By Joe Kingsley Eyiah, Teacher of Brookview Middle School, Toronto

Today, April 22, 2009 is celebrated the world over as EARTH DAY. The Obama’s administration in the United States of America (USA) since the beginning of this year has brought a major shift in USA’s policy towards the environment for good. Many other developed countries are being persuaded by the recent change in USA to be more responsible towards mother-EARTH. Destroy the environment and we destroy our lives! Preserve the environment and we enjoy our lives to the full! Unfortunately, to many people the preservation of the environment means stifling of physical development in the area. What a sad misconception! Today, the challenge of creating and maintaining a sustainable environment is probably the single most pressing issue that confronts our planet-earth. From North America to Africa, our changing environment has resulted in numerous environmental problems on our hands. What are some of the causes of these environmental problems? And how do we solve these problems to save our environment? Over the years, physical development and human activities have posed a great danger to our environment. Industrial pollution, deforestation, over population, unauthorized construction and dumping of waste in surface waters, to mention a few, have brought degradation to the environment threatening our very existence on the planet earth. Reports have it that at least 170 facilities that handle chemicals, including substances that are toxic or flammable, are scattered across Toronto. And that many of these facilities are close to schools, play grounds and some of the most heavily populated areas of the metropolitan. Sadly, most residents have no idea what chemicals are being used in their neighborhoods or whether adequate precautions are being taken in case of emergency. In Accra-Ghana, some developers have constructed unauthorized buildings in and across the drainage of the city. The result is lost of property and lives during heavy rainfall as the Accra metropolitan becomes flooded. The world’s human population surpassed 6 billion in 1999. This will double by 2020 should the trend of population explosion continue. “The increasing population is placing a non sustainable stress on the environment, as humans consume ever-increasing quantities of food and water, use more and more energy and raw materials, and produce enormous amounts of waste and pollution,” says a World Population Report published by Saunders College. The Amazon in South America and the equatorial forests of Africa are losing most of their fora and fauna species to deforestation.

Managing Our Environment: “Cleanliness is next to godliness.” I personally believe in this axiom. How clean we keep our environment shows how responsible we are to the Creator-God! The Creator put man in the first environment on earth-the Garden of Eden and instructed man to keep it. How are we keeping our environment? As human settlements develop into cities like Accra in Ghana and Toronto in Canada, garbage disposal management becomes crucial. Such management if neglected or poorly handled leads to environmental hazard. This is where recycling becomes important and the responsibility of all residents. I’m heartened to learn that as part of a plan to improve recycling rates at apartment building in Toronto, the City is making sure that all buildings receiving city garbage collection also receive recycling collection. All buildings in Toronto are now on the program. Good for Toronto! I hope Accra learns from Toronto’s experience. Another area is managing our air and water. We have to prevent or minimize air and water pollution. Pollution is an unwanted change in the atmosphere, water or soil that can harm humans or other organisms. Though many governments have made legislation/regulations controlling pollution in their countries, we have an obligation as concerned citizens of the planet-earth wherever we are to be the watchdogs of the environment. Unfortunately, there are no rules requiring Canadian companies to disclose all the chemicals they use in the manufacture of products ranging from cleaning solvents to shingles and plastics. Many workers at such factories and residents close to the factories may be at risk. I therefore call on the Canadian government to set aside the self-regulation of Canada’s chemical industry and put in place rules that will require all Canadian companies to make public all the chemicals they use in manufacturing their products.

Wildlife and Tourism: Africa is fast losing its wildlife to poaching. Illegal hunting of game in most reserves in Africa is vanquishing the continent’s wildlife. It is very important for African governments to use education and enforcement of laws to protect our wildlife. For example, Banff in the province of Albert, Canada has large reserves and conservation of wildlife by the Canadian government. Such protection of the environment at Banff and other parks in Canada brings in millions of dollars to the Canadian economy through tourism each year. Many tourists enjoy the opportunities for camping and viewing wildlife found in Canada. In 1999 only the Americans made over 15 million trips to Canada. They accounted for 66% of the tourist spending in Canada. African governments should take the protection of our vast wildlife seriously to attract millions of tourists to the continent every year. That’s money! We should also make people who exploit our forest for timber plant and nurture3 trees for every tree they fell. We must save our environment from further pollution and degradation at the hands of selfish industrialists, developers and poachers.

Appeal: It is now more crucial than before to intensify education on the need to save the planet earth. Human beings are fast neglecting their responsibility toward making their natural environment more habitable. We are destroying, day in and day out, the very things-air, trees, animals, water and other earth resources, which are vital to our existence on earth.

Much could be said but space would not allow all to be said here. I would therefore use the love of planting trees during Earth Day celebrations by kids to encourage schools and churches to promote education on the benefits of trees to human beings among their students and congregations.

Tree planting should not be done alone during Earth Day, especially in tropical countries like Ghana where the weather is permissible most year round. We should not only plant trees but also care for the trees we plant.

Parents and teachers have the responsibility to be examples to our kids. We must therefore take active interest in preserving our natural environment wherever necessary. Schools must establish environmental clubs for their students. Parents could also encourage their kids to join these clubs where they exist. The adage is, "CATCH THEM YOUNG".

I would also like to send a strong appeal to multinational companies and individual developers to stop destroying our forests for "so-called development". There must be a balance between development and preservation of our natural resources. Anyone who cut a tree for economic reason must plant two trees as replacement and nurture them till the trees can grow on their own. The Amazon basin and most of tropical Africa have fallen as victims to the unscrupulous lumbering activities.