CATEGORY:SPECIAL REPORT ------------------------------ By Wallace J.A Inside Grenada correspondent Sunday January 14,2007 ACCORDING TO RECENTLY published information from the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), 2006 has been registered as the 6th hottest year in recorded history. This is largely as a result of the apparent unrestrained emission of greenhouse gases by the world’s most industrialized countries coupled with the ‘indiscriminate destruction’ of the world’s forests. According to the information released by the WMO, the average temperature rose by some 0.42 degrees Celsius above the 14 degrees centigrade average registered between the period 1961 to 1990. In 2006, there were prolonged droughts in some regions on the planet while there were protracted heavy rainfall and flooding in other areas, along with killer typhoons in South East Asia which left a sizeable death toll in their wake. Of critical concern also is the melting of the polar ice caps. In the Arctic region, some 60,421 square kilometers of glaciers have melted. This could not only result in serious problems for the people and wildlife of that region but will lead to a rise in global sea levels. This means that small island states - like Grenada and other Caribbean islands - could be affected in the long run along with low-lying costal cities worldwide. As human beings, we need to arouse from our sleepless slumber and recognize the fact that the biggest threat to our planet does not come from extra-terrestrial beings with lasers who land on our planet on a cosmic quest to colonize us or destroy Earth after first draining it of its resources as is so convincingly depicted in Hollywood movie studios. That threat comes from among us – from those who wantonly exploit out recourses and pollute our environment in the name of ‘economic progress.’ Some of the world’s most industrialized nations have continued to turn a blind eye to the emerging crisis and continue to engage in activities that are exacerbating the problem of global warming, in the selfish pursuit of economic supremacy and a ‘lavishly superior lifestyle.’ The blunt refusal of some of these countries to sign-up to the Kyoto Protocol, which seeks to improve the present situation by regulating the emission of greenhouse gasses into the atmosphere, seems to add credence to this self-seeking, insensitive and ultimately foolish practice. In a recent meeting in Nairobi, some of the world’s most eminent environmentalists concluded that among other urgent measures, about 140 billion trees should be planted over the next ten years if humanity is to successfully combat global warming and spare the planet from its unfortunate spiral into the abyss of disaster. As a people, we need to become more environmentally conscious. We need to think in terms of preserving our planet so that we can make things better for future generations. We should not allow ourselves to be remembered or be blamed by future historians as the generation that has placed the planet on an unalterable and irreversible path on the road to destruction. We need to plant more trees instead of chopping them down and replacing then with concrete and asphalt. Trees absorb the harmful carbon dioxide which contributes towards global warming; concrete and asphalt can not do that! We also need to forge strong, unbreakable alliances in order to force the world’s industrialized polluters to desist from their wanton destruction of the planet. We can not afford to remain silent for much longer. It is not like we are unaffected by the activities of some of our industrialized ‘friends.’ We have seen the changes in our weather pattern here in the Caribbean in recent times and we have also witnessed several killer hurricanes moving through our region – some of them among the strongest ever recorded. Can we still say that we are not affected by the destruction of our forests and the mass pollution of our atmosphere by industrialized nations? Can we afford to remain silent on the issue of global warming for much longer? How much longer should we continue enduring these increasing hardships caused by the destruction of our planet? In the interest of preserving life and the beautiful, pristine planet that our Creator has so generously given to us, we all have a moral responsibility to put on the armor of courage and fight as hard as we can in defense of God’s most tangible gift to humanity – our home called Earth.