Saving the environment

Zabed Wali, Pahartali, Chittagong
Last month the climate conference held in Copenhagen ended without any binding treaty. Simply put, the developed and the developing countries failed to reach any consensus on the issue --namely, the reduction of carbon emission to slow down the alarming increase of the planet's temperature. In our home front we have watched, much to our horror, the rampant pollution of our rivers, the encroachment of the lifelines beside the big cities and the gradual death of those gifts of nature. The woods of this land seem to exist only in textbooks as there are few patches of pristine forests left. Again some scientists predict that the low-lying areas of this country are likely to be submerged with the rise of sea levels. With the deterioration of the environment the weather pattern has become erratic. We are facing nasty cyclones, abnormal rainfall and heat waves--fallouts of climate change--on a regular basis. It is evident that the leaders of the developed countries are unwilling to take a decision that concerns the lifestyle of their citizens. In other word they see no fault in the all-pervasive consumerism which thrives on the mindless pollution of mother earth. On the other hand, growing economies like China and India do not want to slow down their growth. This goes to explain the failure of the climate conference.