Every year, around October, the land begins to glisten. We slowly slink into hibernation and slacken our summertime heated activities, so as to savor the delightful moments as we observe nature’s changing colors. We witness the dying of summer, without mourning its loss. As green fades to gold, and warmth turns to cold, we joyfully wait for and anticipate the feeling of the chilly fold of winter. Imperceptibly, the cool, sweet freshness of autumn gives us a hint of things to come and makes us thrill at the thought of inhaling the scent of snow in the air.
The Earth fills us with awe–inspiring natural beauty that never ceases to impress us. Our surroundings, the mountains, the rivers, and the landmasses… they all have amazing stories to tell. Unfortunately, and in so many ways, the Earth is also crying out for help.
Of all the living things on this planet, there is only one kind that is a deadly threat to the well-being of nature and our environment: Mankind. It has waged war on plants, animals, forests, oceans, and mainly on other human beings– driven by its greed, its arrogance, its selfishness and never- ending desire for profit.
Every day, we are experiencing the devastating effects of what human activity has done, and is still doing. Violent weather patterns, global warming, more frequent volcanoes and earthquakes, excessive rain, flooding, rising sea levels, breaks in the ozone layer, severe droughts, and melting glaciers are just some of the effects of man’s assault on nature.
It is truly a sad sight that fills us with despair. Our minds as well as our hopes are focused on COP22, the latest global climate change meeting. Confronting climate change is our moral obligation. We cannot afford to let all the bounties of nature just slip away.