On Feb. 12, a new snow record was set in the northeastern US, with snowfall reaching a level of 73.9cm in Central Park in New York, the highest since record-keeping began in 1869. Three airports in the area were closed, 500 flights were grounded and 85,000 households lost electricity. This month, northern parts of Xinjiang Province in China have experienced a drought leading to sand storms that have had an effect as far away as Taiwan. In stark contrast, Southern China is experiencing constant torrential rains.
We all know the environment that we rely on for our existence is deteriorating, but many countries are still aggressively pursuing economic development and even take a negative view of treaties aimed at minimizing environmental destruction. One example is former Malaysian prime minister Mahathir Mohammed who has been doing all he can to oppose the Kyoto Protocol in favor of economic development.
Countries aggressively pursuing economic development -- two examples are China and India, with annual GDP growth of around 10 percent -- see their energy needs increasing proportionally to their development. This is one of the factors behind the rapidly rising prices of crude oil.
In addition, US fears of rising unemployment lead it to refuse to sign the Kyoto Protocol.
The actions of a few countries are causing global determination regarding the environment to waver.
Crude oil prices broke through US$60 per barrel last July. Following the onslaught of Hurricane Katrina on the US Gulf coast, prices shot up to US$70 per barrel, the highest since the oil crisis in 1970.
The US' WTI crude oil index shows that international oil prices have increased recently because many countries are unwilling to abandon their blind pursuit of economic development, instead relying on oil and other resources and ignoring the worsening greenhouse effect. What's more, OPEC is reducing production, and the political situation in the Middle East is unstable. This chaotic situation is another reason why oil prices are increasing. These phenomena clearly show us that human greed drives us on even though we are faced with a crisis regarding our continued existence.
In this era of fast food, fast results and fast decisions, a group of Pennsylvania residents have formed a lifestyle they call LOHAS, or lifestyles of health and sustainability. They emphasize leading a slow life, without cars and electricity, respect for nature's logic and the ecological order, and leading a natural life. This is a reaction to the search for speed.
OPEC today pumps between 9.5 million and 10 million barrels of oil daily. If we continue to consume global resources at this rate, we may use up millions of years' worth of resources in just a few hundred years.
We often talk about environmental protection, but our actions are contradictory. We must give serious consideration to slowing down and managing and arranging our lives so that we can live in peaceful and loving unison with nature.
Wang Chien is a former associate professor in the department of fine art at Chinese Culture University.
Translated by Perry Svensson
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