How Green are We

This photo was taken by Zimah of two baby birds on one of our mango tree. It is so nice to see that we are living in harmony with all the animals around us, even to the point that we sometimes hardly ever had the chance to taste our mango fruits because of the ever clever and quick primates that live in the nearby forest.

Talking about primates, the proboscis monkey came to light. Lately a stretch of pristine mangrove forest had to be cleared to allow for widening of a water channel to prevent flooding upstream. What might be a perfectly good reason, the lack of other basic effort and eco planning could come into question. The point is whenever a housing project or shopping buildings are built; the first thing that is done is to cut down trees in a wholesale manner and to flattened the whole land. That is the current unfortunate trend of developers, this is then followed by the growing use of treeless fields.

There is no eco-planning or any visible sign of sustainable development implemented. Prove me if I am wrong. It is so much so that our shopping complexes are very dull and a ring of hard concrete, unwelcoming and always hot with hardly any trees for shades or beauty. Just walk around in Kuilap, Serusop or any shopping places to prove the point. Perhaps if only planners and developers alike could just consider the planting of proper trees. It is amazing to discover what difference a tree could make to reduce noises or throw shade to reduce heat especially from the afternoon sun. Everyone will agree that a single shade tree can also make a very great difference in the comfort and beauty of a place.

And here we are proud of our vast undisturbed and pristine forests. And yet every day we are chopping down and destroying our eco system, many still hasn't got a clue what recycling is all about, and we are amongst the highest user of energy per-capita. Are we the right people to inherit this piece of earth's paradise?