Draft 1: Commonwealth Question

Ozone layer. Greenhouse gases. What are they? Check in a local newspaper, these terms will be on the first few pages. Global warming has become one of the world's worries, and one of its effects is climate change.

Our climate is changing, and it is not for the better. The polar caps at the North and South Poles are melting, and this causes floods all over the world. Ask the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration( NOAA for short), they will tell you. If we do not do something about the change, it will be likely to have a impact, albeit an indirect one, on us, the world's population.

Due to the climate changing, there have been more floods, hurricanes and typhoons or any natural disaster that depends on the fragile balance of hot and cold air. Climate change violently disrupts this delicate balance, and the increasing numbers of natural disasters are the only solution to restore the balance. Unfortunately, this solution is affecting hundreds of thousands of people in the world.

Countries like Indonesia, Thailand have states situated near potential disaster sites. Whenever a hurricane strikes, tragedy follows. Take the tsunami on 26th December 2003. At least 100 000 people were killed, and millions were left homeless. The various economies were also strongly affected, if not collapsed. The livelihoods of millions of men and women were vanquished. In all, their future had been rendered bleak.

Do we really need such an example to bring us to our senses? Even then, only a small minority of the world promised to stop any endangering activities. The majority continued as though nothing had happened. In order to do any significant change to the current situation, we need every single person's support.

In the past decades, many people of the different continents have tried to co-ordinate the world in an effort to save our planet. Not many have succeeded. Actually, none have. Al Gore, the former vice-president of the USA, have spoken up and appealed to the world's population at large. For a while, people took notice. Long term, it went forgotten. International efforts have been attempted. For example, take the Kyoto Protocol signed in 1997. The main focus of the protocol was to get the main polluting countries such as USA, China and Mexico to cut their emissions of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere. 174 parties signed the protocol, but only 36 are keeping their end of the bargain. We CANNOT stop climate change, if there exists people who do not want to.

Climate changes takes place gradually, and some might argue that we will not be affected. What about future generations? Our children? Our grandchildren? We will be leaving them a world destroyed by us, and they, instead of us, have to face the consequences. If we do not take immediate actions, planet Earth might have a discount on its future predicted life of 1.5billion years.

Various actions and efforts have been taken to alert the world to the might-be inevitable. Movies, like "The Day After Tomorrow" have been screened. Most of these efforts have gone unnoticed. Campaigns are ineffective overall, due to general complacency. Most of the world's population think we are going to continue to have a nice, green Earth to live on in the future. Thus, the complacency and ignorance.

If we let the climate change go unnoticed, we might as well prepare for the next Ice Age. "The Day After Tomorrow" has demonstrated clearly on what would happen should the climate continue changing. For one, there would be an drastic increase in the sea level, and many coastal states will be flooded, or even submerged. Millions would lose their lives. Tornadoes would become as common as the average housefly. The world would ultimately become a different place to live in.

Climate change is a long-term effect. There are other side effects too, and none of them any less severe. Depletion of the ozone layer would lead to a higher penetration of ultra-violet(UV) rays emitted from the sun. When these rays come into contact with humans, they will cause harmful skin diseases and cancers. While half of the world dies from drowning in floods, the other half gets to die from the various skin diseases and cancers. Exciting, isn't it?

What can we do to stop the climate change? 1 person cannot do much, but combined, it might produce a significant result. For starters, begin listening to public lectures and campaigns about the topic. Heed the posters pasted in the lifts and public bulletins. Do research about the climate change, and you will find certain tips useful in domestic areas. Do your part, and the world might just become a better place.