Good people,

March is here -and with it the early signs of the much awaited rains; but what caused the devastating drought, in the first place, one may ask?

• Could it be due to inappropriate human activity driven perceived benefits ?
• Is there any evidence miscalculated human activity is the cause of climate change?
• Do we have evidence of environmental pollution causing human disease and ill health?

YES: Here is the evidence, as captured by a great environmentalist: Rachel Carson

• Quote “We have acquired technical skills on a scale undreamed of, even a generation ago. We can do dramatic things, and we can do them quickly. By the time damaging side effects are apparent, it is often too late or impossible to reverse our actions. If we are ever to solve the basic problem of environmental contamination, we must begin to count the many hidden costs of what we’re doing and to weigh them against the gains or advantages.” These were the words of Rachel Carson who, singlehandedly, managed to enact a paradigm shift in the way humans view the environment. Some say there is a before and after Rachel Carson in terms of how we think about the environment. Carson believed that we as humans are not separate from this living world, but in fact are a part of it.
• On April 14, 1964, Carson succumbed to cancer and died at the young age of 56. Some of her ashes were buried next to her mother’s grave, while the remainder were scattered over the ocean…for those interested Google and read her book, the Silent Spring.Her book triggered a revolution in thinking that gave birth to the modern environmental movement, and the public outcry that resulted from her book eventually led to DDT being banned for agricultural use in the U.S. in 1972.
• Unfortunately, DDT was simply replaced with other equally unsafe and untested chemicals — one of them beingGLYPHOSATE, the active ingredient in Roundup, which today is the most widely, used herbicide in the world. Disturbingly, we believe glyphosate may actually be worse than DDT…the evidence is piling up….
• Is there any evidence of environmental pollution causing direct harm to human health?
• 6 MARCH 2017 | GENEVA -More than 1 in 4 deaths of children under 5 years of age are attributable to unhealthy environments. Every year, environmental risks – such as indoor and outdoor air pollution, second-hand smoke, unsafe water, lack of sanitation, and inadequate hygiene – take the lives of 1.7 million children under 5 years, say two new WHO reports. http://who.int/mediacentre/news/releases/2017/pollution-child-death/en/?utm_source=WHO+List&utm_campaign=a5120e56a1-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2017_03_06&utm_medium=emai

Way Forward?

• To solve environmental contamination we must CAREFULLY weigh the costs against the benefits….