Environment: At the mercy of the policy makers
At every opportunity, the leadership of Bangladesh reminds the industrial nations that global climate change is pushing the country towards a grim, uncertain future. Yet, the government staunchly defends not only the construction of the coal-fired Rampal Power Plant near the Sundarbans, it also gave green signal to commercial vessels to ply the Shela River flowing through the forest despite the recent environment-threatening oil spill and recommendation by UN experts to declare the river an out-of-bounds area.
And the recent news that the government is considering a proposal to build another power plant, an oil-fired one, in Mongla makes one wonder which advisors to the government are calling the shots about building these environment-degrading power plants near an endangered mangrove forest?
The environmental crisis we are facing today affects everyone on the planet. However, the degree to which different countries contribute to this crisis depends on the decisions made at the top tier of the respective governments. Injudicious decisions made in the past have caused irreparable damages to our environment. These damages include global warming, air quality deterioration, resource depletion, water pollution, soil erosion, species extinction, rainforest destruction and acid rain.
Making decisions that will have far-reaching consequences on the environment require insights and working knowledge of other disciplines, such as physical, life, agro and earth sciences, ecology and forestry, to name a few.
From an economic standpoint, it is much cheaper to produce fossil fuel electricity than sustainable methods of power generation. Nonetheless, fossil fuel burning power plants are one of the major factors for the fast disappearance of tropical rainforest ‒ the habitat of the majority of the species on Earth.
According to the World Wildlife Fund, the world's forests are indeed being destroyed at a rate of 30-37 million acres per year, resulting in vegetation degradation, nutrient imbalance, flooding and animal displacement. The death toll of wildlife from fossil fuel power plants is staggeringly high.
The Sundarbans is undeniably in real jeopardy because 2040 is only 25 years away. The life-support systems of the forest will certainly be ruined once the Rampal and Mongla power plants start producing electricity. Hence, the policy makers cannot overlook the magnitude of the environmental problems that will eventually arise from the pollutants emitted by these plants and oil spills from vessels navigating through the forest's rivers.
If we want an enduring human presence around the Sundarbans, we have to rebuild a society according to the pattern laid down by nature. For that to happen, we have to put pressure on the government to tailor the pace of economic growth without destroying our national treasures. We will also need highly competent eco-conscious people at the helm of the decision-making ladder.
The writer is Professor of Physics at Fordham University, New York.
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