http://edition.cnn.com/2015/09/17/asia/indonesian-haze-southeast-asia-pollution/
I cry at times inside me when I see pictures of baby orang utans with arms hacked off, to prise it away from its dead mother. We humans have been poor custodians of Mother Earth. In the name of progress and greed, without a thought for our children's future, we burn rain forests, kill it's animals so that companies can produce the goods that fill the insatiable appetites of humans.
There will be a very bad karma coming upon us someday. I sensed that many people in Asia, of all races, gender and religion do not grasp the gravity of this issue.
Forests are the lungs of this earth. If they are burnt down for agriculture, the carbon dioxide in the atmosphere rises. More heat will be trapped. Temperatures will rise. This will cause massive melting of ice, rising of sea levels, severe flooding of coastal regions. Moreover, air quality will decline, cancer rates will rise. We are eventually killing ourselves.
I suspect within the next decade, we shall face massive environmental calamities, resulting in millions of lives being lost. Singapore will not be spared. Look at this current haze. Is indonesia cooperative? No, the government is corrupt. In an environmental disaster where food supplies are compromised, I do not believe indonesia nor malaysia will come to our aid. We shall be left on our own, forging alliances with friendly countries like the US, China, Australia and New Zealand. We could become environmental refugees like the Syrians.
Am I too pessimistic, underestimating the ability of mankind to resolve its problems through logic and technology? Perhaps. But I am fearful of the tail end risk. Perhaps in ten years Singapore will gently enter a decline. Our properties will be worth much less, as we face disasters after setbacks. The foreign legions will leave Singapore for greener and safer pastures. The heart landers, the poor will be left fending for themselves. Where will I go ? It is an adventure that we shall see.
I cry at times inside me when I see pictures of baby orang utans with arms hacked off, to prise it away from its dead mother. We humans have been poor custodians of Mother Earth. In the name of progress and greed, without a thought for our children's future, we burn rain forests, kill it's animals so that companies can produce the goods that fill the insatiable appetites of humans.
There will be a very bad karma coming upon us someday. I sensed that many people in Asia, of all races, gender and religion do not grasp the gravity of this issue.
Forests are the lungs of this earth. If they are burnt down for agriculture, the carbon dioxide in the atmosphere rises. More heat will be trapped. Temperatures will rise. This will cause massive melting of ice, rising of sea levels, severe flooding of coastal regions. Moreover, air quality will decline, cancer rates will rise. We are eventually killing ourselves.
I suspect within the next decade, we shall face massive environmental calamities, resulting in millions of lives being lost. Singapore will not be spared. Look at this current haze. Is indonesia cooperative? No, the government is corrupt. In an environmental disaster where food supplies are compromised, I do not believe indonesia nor malaysia will come to our aid. We shall be left on our own, forging alliances with friendly countries like the US, China, Australia and New Zealand. We could become environmental refugees like the Syrians.
Am I too pessimistic, underestimating the ability of mankind to resolve its problems through logic and technology? Perhaps. But I am fearful of the tail end risk. Perhaps in ten years Singapore will gently enter a decline. Our properties will be worth much less, as we face disasters after setbacks. The foreign legions will leave Singapore for greener and safer pastures. The heart landers, the poor will be left fending for themselves. Where will I go ? It is an adventure that we shall see.
