Rajendra Prasad
We are in the midst of winter and global warming appears meaningless to us.
At these times, we seek natural warmth, even at the peril of our existence.
We think global warming is a myth.
We are creatures of habit and draw our perceptions and conclusions in our own simple and usually un-understanding ways and live as if there was no tomorrow.
However, tomorrow’s tomorrow would be harsh and merciless. We have ignored the portentous signs of global warming and our very existence is now under threat.
We cannot ignore it any further.
But do we have the understanding, courage, commitment and desire to reverse the trends? Perhaps not, because today’s comfort has obscured our vision for tomorrow; a tomorrow that may see us holding the begging bowl for food or even gasping for breath!
Global warming, caused by human indiscretions, has begun its onslaught in many countries. The polar ice is melting and huge glaciers that detach from the ice shelf would soon melt, giving rise to the seawaters.
Many coastal lands around the world have submerged or have become unproductive through salinisation.
Few islands in the Pacific and Indian Oceans are likely to be submerged within our lifetime. There is a danger that global warming could become irreversible, if immediate measures are not taken to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, the main perpetrator.
It is undoubtedly the greatest challenge to humanity.
Savage impact
An Oxfam International report said that the effect of global warming on people would be catastrophic and that some of the staple crops would fail, unleashing a disastrous food supply chain.
“The most savage impact of climate change on humanity in the near future is likely to be in the increase of hunger. Millions of farmers would be forced to give up traditional crops as they experience changes in the seasons. Climate-related hunger may become the defining human tragedy of this century.
“Once distinct seasons are shifting and the rains are disappearing. Poor farmers, from Bangladesh to Uganda and Nicaragua, no longer able to rely on centuries of farming experience, are facing failed harvests.
“Farmers are all saying very similar things: the seasons are changing. Moderate temperate seasons are shrinking and vanishing. Seasons are becoming hotter and drier, rainy seasons shorter and more violent.”
Oxfam survey in 15 countries established that (a) Seasons appear to have shrunk in number and variety (b) Rainfall is more unpredictable, tending to be shorter in duration (c) Winds and storms are felt to have increased in strength and (d) Unseasonal events such as storms, dense fogs and heavier rains are more common.
In consideration of these predictions, some countries will become even more vulnerable and exposed to the ravages of unpredictable weather.
The silos holding food reserves are depleting fast in many countries and are not being replenished, as crops fail when expected rains fail to arrive.
Parched lands lay listless and lifeless, as the expectant farmers peek at the barren skies and merciless sun, causing gaping fissures in the land that once was covered in a carpet of greenery.
The haunting memories taunt them but when they return to the reality of their lives, they would be devastated. This is a common theme embraced by farmers in many nations.
People who produced food for others have become destitute themselves, living on charity or wading through the difficulties, waiting for the elusive rains to arrive.
Some persevere in hope and perish while others move on, accepting the realities of the climate change and seeking alternatives to sustain their livelihood.
The world population continues to grow but the arable farmlands are not only shrinking in size, due to rapid growth of urban centres and spread of human settlements but also becoming progressively unproductive.
Overuse of land, use of chemicals in one form or other for crop protection or fertilisation, desertification and salinisation are serious issues that require urgent attention and redemptive action.
Is the world prepared to confront these issues with wisdom, honesty and integrity?
Industrial nations responsible for releasing excessive amounts of greenhouse gases are reluctant to join the endeavour in apprehending the situation.
Being the dominant powers, they also dictate the path to the UN, ignoring the plight of an ailing globe. Rich and powerful they opt to pontificate to the minnows but fail themselves to practice what they preach.
Dangerous trends
A new and dangerous trend is now emerging.
Having exhausted their ability to grow food for their own people, the rich and powerful are now buying land in poor countries to produce food for their own consumption.
The UN’s Food and Agricultural Organisation and other analysts maintain that nearly 20 million hectares of farmland (an area half the size of all arable land in Europe) has been sold or are under negotiation.
South Korea acquired 700,000ha in Sudan and Saudi Arabia purchased 500,000 hectares in Tanzania. The Democratic Republic of the Congo expects to conclude a deal on eight million-hectares of land with South African businesses to grow maize and soybeans.
India has reportedly lent money to 80 companies to buy 350,000 hectares in Africa.
Analysts claim that the move may secure food supplies to the investors but it would cause severe hunger and starvation for local population.
This new trend would create greater political instability in the poorer nations, as happened in Madagascar where the Daewoo agreement caused an uprising that ousted the incumbent president forcing his successor to repeal the deal.
The land grab is a soft option that entails grave long-term consequences for the countries that sell their land, as commercial exploitation will leave its disastrous trails adding to global warming, leaving them to pick up the tabs later.
Such actions by the rich countries are purely evasion of their responsibility towards reducing global warming.
It has rendered their once productive land unproductive or incapable of producing crops to its optimum levels.
Ominous signs now predominate as we remain silent witnesses to an increase in drought and wildfires, more intense rainstorms, more powerful and dangerous hurricanes, melting glaciers and rising sea levels, an increase in deadly heat waves and spread of diseases with ecosystem shifts and species dying.
Sadly, leaders of courage, wisdom, vision and action are assigned to the history books and today’s leaders are bereft of such virtues and values.
Barren earth is what we are destined to leave for posterity to suffer and suffocate.
No doubt, we cannot see the light at the end of the tunnel and many of us accept the ultimate apocalypse and annihilation of all forms of life on the planet earth.
Rajendra Prasad is our columnist. Email: [email protected]
