Mr. Fogg is an English hero in a French novel. The heroine is an Indian. It was in this way that Jules Verne, a well-known French writer designed his story at the close of the 19th Century. What better way is there of beginning a story in a world that was starting to become global with the opening of the Suez Canal and the laying down of international railway systems?
The novel Round the World in Eighty Days marks the beginning of an interdependent world in which climate change may or may not be a hidden or open manifestation. The recently held conference in Madrid, Spain, which was attended by numerous delegates from all over the world bears witness to the fact that climate change affects everyone and is a common concern for all peoples of the world including those of generations to come. It is not easy to understand the significance of the subject because it is tied up with scientific understanding with which many of us are not familiar. However, if I recall clearly the science syllabus in elementary schools in our country began with combustion. This was a technical word that went beyond our knowledge of lighting a fire-wood. Later, of course, the term “combustion engine” came to the attention of teachers and pupils alikewhich became a talking point for all those interested in climate change. In a country like ours with almost unrestricted import provisions of different varieties of motor cars, the emission of smoke from trucks and automobiles into the air with minimum safety standards might be considered a luxury, but environmental watch-dogs cannot turn a blind-eye to health hazards resulting from air pollution even in least industrialized country like ours.
In Addis Ababa to enjoy fresh air may not be a problem nowadays, but it could be merely a passing phenomenon when we consider the effect of smog in highly industrialized countries of the world without mentioning their names. Wearing masks could become a day-to -day occurrence such that complaints against respiratory problems would become common and, as a result, air pollution would become a matter of general concern.
Air pollution can be compounded by the pollution of rivers and lakes, not to mention the high seas and oceans from which land-locked countries may distance themselves. But the world has rightly been described as a global village and a problem in one part can easily affect another. Diseases and harmful insects can spread quite easily to become a serious menace or epidemic. For example, the locust scourge around the Red Sea region swept one territory after another within a matter of days. Storms and hurricanes do not have boundaries. Both natural and man-made calamities are unpredictable in most instances and the sufferings of the few are the woes of the many.
In addition, the damping of plastic waste in rivers and seas are reported to be suffocating marine life. A serious study is essential to understand how it is affecting our lives on land especially in Ethiopia whose economy relies heavily on livestock.
In relation to drought and rainfall, in recent days and weeks, sporadic rains have taken place in the middle of the dry season when most farmers are usually engaged in harvesting their crop. This may or may not be part of the phenomena of climate change in the Horn and the East African region. Reports of floods, landslides, and heavy rains have attracted public attention by the magnitude of the calamities they have caused. While this is in the northern part of the continent, in the south there have been reports of drought as well which is no less disastrous in its overall effect. Whatever the intrinsic scientific explanation, the urgency to support the campaign to arrest climate change cannot be underestimated. It is necessary to write about climate change not only because it is in the news, but also because it has momentous implications that call for world-wide action it individually and collectively as could be deduced from the Madrid conference.
In the present age when much emphasis is given to science as opposed to religion, it is no wonder if people believe that prayers and daily recourse to the will of God would have no impact on what transpires in the atmosphere. Culture and tradition teach the opposite and the state of the universe is conditioned by our collective state of mind and our disposition to good and evil. The saying that Ethiopia stretches out its hands to God may not carry any weight to non-believers who think that they can shape their destiny independent of any divine power. But for many Ethiopians, the prayers of our forebears have prevented calamities from happening and have protected the country from untold dangers. Whatever our individual conviction on this matter may be, backing any effort that will bring a better tomorrow for humanity is a must on whatever level or kind it may be.
Peace is of utmost importance on earth. “Peace on Earth and Goodwill to All Men [and Women] is said to be the message of Christmas which applies to all peoples of the world regardless of their religion or creed. Without peace there is no happiness; and, as such, wishing one another a Happy New Year is a prime necessity.
Copyright © B. T. Zewolde, December 12, 2019.
The Ethiopian Herald Sunday edition December 22/2019
BY BERHANU TIBEBU ZEWOLDE
