Wednesday, February 21, 2007

Is it going to happen?

Among the many great concerns of our world today, "global warming" ranks the most urgent, I suppose. Many who are aware of its present and future effects are already very alarmed (yours truly included) not only because of its rapid occurrences but also of the magnitude it had been coming. Last August, a big chunk of the glaciers in the North Arctic Region near Canada, suddenly crushed to the sea without warning. The effect of its falling was heard more than 200 miles far. Before, many Eco-scientists believed that the melting of the ice would be gradual but now, they are not melting anymore but are crashing in big chunks. The fallen glacier measured an area equivalent to 11,000 football fields (660 hectares?). Wow!

It is said that by 2100, because of global warming, the world will be covered with water! Well, our consolation is that we will not be there anymore. But our great great grandchildren will be! The next 25 yrs. had been tagged as very crucial about ten years ago. Now, it is said that the next TEN years will be crucial!

A Tibetan monk came to know about the climbing of the top of the Mt. Everest. While it is a cause for joy and victory to many (including the Philippines!), to the monk, it is a cause for alarm. Before, the monk could not imagine that the mountain maybe conquered because of the thickness of its ice. The fact that many had climbed it shows that the ice HAD THINNED! There is no other cause for that excessive thinning of the ice other than global warming.

Can we still do anything to stop its snowballing devastating effect? There is nothing lost with trying. Anything we can do, no matter how small, would matter. If we can not stop its ultimate effect, we can at least delay it. Resignation? No, just being realistic. But that is human appraisal. That is human mind. For one who believes in God, there is hope. God is the creator and master of the universe. Nature obeys God. Our last resort will be our faith. If we change our ways, God will pave the way. If we begin to care for the earth, God will save us from such a horrible death. If we finally love this creation fashioned and offered to us by God to steward, God who can not be outdone in generosity, will give us His reward. In other words, it boils down to faith. It boils down to knowing who we are. A realization of our true nature will help us relate with nature truly.

Will it happen? Will global warming bring this world to its knees? Maybe, maybe not. Only God knows!

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