Cyril Mugyenyi
2 May 2008
opinion
Believe it or don't humanity will live in a progressively warmer world never known to our great grandfathers. No matter who is responsible, every living creature will pay the price. We are sure that the industrialised world that has produced millions of tonnes of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere is the major culprit.
They are so reluctant to tackle the problem, even when the poor world is willing to cooperate by planting trees to clean their dirt. This industrialisation has enabled them to tame nature to their advantage and can adequately adapt to a variety of life threatening challenges including global warming.
The developing world including Uganda where the poorest of the poor live has to pay a bigger bill of the debt of global warming as they lack coping strategies.
When man evolved a bigger and advanced brain he conquered the rest of the biosphere. Those animals that remained with an inferior brain had to succumb to his wild wishes. Similarly, those human societies who will fail to adapt to climate change, nature will harshly order them to hand over what they have inherited to those who are ready to use the recent instruments of capitalism to survive.
In the evolutionary course, organisms that failed to adapt to changing environment were driven to extinction, needless to mention the giant dinosaurs that once ruled planet earth and the giant trees of the Carboniferous times.
It is now crystal clear that organisms that will not adapt to climate change will gradually die out though it is not clear how this death sentence will be executed by Mother Nature.
It is also known that predation and disease are some of the major instruments she uses for enforcing the jungle law of survival for the fittest.
Banana bacterial wilt, coffee wilt diseases are on rampant wiping out plantations, driving most farmers to extreme poverty. It is possible that this is one form of slow but sure and gradual death of organisms.
Similar gradual death may be in progress in other populations that may not be of interest to us at the moment. These are likely to have been initiated by increasing global average temperatures.
The tourism base of this country will be hard hit as giant tourist attractions like elephants, gorillas and the like will die off as they are not likely to adapt to a warmer world. Crocodiles that are the only surviving cousins of dinosaurs will not escape the gradual temperature increase.
Uganda entirely depends on rain fed agriculture. What will happen when rainfall patterns change towards a drier world, are we prepared for this? Where shall we get relief food in a food-scarcity world?
Water is indeed becoming scarce and it will continue to be, are we ready to connect rural communities to bigger water bodies for sustainable water supply? Have we developed crops that will withstand the hot temperatures and saline soils?
Our preparedness seems to be so remote if at all it exists.
If we cannot prepare to adapt to climate change then we should prepare for our gradual extinction to allow the sinners to enjoy the fruit of their sin.
The writer is a member of Monitor Panel of Experts and an environmentalist
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