Crimes against the environment

Weather scientists on Friday announced that 2014 was the hottest year since record-keeping began in 1880 confirming what meteorological centres across the world had been saying since mid last year. We have messed up the environment, its payback time now! In Genesis 1:28, God blesses man and flags him off to “be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky and over every living creature that moves on the ground.” Sadly, in his broad mandate over earth, man has both been fruitful and destructive. He, in the name of development has tinkered and messed up the very earth he was charged to protect; indeed, man has subdued the earth, albeit negatively. According to NASA and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) years are becoming hotter because of the sustained accumulation of heat in the atmosphere which is as a result of endless emissions of greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide. Shockingly, the 13 hottest years on record have all occurred since 2000 and that the odds of that happening randomly without the boost of global warming is 1 in 27 million. These are serious findings and it’s high time the voices of environmentalists got the necessary backing to if possible, overturn an impending calamity. Abnormal weather occurrences, a recent World Bank report warned, will become the ‘new normal’ in our days, a legacy of destruction, jointly made possible by careless human activities and selfish politics…an unwanted gift to future generations. For many years, the term global warming has become common place yet majority still ignore the effects its poses. For instance, there are prominent voices in world politics that think the whole concept of global warming is a fat bag of crap. That’s sad. I spent the first six months of 2014 in Beijing, China and in the months after winter, we almost melted under the burning sun rays; it was so hot that walking on a sunny day would be like walking through a burning bush. On the streets, one could see local women walking half naked in light silky dresses to fend off the heat while men ditched shirts and walked around bare-chested. In the first week of last November, I travelled to New York and arrived there at a time when locals were expecting winter season to set in, a cold wave rushing in from the nearby Atlantic sea on to the beautiful leafy long island. Acting on advice of my hosts, I picked up a couple of woolen sweaters from the clothing store, to keep me warm during the cold days. But the winter never came. No cold waves, in fact during the two weeks of my visit, I enjoyed rare sunny days. No one had an explanation as to why the season had delayed to change but everyone kept reminding me of how I was lucky to enjoy the sun. It was in the last two days of my stay that the coldness finally started setting in and temperatures plummeted to present me the opportunity to finally use my woolen jumpers. Back home in Kigali, we pretty much have the same phenomenon. Temperatures have been going up over the past couple of years and today, the city is surely hotter, at least from a personal experience dating from 2009.It’s as if the sun has been lowered a few inches closer to earth, and we need more swimming pools for residents to cool off; the fish are lucky for they can permanently swim in the lakes but we humans, we are doomed. The only swimming pool in my neighborhood is never free until after 8pm; some people literally camp in the pool for hours just to stay cool. What can we do? Luckily, scientists think we still have a chance to limit the consequences of our crimes against the environment by becoming more responsible in our activities on earth. Efficient use of energy seems to be the surest way to reduce greenhouse emission even as countries especially in Africa gun for industrialization. In November last year, the United States and China unveiled a secretly negotiated deal to reduce their greenhouse gas output; if the two largest economies in the world have decided to be at the vanguard of the fight, it’s a good sign to rest of the world. African economies are transforming and we shall probably have an African industrial revolution as countries shift from being producers of raw materials to manufacturers. This presents an opportunity in that from the onset, African industries can build be built to run using cleaner energies and avoid clogging the atmosphere with dangerous gasses.

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Crimes against the environment