PROTECT THE EARTH. The Baha’i International community feels the exploitation of Mother earth and her natural resources, is one of the symptoms of “sickness of the human spirit”
Strange beings we have turned out to be, bizarre thinking we have and controversial characters we possess. How selective we are, so careless we have become and such hypocrites even with our own selves. We say we love our children, we yearn to be blessed with one and pride in bringing them up. With the same breath we go on destroying their future lives, we chop down their trees, contaminate their water and earth and pollute even the air they need to breath to survive.
Motion picture role
We hold conferences and workshops, world powers gather with big smiles for the cameras, an agenda in hand to save the environment, another agenda back home is awaiting, one that goes around personal benefits. Here celebrities, actors and cinema directors join in and tell the world that time is over, and that this is not a movie with a happy ending, that we should move on from talking to action, we hear them, but who is listening? Decades of such conferences and agreements with ¬little impact. We watch environmental movies and documentaries, breathing a sigh of distress we leave the theatre, and then throw our plastic bags in the next opening in the earth that we find on our path.
Along the way come people such as the great Wangari Maathai, Nobel Peace Laureate, and iron lady from Kenya, who bring us a wake-up call. She was beaten and imprisoned for her ideas about nature protection, but she never gave up. She started with ‘little things’ like planting trees to meet the needs of rural women, little things and ideas grew globally and touched many lives.
In faith
Even religions are trying hard to have a say in this manmade tragedy engulfing our planet earth. Pope Francis published an encyclical, calling for action against climate change. In the teachings of the Baha’i Faith, there are numerous writings about environmental protection. Maybe it is time that we pose and think why all the above controversies are happening ? According to statements from the Baha’i International community, the exploitation of Mother earth and it’s natural resources, is one of the symptoms of “sickness of the human spirit”. They also state that: ‘The widespread lack of moral discipline, the glorification of greed and material accumulation, the increasing breakdown of family and community, the rise of lawlessness and disorder, the ascendancy of racism and bigotry and the priority given to the national interests over the welfare of humanity, all of which destroy confidence and trust, the foundations of collaboration.”
Our efforts count
Because our ordinary efforts have not managed to yield much fruits, we should now address these challenges: “ in a magnitude of cooperation and coordination at all levels that far surpasses anything in humanity’s collective experience.” states the Baha’i International community.
Maathai said: ‘In the course of history, there comes a time when humanity is called to shift to a new level of consciousness, to reach a higher moral ground. ..that time is now
On climate change plan:
The first 30 years of this century will see more habitat and farmland converted for urban use than throughout history.
Cities produce three-quarters of the world’s green house gas emissions. Over the next 15 years, half the increase in energy-related emssions will be driven by just 500 cities.
-guardian.com
lifemagazine@ug.nationmedia.com
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