The bright side of Haze

The smog hits the lovely island of
Tioman, M'sia on 18th June' 2013

The Pollutant Standards Index (PSI) hits record high in Singapore at 321 last night. As countries around Indonesia are hit by billows of smoke from its burning plantations, pressures has been on Indonesia to do something about this situation. 

Like any problems of this scale, there's always the usual finger pointing to push the blame. Indonesia tries to blame Singapore-owned plantations in Indonesia for the slash-and-burn practices which contributed to the haze. Although it may be hard to conclude who is truly responsible for the ghastly smog, there is a silver lining to these dark clouds.

Without the haze, it is hard to imagine Indonesia to be that close to Singapore and Malaysia--pardon my ignorance in geography. The haze is a tight slap across our cheeks to remind us that our neighbours are very much part of us. In everyday living, it's hard to imagine a farmer in Indonesia, in a land so far away, could have any impact on our lives. It's hard to imagine what they do can be felt here. We would see their lives as their lives and our lives as ours. But the haze proves it's not. Their livelihood is connected to our livelihood.

I am supposed to be doing sales on the streets today. But I'm home because the actions of my Indonesian neighbours made my plan redundant. 

Divided by national boundaries, race and culture, our neighbours and us are united by natural geography. Nature makes no distinction of countries and nationalities. The earth needs to be treated with a sense of share responsibility; we don't live our lives without consequences for others. Our pollutants here is not just our pollutants. Their pollutants there are not just theirs. 

Haze is a manifestation of selfish irresponsibility, the attitude that we don't give a damn about others as long as we earn our keep. 

But so what if I have a billion dollars if this is the earth I am leaving my children and my children's children? We may not live to see them. If we do, what would they say about the mess me made and the livelihood we destroyed? It's a disgrace the way things are. 

Yet the situation today is a reminder of what needs to be done. While humans are fortunate to have the voice and the power to change the history of the world, many others are not so fortunate. The other creatures we share this earth with, they have no voice to protest when we destroy their livelihoods and displace them, perhaps forever.