In a twinkle, in flash, in what will seem like less than a second, we will no longer live in the world we used to live in. The fresh greenery, huge boles of horse chestnuts, thick oaken stems, majestically lit-up infrastructures of great altitudes, jade and olive vacation hummocks, fascinatingly snowy igloos – all will be gone – washed away before our very eyes.
One litter thrown with much less care, one little pool of water left in utter disregard, one ounce of gas let into the air we breathe take us one step further from our perceived utopia. One felled tree left without a successor, one poached species, and one hunted breed keeps us a step away from the world we desire. Any change or alteration in the average atmospheric condition of a place over a period of time is climate change. We experience the heavy downpours and light showers, scorching heat and times we just have the mild feel of the blazing fireball on our skin – nature’s ephemeral touch.
However, what happens when our planets burns up in massive billows of smoke? Enormous orange, brazen, hot balls spurt around consuming all it comes into contact with? The oceans, seas, rivers, deep and wide as they are, outrun the shore, beach into our habitation? And what we left is all but sand? These catastrophes can be nature-caused or human activated.
Let’s consider this superb cars zooming the jet black tars and flinging so much impurities into what we inhale. A number of the metal beasts do not possess catalytic converters that are able to convert harmful substances that can be released into the atmosphere. There is about twenty-one percent of oxygen in the atmospheric composition, yet these life-threatening fumes are clogging up the air – signing the world’s death certificate.
How about the billions of economic trees cut down in the innocence of raw materials for production? The trees form canopy that act as protective cover and wind breaks which are destroyed during deforestation. This leaves the soil open to erosion, the washing away of the top soil, so nutrients found there are also washed away; affecting food production. Natural habitats will also be destroyed; little wonder we have frequent visits of wild foxes and deer in our dwelling. The rare plant breeds and animal species become extinct. The devastating effect of this will be desert encroachment since there will be fewer rainfall. And all we will own will be sun, sand and sea. There is more to regret in felling, sawing and chiselling those heavy logs into exquisite doors, bed frames and furniture than there is to sap joy.
The earth’s temperature will increase and a dastardly effect would be the capping or melting of the North and South poles. And worse will be when we experience the greenhouse effect or global warming when the earth is so heated up. Manufacturing industries releasing compounds into the air such as nitrogen and sulphuric oxides that are let up into the atmosphere and dissolve in the water vapour to release acid rain.
Nature also has a part in the disastrous climate alteration we experience. When the water bodies overflow their banks and seep into human dwelling flooding our inventions and artefacts. There is a lot more to look at, but the big question is: what is the way forward? A simple mapped out strategy that’s easy to follow. All we have to do is to close up those little loopholes and lapses we tend to have.
The first thing to do is to pick up the tiniest litter we find around us, it saves the planet massive water flooding our houses. We can even take a bolder step by recycling the recyclable non-biodegradables, turning plastic bottles into astoundingly beautiful Christmas trees, brooms and fashionable pencil cases.
We can also have our road safety officials ban cars without catalytic converters off our roads to keep us all safe.
How about the trees? For every single one we cut, plant three – to give the planet three times more a chance to live. We can instead preserve those ‘weird-looking’, unique species and breeds. So, in about a century or two to come, that generation will look back at our amazing work of preservation. In conclusion, there is so much we can achieve together and so much more if we each are willing. It starts with us – you and me. Let’s take the pleasure to give our planet one more chance to live. Again.
Ayomikun Divine-Grace Oladapo,
The Ambassadors College, Ota.
Winner, RCE Climate Change Challenge (2019)