Global warming, climate change, and other multidimensional shocks are very common terms for us. Even young children can say them easily from their small mouths. The more popular those terms, the more giant vendors produce eco-friendly products as economic response to those issues. What a nose! People buy their products as form of participation to fight against earth destruction matters.
Most people around the world would agree about recent earth matters. We -in Indonesia- also have the same experience like you have, our international friends. Now we have wet dry season and dry rainy season. In other words, now we only have "one season" for a whole year. What about Africa, Alaska, Arctic, America, Europe, and other places on earth? Who am I making a final summary on places I've never been there? But I believe that we're facing the same particular "enemy".
There are many factors stimulating and raising global destruction matters. I can't describe all of them, one by one. But if we're talking about them, we won't go away from segmentations on economy, politic, social-culture, geographic, and technology. They are too complex to describe. Let say, we're trying to fight against global warming and then powerful rich people who hold controls (on segmentations above and particular purposes) won't let us to do so. All lions will go mad if we come closer to their meal, right? So, it's not equal. Kind of a tiny ant is fighting against a giant elephant. In other case, we also have dilemma. One ironic example: People throw charity-oriented concerts to help the global environment (just like Live8 concerts) but they unconsciously spread more carbons to the air from those massive watts lamps and electricity. It's so ironic indeed. They don't get the effect directly, but we -who live in equator countries where poverty and hunger are opened holes- do get it as well as the result of geographical point reason.
So what can we do? Well, we're just ordinary people who have no power but only dreaming and doing few efforts to make a difference. Maybe we don't have any accesses to turn this world into good. But remember, we still have what they call with People Power. Many inspiring stories and persons come up nowadays, perhaps we can follow what they have been doing so far. For example, an African female professor has started to take real step with her community to plant more trees. And they succeeded to make huge difference there. But I beg you, please... don't follow Thomas Robert Malthus (1766-1834) who taught secret mass genocide to decrease people growth. It's not the right way to avoid radical global matters caused by increasing population.
An Indonesian scientist, Amri Susandi, ever said on TV that we could do reforestation if hi-tech industrial countries throw the fund for us to do so. They started to release malicious pollutants to the air since the British revolution of industry hundred years ago. To be honest, I've never been thinking about this, but it's quite fair. It doesn't mean that we hate those countries. We can not bit a general stereotype because everyone is unique. Many of their citizens are good people. One sticky question; why illegal logging matter is only a responsibility of countries where it's still happening? It's not our own responsibility. To the whole world it belongs. We're still living under the same sky.
Do not attempt to be deaf. If you were rich and still living your jetset lifestyle, please do not use any products imported from far away countries. For example, you can buy local apples instead of purchasing imported apples. That way you don't contribute air pollution that comes up from international distribution (whether by airplane or shipping distribution).
The earth is moving on. So is the time continues ticking. We know, this earth will meet its final judgment someday. But as long as we live on it, we should put our heart here. Don't be fatalists who always busy with his/her heaven business so they never realize that the earth has become a real mini hell. Are you ready to take real challenge on global matters? Go outside your shell.
Spinning still she is
For who will ever know what happen to her
Earth, will you be still beautiful tomorrow morning?
By Ele Azhar Purba
