The Future of Global Warming has arrived in Bangladesh
Source: WikipediaLink to article: http://www.wildsingapore.com/news/20070102/070223-1.htm
By Henry Chu
The Business Times
Summary:
The article squares in on Bangladesh, an impoverished nation and shows how global warming has impacted its water supply and the livelihood of its people as well as how it might further impact this low lying country in the future.
Comments:
From the hawker to the high flying executive, global warming affects every one of us. However, many countries are still persistent on savaging whatever is left of the Earth and are not acting to resolve the matter.
Bangladesh is country just beside India. An underdeveloped and overpopulated nation, its people survive on an average of US$440 annually or around US$2 per day. However, half of her population live below the poverty level.
Around 66% of the population are into farming; hardly the trade that accounts for the adverse effects of global warming. Its people consume the least energy in South Asia. However, instead of being rewarded by not being culprits of the massive pillaging and destruction of Mother Earth, they are punished.
The effects of global warming have long descended upon Bangladesh; that being the sharp rise in sea levels. This has led to the contamination of water supply in many areas. Farms have been forced to move away from their traditional role of planting crops to that of shrimp farming. However, since the trade is less labour intensive, it has ended up in boosting the unemployment of the industry.
Considering such statistics above, why then do the people of Bangladesh have to bear the brunt of havoc that other nations have created? Why doesn’t someone realise the severity of global warming such that they would then act to curb it rather that wait till it is far too late?
I empathize with such people. As a student though, I am in no position to do anything about it. What is within my capability is that spreading the message about the plight of the Bangladeshi people and hope that someone would move it and do something about it.
However, the sorry fact of the matter is that no one would care about this ‘unimportant’ nation. What for? One would no doubt wonder. Most people would adopt the ‘It is not happening in my country and so I can go about destroying the environment’ attitude.
After all, Bangladesh is not a world superpower such that when something happens to it, everything would come to a standstill and all attention will be focused on it.
In other words, Bangladesh is just not worth the trouble of the US etc such that it would reduce emissions and in turn, affect their economy. It is ironic, considering that many of the leading producers in greenhouse gases chair the United Nations.
By making such statements though, I am making a great assumption that all people in the world are selfish and would do things only if they see some value in it; in other words, humanity does not exist. What I have said is only based on the article alone and I do not know if nations are currently taking steps to rectify the problem. I have not been to Bangladesh to check things out or studied all facts and figures provided and thus might have overestimated or underestimated the severity of the issue.
(499 words) - Excluding summary
By Henry Chu
The Business Times
Summary:
The article squares in on Bangladesh, an impoverished nation and shows how global warming has impacted its water supply and the livelihood of its people as well as how it might further impact this low lying country in the future.
Comments:
From the hawker to the high flying executive, global warming affects every one of us. However, many countries are still persistent on savaging whatever is left of the Earth and are not acting to resolve the matter.
Bangladesh is country just beside India. An underdeveloped and overpopulated nation, its people survive on an average of US$440 annually or around US$2 per day. However, half of her population live below the poverty level.
Around 66% of the population are into farming; hardly the trade that accounts for the adverse effects of global warming. Its people consume the least energy in South Asia. However, instead of being rewarded by not being culprits of the massive pillaging and destruction of Mother Earth, they are punished.
The effects of global warming have long descended upon Bangladesh; that being the sharp rise in sea levels. This has led to the contamination of water supply in many areas. Farms have been forced to move away from their traditional role of planting crops to that of shrimp farming. However, since the trade is less labour intensive, it has ended up in boosting the unemployment of the industry.
Considering such statistics above, why then do the people of Bangladesh have to bear the brunt of havoc that other nations have created? Why doesn’t someone realise the severity of global warming such that they would then act to curb it rather that wait till it is far too late?
I empathize with such people. As a student though, I am in no position to do anything about it. What is within my capability is that spreading the message about the plight of the Bangladeshi people and hope that someone would move it and do something about it.
However, the sorry fact of the matter is that no one would care about this ‘unimportant’ nation. What for? One would no doubt wonder. Most people would adopt the ‘It is not happening in my country and so I can go about destroying the environment’ attitude.
After all, Bangladesh is not a world superpower such that when something happens to it, everything would come to a standstill and all attention will be focused on it.
In other words, Bangladesh is just not worth the trouble of the US etc such that it would reduce emissions and in turn, affect their economy. It is ironic, considering that many of the leading producers in greenhouse gases chair the United Nations.
By making such statements though, I am making a great assumption that all people in the world are selfish and would do things only if they see some value in it; in other words, humanity does not exist. What I have said is only based on the article alone and I do not know if nations are currently taking steps to rectify the problem. I have not been to Bangladesh to check things out or studied all facts and figures provided and thus might have overestimated or underestimated the severity of the issue.
(499 words) - Excluding summary
Labels: Environmental Issue
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