Heal the earth

The gigantic waves that pounded part of the lower East Coast last week were a sight to behold. Even viewing the action – after the fact – on television from the relative safety of a dry and thankfully not water-bound, central Georgetown living room was awe-inspiring.
A low roar that grew to a crescendo as they reached the shore heralded the approach of the waves and then brown salt-water towers seemed to hover momentarily, almost mockingly, over the low concrete sea defence before crashing down way beyond it, sending thousands of gallons of liquid to devastate the hapless communities. One can only imagine the sense of impending doom any resident of those areas witnessing the wave action might have felt.
The weekend battering by the angry sea was not limited to Guyana. Some Caribbean islands, particularly Trinidad and Tobago, also suffered tremendously. And these were not the highest waves ever. They did not reach tsunami proportions. But they were dangerous in places made vulnerable by erosion caused more by environmental degradation than the gradual wearing away of the earth, which is inevitable in some coastal areas, but which can be addressed.
The ruination did not start today with the present generation, or even with the previous one. What we’re dealing with – poor stewardship of the environment that has put the world in peril – has been hundreds of years in the doing.
What is unfortunate is that we don’t have hundreds of years in which to undo or rather repair it. What is worse is that there is still no unanimity that this planet is damaged and needs healing. Too many of us are just not convinced that anything really needs to be done. Far too many others simply don’t care one way or the other and there is still too high a percentage of people who are just downright clueless about the whole issue. Add to that the glaring fact that some leaders and politicians are far more concerned with winning popularity contests and the picture grows even more dismal.
Meanwhile, the damage continues. Pollution by industrialised nations, degradation of forests, unsafe mining practices and the dumping of plastics (littering) are among the actions which, while they are not as indiscriminately done as before, have not halted completely.
Awareness, fought for by environmentalists who refused to be cowed by those who earlier on did not want to hear their message, has brought some improvements. While the bad habits remain to some extent, they are being counteracted by conservation efforts, the growing use of green sources of energy and in some cases plain old-fashioned commonsense.
This is all very good, but it is a far way away from being good enough. Arctic ice is still melting and the sea levels continue to rise, while nature responds with freak weather: bruising storms and punishing hot temperatures that are emaciating the world’s food supply and creating their own unspoken awareness that something is off-kilter and must be set right. The trouble is not too many people are paying attention.
What will happen, if there is no concerted effort to heal the earth; if we keep on applying plaster to superficially patch the damage, is that the planet’s wounds will fester and eventually erupt. Anyone who is familiar with gangrene poisoning knows that victims of it could lose a limb, and ultimately their lives. Is this what we truly want for our planet?
Realistically, we may not be the generation to heal the earth, but we can certainly start the process. And in so doing, we can leave a legacy of good practices to ensure a safer, cleaner world for which posterity will surely thank us.