightenment came from the fact that humanity has the been the relentless gluttons that has been devouring our world's resources. From the animals that we kill unnecessarily, to the vast numbers of trees and vegetation that we discard just because they hold no commercial value.
This then made us realize just how much we literally hold the fate of the world in our hands. Our every action- from the way we dispose our trash to how much water we squander everyday to the paper that we waste while doing our homework- though seemingly insignificant blips of activities in our lives, will all add up to pose a serious threat to the fragile world around us.
To hit it home. How many of us live in the safe knowledge that Singapore's ecosystems will probably "never" be affected by such issues. We all think that Singapore is environmentally-friendly. We do not have policies of shaving off trees just for supplies. After all, does the government not advocate re-planting of trees? However, this "safe" knowledge is merely complacency. If we observe carefully, we will realize that Singapore is by right a land-scarce state but we focus heavily on urbanization. What does this mean? we will forever need to create land to construct new industrial buildings; and where do you think these pieces of land come from?
Our fragile home. Think about it.
07isawesome @04:50
The talk was highly emotive and inspirational because it aroused our desire to save the environment. The speakers from WWF did that through vivid, explicit photos and concrete evidence in the form of data and statistics. For example, we watched a video on a dying tiger who was caught in a snare set up by poachers. We saw baby turtles and sharks getting caught in fishing nets, even though they were not the intended catch of fishermen. These innocent lives were lost, just like that.
It was a really harsh reminder to us who are constantly using natural resources without consideration for mother earth. It was completely mind-blowing how we witnessed the complete eradication of entire forestlands over the short span of 50 over years. It just shocked us how Borneo Island rapidly changed from a lush, green, bountiful forest into a barren plain, the result of the relentless march of industrialization (as revealed on the map they showed us). However, the zenith of our enlightenment came from the fact that humanity has the been the relentless gluttons that has been devouring our world's resources. From the animals that we kill unnecessarily, to the vast numbers of trees and vegetation that we discard just because they hold no commercial value.This then made us realize just how much we literally hold the fate of the world in our hands. Our every action- from the way we dispose our trash to how much water we squander everyday to the paper that we waste while doing our homework- though seemingly insignificant blips of activities in our lives, will all add up to pose a serious threat to the fragile world around us.
To hit it home. How many of us live in the safe knowledge that Singapore's ecosystems will probably "never" be affected by such issues. We all think that Singapore is environmentally-friendly. We do not have policies of shaving off trees just for supplies. After all, does the government not advocate re-planting of trees? However, this "safe" knowledge is merely complacency. If we observe carefully, we will realize that Singapore is by right a land-scarce state but we focus heavily on urbanization. What does this mean? we will forever need to create land to construct new industrial buildings; and where do you think these pieces of land come from?
Our fragile home. Think about it.
07isawesome @04:50
