Climate change is real

Sep 27, 2012 Editorial

When the issue of climate change surfaced in a big way about four years ago there were the skeptics. Many felt that people were blowing the global situation out of proportion. In fact, there were those who manipulated certain evidence for their own gain. Through their manipulation, they set out to show that the earth was just going through one of its cyclical changes and that the change would be far from catastrophic.
As is the case with arguments and counter arguments people are left with information that they may use to their satisfaction. This is human nature. Sick people after being given a medical opinion would seek a second opinion. That is often the best thing to do but what happens when the second opinion turns out to be less threatening than the original diagnosis people invariably cling to that opinion.
As human beings we always hold on to the least threatening situation, often to our detriment. It is just human nature to rely on the least stressful information and once that decision is taken, unless something terrible happens to shake that conviction then that position is firmly held.
And so it is with the climate change situation. The countries that generate the most by way of carbon emission are reluctant to cut back. China, the United States, Australia are all major carbon emission producers and with the exception of the United States, none seems prepared to cut back on the emissions.
And while the debate rages, there is growing evidence of melting polar caps and indeed rising global temperatures. The melting polar caps are giving rise to rising sea levels and thus threatening low-lying states.
However, for those of us in Guyana the most telling aspect of climate change is the high temperature that prevails. The daily temperatures over the past few weeks have been consistently high to the point where the shoppers are finding that prices in the market place have skyrocketed.
It is not that Guyana has not had its share of drought conditions that seriously affected crops but this time the conditions are prevailing all around the world. The international media are reporting on a severe shortage of globally demanded crops. Corn which goes into so many products, not least among them being feed for animals, is in desperately short supply.
The result is that there is a feed shortage which translates into higher cost of the animal products. Just this week there was a lot of talk about pork being short and that pork prices are already going up. The biggest thing in the news in this area is that bacon is already short.
But there is more to this. Man will adjust to the rising temperatures because it is in the nature of mankind to adjust to the environment. However, history has shown that radical climate changes have led to the extinction of certain species. Life itself is dependent on a series of changes and any imbalance could be catastrophic.
It is for this reason that close attention should be paid to the environment. Guyana is among the least of the polluters although a walk around the city streets would seek to belie this fact. That is why the then President Bharrat Jagdeo has been working so hard to ensure that this country gets paid for its efforts at saving the climate; that is why there is the drive toward alternative energy sources and the move away from fossil fuel generators.
When asked about the reason for expanding the Cheddi Jagan International Airport instead of relocating it closer to the coast, one Government Minister said that there has been an eye on climate change and the flooded coastland.
The present situation is indeed worrying. The doubters are not saying much. It is as if they expect the situation to merely go away. However, it is going nowhere fast. The people in poor countries like Guyana are the first to feel the impact by way of their pockets. This is always the case.

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