People are now convinced that Climate Change , and extreme weather are caused by human activities especially after the Industrial Revolution.

But ironically, not all are aware that literally every single woe and every single problem encountered by the human race today is caused by Climate Change, from mental health to global economy, and every uncertainty you can imagine.

Read the global news , if they are fortunate enough to be still in print, all the disasters unfolding before us every second of the day, 365 /366 days a year .

It is, I could confidently say, mankind is in the darkest and most unsought period in the entire history of the universe!

What is considered the worst in our existence, we have it today. The very worst imaginable!

Scorching-oven -heat temperature , or Arctic- like cold is no longer something a novelty.

Droughts, famines, torrential rains, uncontrollable floods and wild fires  are reported everywhere. Then typhoons , hurricane, and tsunami .

The people who bear the brunt are our loved ones, the innocent young children , who will end up getting CANCER, from the toxic haze/smog , pregnant mothers, the medically vulnerable, those with underlying medical conditions and problems, the vulnerable senior citizens.

All in the dirtiest polluted countries have their lifespan shortened by at least 5 years and will be burdened by a lifelong lung related diseases and premature death.

The medical bills are something even the rich may not afford! It is worst than a convict serving a life sentence, because the notorious convict  can still  be helped .

Then we have the small countries gradually sinking, in the Pacific Ocean. Most polluted Bangkok and Jakarta are sinking. The latter has been relocated to Borneo, care must be taken that the environment is protected in this monumental exercise.

Plastic pollution is acknowledged to be a huge global problem today.

We all have the responsibility to see to it that  huge amounts of plastic waste do not pollute our environment and any part of the planet earth, especially causing harm to basically all forms of living things eg. human beings and the fish we eat when the plastic waste finds its way to the rivers, the seas and eventually the oceans.

Micro plastics are found in people. These tiny particles are in our blood and our lungs! Similarly , in bigger proportion in animals. The harm to our health is something which  scientists are most concerned and are still studying.

It is imperative that stringent law be enacted to stop littering, especially anything made of plastic to save our own health and the planet earth.

It is rather sad to note that we have the expected “adventurers “ like those who leave their countries to seek fortune! This group is not interested in a clean environment  and,  therefore , not helping at this most critical and challenging time in the entire human history.

A million Climate Summits can be arranged, but if there is no genuine desire to gradually phase out coal and fossil fuels , and to go green  resorting to renewable energy such as solar  and wind, things will continue to get worse to a point when human beings will find that the planet is no longer habitable. But where can we go?

Meanwhile, every attempt must be made to cut down on emission of toxic gases.

Electric vehicles should help. A sustainable solution is needed.

Then we have the natural disasters like earthquakes.

To make things worse, the Covid-19 is still around.

Then the 100% man- made turmoil, wars , conflicts of all descriptions  are making life absolutely unbearable for every one in those troubled spots of the world.

The people who suffer the most across the globe are the lower income groups as they simply do not have the means to relocate and they are the people who occupy the least desired areas in their respective countries.

Earth Day is not just a day for you to do anything that is environmentally correct for one day, but for all to realise that we are at the crossroads, take the right direction to save not only ourselves, but, more importantly, our future generations to come.

(Datuk Seri Ang Lai Soon is Sarawak social activist, philanthropist, founder of St John’s Ambulance Sarawak.)