These hot days are a signal

Aug 04, 2009 Editorial

Scientists have established beyond doubt that the world is heating up and that pretty soon there would be drastic changes in the climate conditions. They spoke of melting polar caps, rising sea levels, and even rising global temperatures.
Predictions that global temperatures would reach a certain level in another decade have proven true already. The world is hotter ahead of prediction.
They pointed to the deforestation that was progressing so rapidly that pretty soon the whole of North America could have been denuded.
The scientists also pointed to the all too numerous motor vehicles on the roads, polluting the atmosphere by simply releasing vast amounts of carbon monoxide.

But the leaders of the major powers had their self interest and they largely ignored the scientists and proceeded along their merry way. Today the signs are more than evident. The issue of global warming is no longer speculation and theory. It is a reality so grim that the international community is putting pressure on countries like Guyana and some other Latin American countries to preserve their rainforests.
At the same time there is now a move to produce environmentally-friendly fuels for the numerous vehicles.
Some have taken the issue too seriously and have actually proposed to pay countries like Guyana to maintain the forests which are considered the lungs of the earth.
Brazil, in a major development push, cleared large swaths of forest, sometimes to the detriment of the indigenous people who lived there. This situation grew to international proportions when the Brazilians actually killed Chico Mendez, a leading exponent of forest conservation.

One of the fallouts of global warming is the rising sea levels that would be threatening island-states and low-lying coastlands. Guyana, with its coastal plains more than half-a-dozen feet below the level of the Atlantic, stands to lose a lot. In the first instance, nearly all of the fertile lands lie along the coast.
Because of this the bulk of the population also resides on this narrow but below sea level strip. So their future is less than secure unless there is a drastic shift in the global policy of energy consumption and indeed there seems to be a hurry to avert what is seen as impending disaster.
President Bharrat Jagdeo is now pushing what is now known as a low carbon development strategy, something that is fast commanding the attention of the developed world that sacrificed its forests at the altar of development. Guyana can do the same and make even more money from its forests than it would by leaving them standing.

The denuded North is already feeling the effects of the changing weather conditions. There are tornadoes of never-before-seen intensity; floods, the likes of which never struck certain parts of the United States. Temperatures have soared to record proportions; places are experiencing summer weather never before experienced.
The world is now waking up to the reality of global warming. There are food shortages in some countries. Food is becoming very costly; staples are also being converted to environmentally friendly fuel.
And of course, Guyana is caught up in all this.

Had heed been taken of the warnings this situation would not have arisen but too often we heed warnings when they go against our self-interest. There is a body of evidence that suggests that the shape of the world would change drastically. Islands would disappear and coastlines would change. Hurricanes, tornadoes and typhoons would be more severe. One shudders to think about the fate of millions of people. And we have not been looking at the growing deserts which already cover a sizeable portion of the earth’s surface. One scientific group suggests that the situation is reversible but there is so much to be done. We are aware that those who have the world by the throat because of their possession of fossil fuel will not surrender such power lightly. But whatever the case, the situation is critical.
We have been experiencing some intensely hot days here in Guyana and the view is that this is one effect of global warming. It boggles the mind that the place could get hotter still.

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