Nemo walloped the US East Coast shortly after it was hit by yet more devastating Hurricane Sandy in October 2012. Hurricane Sandy, the 18th tropical storm that occurred on the territory of the US in 2012, claimed 72 lives and inflicted $50 billion in damage.
After two Japanese cities were wiped out in the hell of a nuclear attack in May 1945, humanity was quick to realize that a nuclear disaster had to be avoided at all costs. The looming threat of a nuclear apocalypse forced people all over the world to join forces and prompted politicians to adopt a wide range of laws and sign a large number of treaties that are still in force and are part and parcel of the international law. Those efforts turn out to be crucial in warding off what scientists describe as ‘nuclear winter’.
The currently looming threat of environmental disaster is as dangerous. However, the international community and political leaders seem unaware of that. Meanwhile, erosion makes 26 million hectares of land infertile every year, desert areas expand by 6 million hectares annually, thousands of rivers and lakes of the industrial North are biologically dead and thousands of others become dead every year. Scientists warn that one fifth of the world’s animal species and plants may disappear in the next 20 years. According to the World Health Organization, six percent of deaths that have occurred in the world over the past few years were related to ‘deadly warming’. At least ten million people will perish because of environmental pollution in the near future, the WHO says.
The US industrial sector is responsible for most pollution-related problems. Up to 60% of noxious emissions come from American manufacturers. The production of shale gas which is designed to make the US less dependent on imported gas, would be OK if it were not for the price the US and the rest of the world are going to pay for this so-called ‘gold vein’. The barbaric method of shale gas extraction known as hydraulic fracturing or ‘fracking’, inflicts irreparable damage on the environment.
Even though President Obama pledged to take measures to ensure a cleaner environment in his recent address on the situation in the country, these promises did not lead to action.
The misfortunes that have been plaguing the US should serve as a reminder of what is coming if it remains deaf to nature’s warnings. Not only Washington, but politicians in Europe as well should be alerted to these warnings. This winter Europe was hit by devastating blizzards and was exposed to Arctic temperatures. Natural anomalies pummeled Russia as well.
It’s time to put an end to endless and fruitless talk at international conferences and get down to business. Paper protocols are powerless against the rapidly approaching environmental catastrophe. It’s not words that are needed now but action, the way it was in wake of the atomic bombardments in 1945.
Otherwise, it will be too late!
23/2/13
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