By Vic Jocson Columna
Published: April 22, 2013
Trees beautify, clean and green the environment.
For almost a decade now, the world has been experiencing historic extremes in weather. The past year 2012 had a record breaking number of calamities caused by blizzards, droughts, forest fires, supertyphoons, rains, floods, landslides, heat wave, ocean acidification, Arctic ice meltdown, etc.
These struck every corner of the earth in extreme degrees. They spared no nation – the powerful and the weak, the rich and the poor, the above sea and low level islands. People encountered power failures, airline shutdowns, transportation stoppages, panic buying sprees, destruction of properties and loss of lives.
Never before in our history did we have such strange disasters. It is only now when mankind so blinded and purpose driven by insatiable desire for wealth and power do we have these cataclysms of nature.
Studies revealed the weather calamities we have now are the revolt of nature which has been abused so much. Indeed, we never learned past lessons. We tend to forget the truth that the earth has enough of everything for our need but never for our greed. Though, we know it, we ignore matter-of-factly that he who loves so much wealth has never enough wealth.
According to experts, the extremes in weather we have today will become the “new normal” in our life and henceforth. It might become worse and would lead into a doomsday scenario but not instantaneous but gradual unless the peoples pool their resources, wisdom, knowledge and work together to mitigate the incursion of climate change.
God endowed us with all the indispensable characteristics we can develop, nurture and harness to sustain a life of our own choice and making but with our greed exceeding our need, nature is made to suffer by our transgressions, hence we reap the harvest of our abuse and apathy.
Climate change is upon us. The threat of calamities in increasing number and intensity is a looming reality. Certainly, we have never been good stewards of God’s magnificent creation. We have misinterpreted His command for us to subdue the earth at all costs.
Global warming is one greatest challenge the world is facing this century. The failure again of the parties which attended the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change in Doha, Qatar to reach an agreement on climate change’s posing a grim portent that more extreme calamities will come. Surely as in the past, they will wreak havoc to our vulnerable world with dire consequences of undermining our efforts for development, hence a bleak future.
However, not all developing and highly industrialized nations have a myopic outlook on global warming. They did see the reality of the hovering ecological problems, hence they responded. At the forefront is Germany whose economy is moving ahead by harnessing the solar energy as its main source of power replacing nuclear power. This disowned that solar energy slows down progress.
Germany is being looked up to as the world’s model of production, and not destruction, in economic development. The world must follow Germany’s feat to preserve Mother Nature. Not all nations can duplicate Germany’s, but for sure, any country can help the world from plunging into the quagmire of ecosystem disasters simply by planting trees.
Planting trees is doable. It is an easy and simple thing to do. It does not require much effort and big capital. No great value at all it seems. Its simpleness bespeaks of it but sometimes great thing comes from an ordinary one. Tree planting is such. It’s a good investment with the best and greatest dividend. It is not only a rewarding experience but a noble undertaking by human that lives, grows and never ceases to grow. A tree planted by man outlives him but he leaves behind a priceless, greatest and lasting legacy to the world.
Trees beautify, clean and green the environment. They cool and refresh it and help reduce noise and air pollution. They are the best protection and antidote against greenhouse effect. Moreover, they prevent floods, landslides and soil erosions as the roots of the trees whether in the mountains, hills, plains and riversides, absorb and hold water during heavy downpour.
The potency of trees has no equal in preventing and protecting nature against global warming being aggravated by the ravages of urbanization and industrialization. So natural, it has no side-effect. It proves more effective than the chemical laden remedies made by men.
As an essential part of ecology, trees not only provide food, homes and canopies for humans and animals but also serve as haven for chirping birds. Significantly, they provide much of the earth’s oxygen that offsets carbon emissions. Botanists said: “Trees are doing the reverse of humans as they breathe by ‘inhaling’ carbon dioxide , one of the major causes of greenhouse effect and climate change and exhaling oxygen which in turn is inhaled by humans and other living organisms. The cycle goes on regardless of any weather condition.”
In planting a tree, a life naturally sprouts, which serves not only a panacea to ecological suicide, but also a manifestation of our love and care to earth. Moreover, we can feel the presence of God’s invigorating breath through the tree’s stomata.
Even today’s world of concrete and steel, nuclear energy, information technology and state-of-the-art living, we need trees to live and survive. Our imperfect world becomes wonderful with the lovely trees, but this magnificent creation of God is only ours to behold and appreciate its loveliness through words. By paraphrasing the poem Trees by Joyce Kilmer, indeed, the reason is obvious:
I think that I shall never write
An article as lovely as a tree.
Articles are made by fools like me.
But only God can make a tree.
Planting trees, anyone?
(vicjcolumna@yahoo.com)
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