Reset Earth

We cannot, at any cost, undermine the damage that the environment has incurred over the past decade

The annually occurring ozone hole that opened up over the Arctic in March 2020 was considered as the biggest and deepest on record yet. Scientists called it “an extraordinary atmospheric phenomenon” as the conditions that triggered it occur in rare circumstances. Thankfully, however, the hole was finally closed up by the end of December due to naturally occurring meteorological conditions that prevented harmful chemicals from mixing.

Even though mankind may temporarily be out of the fix, we cannot, at any cost, undermine the damage that the ozone layer in specific and the environment in general has incurred over the past decade. Nature seems to be foreshadowing an unprecedented climate crisis or perhaps our own extinction event! In such a situation there are two lines of actions that ideally need to be taken. The first is at the international level, where legislation and conventions related to climate change and global warming are passed and ratified in order to reduce the carbon footprint of countries around the world. The second relates to creating climate awareness at a societal and generational level. Since the wound has developed over many rigorous years, the healing process will take time and effort.

The UN seems to be at the forefront of this recovery process. Apart from carefully formulating climate conventions to help protect the environment that have been ratified by around 200 countries across the globe, the organisation has recently developed a mobile video game called Reset Earth to raise awareness and educate the audience about the need to preserve the ozone layer. The game also instills a sense of responsibility in those playing, since the journey takes them back in time to find the cause of mistakes made in the past. Such innovative ideas play a vital role in tackling the issue of climate change in the long run. As the new generations gain more and more awareness about ideas of sustainability and resilience, one can hope that they learn from the mistakes that were made in the past and pave a new way forward.

 

Published in The Express Tribune, February 15^th, 2021.

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