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Global Warming and Unity of Mankind

I read an article in a recent issue of The Guardian Weekly on Global warming. A former Shell executive, James Lovelock has been predicting the future of the environment since mid 1960’s from his own experiment station in Cornwall , UK and his accuracy has made him one of Britain ’s most respected independent scientists.


In his latest book, The Revenge of Gaia, he predicts that by 2020 extreme weather will be the norm, causing global devastation and that by 2040 much of Europe will be Saharan; and parts of London will be underwater.


He also said Britain is going to become a lifeboat for refugees from mainland Europe , so we need to start planning how to survive. Nuclear Power, he argues, can solve our energy problem. He fears we won’t invent the necessary technologies in time, and expects “about 80%” of the world’s population to be wiped out by 2100.


This is very scary. Currently I live in Bangkok, coordinating several activities for the According to a recent report published in Hope is Life Foundation.Bangkok Post, climate change threatens to create a perfect storm of seasonal droughts, floods and saltwater intrusion in the Mekong delta. Arjun Thapan, Director-General of the Asian Development Bank’s Southeast Asia Department, in an article appeared in Bangkok Post, has warned that such changes would threaten families’ livelihoods, and the foundation of the region’s economy.


Well, with the above reports, there remains little doubt about the real danger of global warming. The reports from scientists and NGOs from many parts of the world have identified warming effects and associate trends, that include; increasingly severe weather, including stronger storm and greater drought; a significant rise in the level of the oceans; and shifts in the range of various terrestrial plant and animal species. There will also likely be increased spread of disease, significant localized crop failure, especially in Africa , and increased cross-border refugees.


More than a century ago, Baha’u’llah, the Prophet-Founder of the Baha’i religion warned that humanity would face am increasing number of severe and unprecedented calamities until it recognized and fully embraced its underlying unity.


An article published in the ONE COUNTRY magazine states that the threat posed by global warming offers yet another opportunity to discover within ourselves the fundamental reality upon which the peace, security and well being of the entire planet depends.


According to ONE COUNTRY, “For Baha’is, the followers of the Baha’i religion, the growing scientific consensus on climatic change and its wider public discussion offer an urgent reason for humanity to examine its underlying interdependence and oneness, which is the fundamental reality of the human condition today. The challenge of global warming, moreover, highlights the degree to which humanity must swiftly move towards unity of action at the global level if it is to thrive and, perhaps, even to survive.”


The Baha’i International Community has identified several key principles needed to create a sustainable development on a global level. They include: a mandate for justice above all else, a commitment to world citizenship, equality of women and men, an emphasis on moral education and the creation of a new system of global governance. The foremost among the teachings of the Baha’i religion is the oneness of humanity. Baha’i writings “implies an organic change in the structure of present-day society, a change such as the world has not yet experienced.”


“Let your vision be world-embracing rather than confined to your own self.” – Baha’u’llah.


It is true that both principles, unity and justice, are essential if international negotiations over things like carbon limits, emissions trading, the sharing of alternative technologies, and the elimination of poverty are to succeed.

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