THE menace and destructive elements of the greenhouse effect is threatening to tear the earth into pieces as climate change has become the greatest challenge of our time.
The versatile ways of confronting climate change is to channel our scepticisms, doubts and frustrations into forward-looking and sustainable robust actions. This unfolding discussion can provide us with workable and malleable platforms to get started, plan or strengthen the already existing formidable ways of dealing with it. Of course, not all of them will suit and complement all our worries and situations but, hopefully, some will ring bells of logic in our endeavours.
One of our dearest wish in this regard is to be able to make everyone realise and watch their carbon footprints. As such, companies should be in the forefront while the rest of us follow.
Truly indeed, in this complex discourse of climate change, we are not looking for number one or the perfect conservationist but it’s a collective effort where the vulnerable and well to do, all have equal enormous contributions in their own right.
But the hidden disease we have as individuals is that we always want fame or being entered into the Guinness Book of Records for being the best ever it was in climate change issues. That egocentric rather than ecocentric way will not help to solve things.
Carbon footprints, as defined by Henson (2006) are a total amount of greenhouse gas emissions that result directly from people’s life styles. Watching and regularising our carbon footprints has to begin with human beings since climate change is first and foremost human-induced or rather anthropogenic in nature.
It is none other than the dirty work and efforts of human activities that always result in large-scale amounts of carbon dioxide being emitted into the atmosphere at unprecedented levels. These are the works of industrial emissions and humans’ careless and loose relations with their environments. Therefore it is the duty of companies to always monitor and regulate the amount of greenhouse gases they emit into the atmosphere. This requires the regular self-introspection rather than to be monitored or coerced to do so.
Companies, especially those in the manufacturing sector as well as those with the lust and appetite for fossil fuels and many other mining activities, need to come clean on their carbon footprints.
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The death of garbage collection and dump sites in Zimbabwe is a course for concern as litter footprints are everywhere posing numerous acute health hazards. The rate at which the land is being decimated for its minerals in vicious ways, without doing some land fillings on dungeons and gully-like structures is so alarming.
It appears as if everyone has ceased to care anymore. It is like a race to nowhere, where the winner can hardly be found.
The majority of rivers have had their depth and capacities severely reduced by siltation in Zimbabwe not mentioning streams which are gradually disappearing and very soon they will be no streams to talk about. Streams are very important as they are the vital veins that transport water into the rivers.
Steps to invest in low-carbon activities are next to nothing in this hard fought land of ours. This suggests yawning planning gaps based on arrogance and loss of conscience on the part of planners themselves. Accountability is a word which no longer has the capacity to carry any meaning at all, once again in this land located between Zambezi and Limpopo. It is also a word which has ceased to exist in the conservation dictionary of Zimbabwe. There are so many carbon sinners going scot-free in this country as carbon reporting has suddenly gone mute. As times continue to unfold, very soon, we shall be forced to realise who was fooling who.
Voices of eco-friendliness from the authorities or parent ministries are now a far cry of their previous nature, sporadic and rather splintered. We only hear these calls when they suit their selfish and machination agendas. National policies that support issues of sustainability and clean energy efficiency have been relegated to the dust bin of greed and acquiescence.
Companies, that is, the few that are operational, need to commit themselves vigorously into investing in low-carbon innovations like energy saving and recycling and re-use. The responsible ministries sometimes make noises, here and there, without even walking the talk.
These companies’ community participation and their obligations to the environment are in deep slumber, suffocated and putrefied deep down beyond anybody’s imaginations. Welcome to the mother of stone-age in the 21st digital era. Whilst other nations are moving forward tremendously, even some poverty stricken African countries are making measurable strides while our leaders are busy taking us back to the stone-age.
Ordinary people and communities need to be taught how best they can improve their livelihoods while at the same time taking the best care of their environment. There is a lot of travelling to international conferences on environmental issues which have since yielded ‘zero-returns’ for the country. Among the remaining companies in this country, some of them need to invest in organic farming and fertilisers which is good for the environment and ecosystems.
Food import regulations appear not to be water tight as companies and cross-border traders always find loop-holes to smuggle Genetically Modified Foods (GMOs) into the country. These companies and exporters continue to play dangerous games of hide and seek with the consumers while at same time greasing the palms of obnoxiously corrupt immigration officials.
Education and awareness on green-buying and green products continue to dodge this country. The state needs to play its role of blessing this and set the stage for a vigorous drive in empowering its citizens. But the state as usual, it’s not reachable.
Climate change is not just a passing phase, indeed, it shall wash away the rest of “us” if we are not careful. It’s rapid acceleration need to be arrested using appropriate adaptation and mitigation activities.
Finally, serious education should be invested into water-harvesting techniques as the majority of people seem not to know what would have hit them when the rains come. Of course, we have come to be a nation of rain watchers and marvellers. Lastly, the government must always lead the greening and eco-friendly efforts in order attain the MDG number seven, which is environmental sustainability.
Peter Makwanya is a climate change communicator. He writes in his own capacity and can be contacted on: [email protected]
