There are billions of galaxies and planets but only one world

With Sri Lanka’s worst ever ‘Aragalaya’ or public revolt continuing for its 50th day with large crowds gathering at the GotaGoGama or Galle Face Green to demand the resignation of the Rajapaksa Government and the abolition of the executive presidential system, Sri Lanka is not able to give top priority to a key issue that could destroy the world. The battle against climate change—which former United States’ President Donald Trump described as a Chinese hoax—the world gave less attention to this vital issue but the new US President Joe Biden is making every effort to get democratic countries involved in this battles of battles.  

On June 5, the United Nations marks World Environment Day and in a statement the world body says, “Only One world: In the universe are billions of galaxies, in our galaxy are billions of planets, but there is only one earth, let’s take care of it.”  

In Sri Lanka, families or individuals may tend to think there is little we could do to get involved effectively in the battle against climate change. There is much we could do. For instance, with power cuts disrupting our lives, we could switch off unnecessary bulbs and reduce the use of other electrical equipment such as television and FM radio stations. Independent world political analysts say that though the then US President George Bush launched a massive “shock and awe” war against Iraq after the terrorists attack on the twin towers in New York and the Pentagon, the bigger aim was to gain control of oil resources in Iraq and Syria. Now US companies control some of the biggest oil companies and that is why prices have soared to their highest levels in history—more than three times what we paid last year.  

Regarding clean drinking water, world analysts say that in next three decades the big powers including the US, Russia and China may go to war to get control of the world’s drinking water resources. Sri Lanka possibly would be a target because we have more than 100 rivers including 12 major rivers. Therefore we need to save water even in small ways. As the saying goes, little drops of water make the mighty ocean. For instance, when washing our hands, we need to open the taps only half way or less. When washing rice, vegetables or fruits, we need to collect the excess water in pans or buckets and use it to water the plants. As far as possible, we need to stop using fresh drinking water to wash our vehicles. We could also plant a few trees in our home garden. Some civic minded citizens have also cut down their daily shower times from five to 10 minutes. Some enterprising citizens have also installed rain water harvesting equipment on their roofs. This is collected in big tubs and the second rain is so pure that garages are known to use it as battery water.  

In a statement the UN says the earth faces a triple planetary emergency: The climate is heating up too quickly for people and nature to adapt, habitat loss and other pressures mean an estimated 1 million species are threatened with extinction, pollution continues to poison our air, land 
and water.   

The way out of this dilemma is to transform our economies and societies to make them inclusive, fair and more connected with nature. We must shift from harming the planet to healing it.The good news is the solutions and the technology exist and are increasingly affordable. #OnlyOneEarth is the campaign for World Environment Day this year. It calls for collective, transformative action on a global scale to celebrate, protect and restore our planet. 

 
Led by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and held annually on June 5 since 1974, World Environment Day is the largest global platform for environmental public outreach and is celebrated by millions of people across the world. This year it is hosted by Sweden. “Only One Earth” was the slogan for the first United Nations Conference on the Human Environment, held in Stockholm in 1972. This put sustainable development on the global agenda and led to the establishment of World Environment Day. Fifty years later, Sweden is hosting Stockholm+50 from 2nd to 3rd June.   

Leonardo DiCaprio, the main actor in the box office film “Titanic” has said raising awareness on the most pressing environmental issues of our time is more important than ever. One of the world’s greatest statesmen Mahatma Gandhi has warned the earth provides enough to satisfy every person’s needs, but not some person’s greed.”