Representatives of environmental groups from 172 countries will be arriving in Johannesburg this weekend to attend the Earth Summit, which begins Monday. It has been 10 years since the last Earth Summit, held in Rio de Janeiro. However, the conclusions reached in Rio have failed to improve the world's environment. On the contrary, humanity is facing an unprecedentedly abominable environment.
Poor implementation of the Rio conclusions have led many international commentators and media pundits to be pessimistic about the prospects of the Johannesburg summit. Everyone is expressing worries about the world's worsening environment.
Given the predicament facing all humanity, continued wanton destruction and pollution by governments can no longer be tolerated. Otherwise, the objective of shared prosperity and sustainable development will become humanity's unrealizable castle in the air.
Abnormal climatic phenomena afflicting many regions around the world today should be a clear sign of a serious change in the world's environment. A US scientific research report said the combined size of holes in the Earth's ozone layer are already nine times the area of the US. Meanwhile, reports of iceberg and glacial breakups in the North and South Poles are increasing. This year's El Nino phenomenon could be a major factor behind floods across South Asia and Europe as well as droughts in South America and Africa.
All of these could be a matter of abnormal changes in nature stemming from the greenhouse effect. And of course they have everything to do with the livelihood of the people of Taiwan.
As an island nation, Taiwan is especially vulnerable to changes in its weather, mountains and watersheds. The two major typhoons last year, the unusual drought that afflicted northern Taiwan this year and record-breaking high temperatures across the country all indicate Taiwan's weather conditions are changing, along with the global environment. Pollution and the rapid destruction of the environment in Taiwan are the result of industrial development. Power plants, oil refineries, petrochemical plants and other manufacturing factories are the culprits behind serious air and river pollution. Research has found that 12 out of Taiwan's 24 major rivers are no longer suitable for fishing due to industrial pollution. Meanwhile, the poaching of ancient forests continues in Hsinchu and Ilan counties. Overdevelopment of tourism spots is also causing pollution and destroying the environment along the west coast.
South Asia has been enveloped in a thick brown haze covering more than 10,000km2, while north Asia is being battered by sand storms from China. These have all become irrefutable signs of serious air pollution in Asia, threatening the health of residents in the region.
The experience of economic development in tells us that industrial development can't run counter to the environment. Balanced development is possible if the government and the people make enough effort and if corporate tycoons pay attention. We believe many cases of successful environmental protection will be publicized during the Johannesburg summit, so that they can be used as models for improving the quality of life.
People in Taiwan should watch next week's summit with special interest and learn from the various environmental issues discussed at the summit to salvage the devastated and polluted natural environment. We should also make use of the rice resources of this treasure island a little more thoughtfully.
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