“Sun is shinin' in the sky. There ain't a cloud in sight. It's stopped rainin' everybody's in a play, And don't you know. It's a beautiful new day, hey hey” - Electric Light Orchestra
Mr. Blue Sky, where did you go? Because you have definitely not been shining on my parts of town.
Today, driving through the streets reality struck. Hopes of enjoying a breeze with rolled down windows and relishing in the silky sunlight rapidly dwindled with the smoldering gray choking the air. There wasn't this mistifying aurora like when it's about to rain; it was this uncomfortable smothering of your lung's and nothing pretty to look at. It is easy to preach as an outside observer of environmental issues occurring throughout the world. When it becomes an apparent issue within your hometown, it's saddening to witness.
However, these issues hitting home heightens the awareness of environmental issues that are wreaking havoc across the world.
That being said, what have we been doing people? Seriously, we so easily hide behind computer screens demanding change makes way in the environmental realm. But what progress are WE truly making? Is it our responsibility to demand others make a change or should we make those changes ourselves? One cannot expect others to have this fighting passion for environmental causes if they do not represent the same values as well.
The purpose isn't to make those feel guilty or like they haven't done enough, but hopefully inspire to take further action. In certain circumstances, awareness is simply enough to cause a rippling effect of progress. Awareness is the most basic, instrumental piece to building a solid foundation that drives improvements. Therefore, those animal lovers and nature freaks should be aware of all the environmental issues currently plaguing the lovely Mother Nature.
So, what's happening?
Well, recently the National Geographic released a video across multiple realms of social media. Before diving in, let's take a trip back to the past.
Do you remember those WWF commercials -- the one's depicting distressed polar bears floating along on these melting ice caps? Then, it just seemed like some prediction on a TV screen with these potential statistics. We had a warning, it would take about 40 years for the polar bears to reach their demise. Now, we've seen updates, and clearly, the scientists were correct.
Back to the video, a National Geographic photographer thought it would be in humanity's best interest to share the current status of the polar bears' survival. Breathless, disheartening, and internal disgust were initial thoughts, to say the least.
What are we doing to the planet?
It is difficult enough to deal with environmental issues due to the lack of care on humanity's part but also with the absence of necessary laws to strictly implement change. However, it can be even more trying when the few laws that are in place are being jeopardized.
As Donald Trump recently assumed America's presidency, there has been a significant change in policy, in particular to the environment. For example, many restrictions have been placed on the EPA's authority as well as severe budget cuts. In the most recent news, laws that once protected Elephant's Ivory has been removed.
Protecting Mother Nature is like climbing Mount Everest -- I mean you could wait a few years until the mountain melts down to nothing.
While many environmental issues continue to arise, there is an evident neglect on the attention they receive. Currently, Western America is enduring a tragedy with devastating forest fires. People are losing their homes, and it is tragic. Human life is vitally important, but they news merely highlights what will gain views. In recent reports, there are news stories about beautiful, expensive homes perishing -- that is all. What about the families left without a shelter? What about the animals who can never return to the forest? What about beautiful sky losing it's baby blue glimmer?
Environmental issues will always remain present. However, their severity will increase with the lack of attention given.
Mr. Blue Sky please come back. As for Mother Nature, please be forgiving.