EcoGeneration to save the degraded earth
to save ourselves
This is my second major article after my earlier
article titled “Climate change is for real, including Sabah “, as published on:
Monday, October 19, 2015 in the Daily Express’s
Home / Opinion’s edition.
In that article only some minor solutions were
suggested, but now in the largely impasse of the Government and other major
NGOs- local and international - in dealing with the consequences of climate
change, I am going to suggest a major move to mitigate the adverse impact of
climate change before it is really too late. It is already acknowledged that climate
change’s impact on the earth is so huge and that the many effort in piecemeal
approaches could have only minimal mitigation. So we really take the challenge with major
measures already known. Such measures
would be in the agenda of EcoGeneration (EcoG)– a coalition of ecologists,
consumers and environmentalists to address in concerted effort over various
scenarios of climate change in the various consequences on the degraded earth
while we also do recovery works for the earth in various concerns.
I will go into details of EcoG later when the theme
or vision of EcoG since March 2018 is Save the degraded earth to save ourselves.
It is indeed a co-incidence or God-incidence that we
had a similar article namely “Half the planet should be set aside for wildlife
– to save ourselves according to New Scientist 13 September 2018. Why such a
huge warning from New Scientist be still ignored? Have we heeded this urgent
demand? How are we to do what is
expected here urgently when wildlife is near extinction in all continents? EcoG as proposed is much bigger many times than
this demand as I will relate the scope later.
So it would appear wildlife is equally important with human lives if we are
to survive on earth.
So are we serious we want to save ourselves? Or we fated to perish soon?
Since my article in 2015 and now with the latest
proposal of EcoG, we don’t see the expected response from people I had been
sharing that we need to implement EcoG immediately without any further delay.
So I hope after this article, we will secure the
positive responses to do justice for this generation and future generations as
we have in this generation done so much damages to the much exploited earth
which appears to be irrecoverable.
That maybe a perception based on the feedback from
society which is largely complacent to the environment around us. But it is no longer only on environment as
the challenge before us is so much bigger as consumerism is implicated too as
how we handle daily business etc.
Are we really tired and exhausted with life on
earth? Can I draw an analogy as when
many sick people near the end would go at length to seek the best of medical
help with possible last resort but when we know the earth is critical “sick”,
what have we done about that when there are many billionaires around also soon
to perish with the worsening earth in climate change? There is a
lot of wealth in this world, and it is extremely unevenly distributed. According to a
January Oxfam report, 82 percent of the wealth generated in
2017 went to one percent of the global population. So why cannot these very rich people do
something good to save themselves by saving the degraded earth?
Nevertheless, most of the people in many regions are
fated to the many natural disasters with devastation beyond any recoveries.
Many lives are lost. It is expected to
be worst in many times unless we repair the earth now in distress ecologically
and environmentally.
We all share the earth and so natural disasters
wherever they may arise are shared by humanity in a common destiny. We are all connected in all ways. We may not know what is next to any society
in any region.
There may not be scales of natural disasters we see
but the prolonged climate change and rising temperature around 35 degree
celcius, it is reported that photosynthesis stops. The Sabah experience of heat etc as
exacerbated by de-forestation since the late sixties around 35 degree celcius
and now this temperature stays with us for much longer in the day times with
known and unknown consequences. One
thing is for sure, oil palm plantations in millions of acres in Sabah once very
cool comparatively in my childhood period does not bring the high temperature
and any reduction in the carbon. Some
international bodies think they can mitigate climate change even with millions
of acres of oil palms and I think it is not working. Sabah once land below the wind is no longer
that anymore and instead all sorts of devastating climate disasters are
occurring regularly with the latest 6 Richter scale earth quake at Ranau and
Mount Kinabalu in 2016.
Are we not concerned when we have this article in
Daily Express “Sabah acts on climate change through REDD +” but nothing has
changed after a decade? Would this be continued in effective when we are also
told “30 elephants have died this year” and Fish-kill factors in Lower
Kinabatangan (Borneo Post)? What would
happen if the low level of oxygen like in the Lower Kinabatangan occur in our
already environment and air? Daily
Express 21 Oct 2018 page 16 “ we should be worried about what we are breathing”
cannot be ignored. Still want to do nothing with EcoG in Sabah & Borneo? Don’t be like “where Hindus prefer to die”DE
page 9 (21/10/2018) please.
With rising temperature, our food resources in
agriculture, farming and animal husbandry had been adversely affected and only
maintained by artificial means for the productivity. Are we playing dumb to such health hazards?
I would like share an experience in frying prawn crackers
which only explode in the right medium and right temperature and nothing can
stop that. When the oil is too hot then the
crackers would turn black in a few seconds.
This is symbolic that our existence may soon be like the crackers and
nothing can stop the worsening temperature and related pollution unless we act
fast with EcoG.
So if we decide to save ourselves then we must do
something ourselves and not leave it to
others especially the various Government and their agencies which have actually
failed us in current 60 years.
The normal mentality is that only the Government and
their agencies can do something but the reality is that they are too embroiled
in other governance matters and questioned politics with low priority and
neglect over natural issues of the earth and even do more damages in further
exploitation of the earth for greed.
Some may think it would need massive fund to
implement such mitigation and corrective measures and where such massive fund
can be available?
It is indeed mind boggling that most people are
worried by bread and butter issue or rice bowl issues that the earth is further
neglected.
So there must be some sections of people always involved
with NGOs would show concern to save ourselves on earth. We should consider ourselves lucky or even
blessed that we have survived without major devastation in natural disasters. Can we stay complacent for long when the
earth we know is largely in question?
So are we prepared to get ourselves involved with
EcoG starting with Sabah and Borneo ? Now I would provide a glimpse into how
EcoG may appear to concerned parties.
Now may I draw a success story of Grab (MyTeksi) started
with RM100,000 in 2012 and rejected by some people then but now it is worth
RM25billion. With this stunning short
story, EcoG would do many times more to save the degraded earth (Grab solves
the dying Taxi service) and save ourselves (Grab improved mobility only). So seriously consider EcoG. EcoG belongs to everyone on earth when Grab
only for people on the move.
In EcoGeneration- a coalition of ecologists, consumers and
environmentalists is the latest and final global platform to fight climate
change to mitigate its effect of rising temperature at boiling point.
Save the degraded
earth to save ourselves.
It is a range of both non business and business components.
Non business is education, awareness, compliance, blue
print/research, litigation, guidance/ counselling, monitoring.
Business components include re-forestation (land and swamp),
recycling of waste to revenue, renewable clean energy, organic agriculture
(food basket), abundant clean water (very scarce in some places), world oxygen
network (WON), exhibitions/conferences, fruit trees cultivation, cultivate seed weeds, maintain the zones
including coral reefs for fish bleeding and farming; (NB: this is not exhaustive yet)
Both these urgent operations to save the damaged earth to
save ourselves starting in Borneo would extend to other parts of the globe
working together in unison to mitigate the impact of climate change. EcoGeneration would be in massive businesses
to generate clean revenue to maintain the operations to save ourselves.
The initial market as targeted is in Borneo where the
pristine rainforests have been ruined by greedy people especially those in
power.
Each item in the business sector/component would find the
market in Borneo and beyond. Re-forestation a very costly operation would be
the catalytic factors to contribute whatever parameters back to nature and
endemic plants instead of the devastating mono crop oil palm with little good
food value. Clearing or ridding the
industrial/commercial wastes to useful items including the much needed
conversion to clean energy for the increasing consumption of energy for the
beneficial industries in agriculture, foods, fruits, sea weeds, coral products
including medical ingredients and quality fish, all in great demand.
The progress of what EcoGeneration has done in the few months
as mooted by me as the founder is impressive as it is ever more convincing that EcoG can draw in the support
from many people in this joint effort of the three major groups of people such
as ecologists, consumers, and environmentalists as opposed to certain
individual particular group acting on their own without any co-ordination
amongst themselves resulting in the lack of achievements as much desired in the
fight against climate change. We need
each others within EcoG to share our respective experiences in specific field
with others in each other groups. Then
the action well co-ordinated can be better received by the public at large and
compliance can be achievable with good results.
The objectives inter alia can be
1. Make the earth a
better place
2. Provide clean and healthy food
3. Provide a cooler environment as it was 70 years ago
4. Save the damaged or degraded earth to save ourselves
5. Generate clean
money from whatever waste or resources largely thrown away and new clean
industries.
6. EcoGeneration once
established should be self sustaining and self financed by own revenue generating projects
7. The future is that we in this generation have done so much
damage to the mother earth - God loving and loved domain - for mankind must be
restored from all the pollution in land, sea and air for the future and all the
generations to come.
Mitigation against climate change can be very massive
business when we act globally.
EcoGeneration would engage best passionate people for the non
business and the business components.
Non business would be operated in groups registered as Non
Government Organisations as needed and be professional managed to achieve
results.
For the business sector/component - the list not exhaustive
- EcoG would use any business vehicle to
run them professionally and would go for legal partnerships, legal joint
ventures, private limited companies, cooperatives, public companies, public
listed companies and any other possibilities as there are cross borders element
at all times.
For each of these operation, allocation of fund internally
and externally or both would be applied as the needs arise. We would need the
kind investors can have passive and active income .
The degraded earth
would find a new fresh beginning for humanity.
The inhabitant
resigned to climate change be refreshed and
productive.
The pressing message
of pollution everywhere get the hearing for recovery.
The revenue so
generated would be abundantly beneficially for everyone.
Corporate action can
result in positive impact in fighting climate change.
Initially, EcoGeneration would need equity of say USD10m to
kick start the movement. The movement
is so huge once it is in operation and the same investor or investors can
progress with us as we progress.
Preferential treatment would be given to such early contributors of fund
as and when the next item or project is to commence .
As you may know the startup initial outlay can be substantial
to make immediate and urgent impact on earth, I would think we would need
USD1billion (various sources) to set up all the infrastructure to be
operational and also compensatory fund for the development of land largely in
oil palms into other crops and re-forestation.
We may need some loans for certain projects.
Why three groups of people are encouraged to work together?
After attending so many local international conferences since
Rio Earth Summit , 1992, my interests in environment had been picking up pace
for more than two decades.
Borneo Biodiversity Ecosystem Conservation (BBEC) for a few
years, BioBorneo 2015 and Heart of Borneo. – a decade plus IDS seminar on
climate change in 2016 as an joint organiser and many other similar forums have
further enhanced my consciousness on whatever adverse impact on the earth as
created by God.
In all these forums and conferences many would be ecologists,
consumers and environmentalists but positive activities amongst us are few in
between.
I myself as a founder member in 1980 and still is a member of
Sabah Environmental Protection Association (SEPA) plus deputy president of
Sabah Consumers Association for a few years and now inaugural founding Chairman
of a consumer co-operative namely Koperasi Pengguna Sabah Bhd and author of
three environmental books provide me with the much needed inspiration of a
vision to save the degraded earth to save ourselves now. I am also the founding President of Caring
Earth Society of Sabah (CARES) since 5 May, 2017 with some very worthy
projects.
In fights against the climate change and other related issues
like pollution, de-forestation, bleaching of the coral, diminution of the
mangrove swamp, declining quality foods, we cannot give up so easily but
persevere with all our energy and spirit to overcome the many obstacles largely
man-made which in part can be minimised.
We cannot go on losing all our natural treasures within 60 years first
with the depleted rainforests and now the domino impact on other equally important
treasures which must be retained and maintained to keep us alive.
Greening the planet back to Garden Eden may be impossible but
we all have all the resources at our disposal to deal head on Climate change
etc or our limited resources as some may perceive may be taken away from us in
declining earthly scenarios like we have been told by the experts in those
environmental conferences. So what
choice have we – deal with it or lost all the dwindling resources for our
present wellbeing right now?
The world is still so rich with many trillionaires and
billionaires who may care for their own lives in a degraded earth or lose it
all sooner. What we know so often about
billionaires publicly is the worth of known stocks. What about other undisclosed assets? What we need is to pool our resources
together and in the humane spirit of man, we can give the best in saving the
earth to save ourselves.
First EcoG must surmount the perception of availability of
saving-earth-fund which can be obtained by crowdfunding with a small process
fee and at least we must get ourselves organised in Sabah with the Heart of
Borneo in our midst and then canvass for global support for the global benefit
of a repaired earth.
There are many people out there especially Christians who
always sing and pray that the Glory of God fill the earth? So how can we say and think in words without
any positive action when the earth is very sad in its sorry state as compared
to the days of Garden Eden. Is God not
being insulted for His creation?
Those interest to be part of this EcoG can get in touch with
me in Facebook-EcoGeneration Sabah Borneo. Give ourselves a “trillion” chance
to lead the way forward in EcoG. Perish
not without trying. So give EcoG a new
threshold /frontier a fighting chance.
Joshua Y C Kong 21/10/2018
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