Dear editor,
Thank you for a very well written article, ``Environment Needs Greater Attention," published in The Korea Times on Sept. 25.
Global student reporter Han Seung-hun wrote, ``Now the Earth has reached the point where she has to punish her children to disillusion us from the illusion of material happiness."
Is not the recent Wall Street meltdown an indicator of this very punishment?
As Lester Brown says, everyone thinks that growth is a bicycle, and if we slow down, the bicycle will fall over, spilling humanity onto the street. But as you and me both know, this is not the case.
But who will convince President Lee Myung-bak of this reality?
As Han mentioned, the narwhal and polar bears are indicator species of the health of the arctic ecosystem.
Well, that ecosystem is rapidly collapsing, with the number of bears and narwhals rapidly dwindling. Some scientists estimate that the Arctic will be ice free in the summer in another five years.
For big oil companies, however, this is a godsend. Now they can go in and plunder the resources more easily. Sarah Palin, governor of Alaska, should be happy.
I have contacted The Korea Times about hiring a full-time writer to cover environmental affairs, to devote some serious column inches to covering the state of the environment in not only Korea but the world.
I am talking about a ``Green Column," or ``Green Desk," or ``State of the Earth Report." It could be published monthly, or every two weeks.
It would inform the masses on key issues such as pollution levels, resource depletion around the world, human induced stress on the environment, future trends, future crises or hot spots, alternative energy development, alternative lifestyle choices and so on.
Rick Ruffin
Gangneung
Gangwon Province
.