When I give a shout-out for planting trees, people react as if they are going to drop whatever they are doing to plant one – or many. But rarely does anyone revert with an update! Why can’t action on the ground match the initial enthusiasm?
Daedalus crafted wings of wax and feathers, enabling his son Icarus to fly away from imprisonment in Crete. It worked, but the young man ignored his father’s instructions and flew too close to the sun in his exuberance. The wax melted, and he fell to his death in the sea. There is a lesson – and a warning – for us in this myth!
A peaceful elephant road crossing would have stayed so had a man not been trampled by one of the herd. The man would have been alive had he – and scores of others – not shouted, heckled and honked. The ruckus disturbed the giant mammals and one of them lost his – or her – cool leading to the tragedy.
What is wrong on our planet? We are going down fast, and it will require each one of us to be an environmentalist. We cannot wait for others to do the needful; even Governments cannot be trusted to. But what can citizens do what authorities are not able to?
We know the bad news about climate change and the environment. Despite all the talk and action, the needle is not moving. It will – only when every human being does their bit.