by Ezekiel Oloriegbe

Created on: February 12, 2008

Why should the world care about the environment in places like Mozambique, Zimbabwe and Rwanda? Why? This question can be split into two parts. In the first part, we can ask, "why should we care about the environment, any environment, anywhere, at all"? for a second part, we can ask, "why should we care about the environment in places as remote as those African Countries mentioned"?

Both parts of the question can have the same answer : "because the environment, anywhere in the world belongs to us". We have a duty to care about, and for, our environment because that is where we have our being. We live in our environment. Just as, as individuals, we care for our dwelling place and immediate environments,as groups,we care for our neighborhood. To carry this train of thought beyond our neighborhood environment, we also care for the environment of our town, our state and our country.We do this because we know it is in our interest, and it is right so to do.

Put in this light, we must ask ourselves, why should we stop the duty of care for our environment at any point? Why not continue to extend this duty of care,beyond our country to our continent, our hemisphere, and finally our world, the planet?

This line of reasoning can be continued beyond our planet, (the beautiful blue marble if viewed from space), and on to our solar system. Our activities have already impacted negatively on the solar system environment. So many man-made items are presently floating about in space, in and around the solar system. And away from space, deep down in the oceans,much of man's debris are lying at the bottom, polluting it.Chemical waste apart, we only need reflect on the wreckage of all the warships man has built over the centuries now resting at the ocean floor.

So, man and his activity have polluted the earth's surface, the atmosphere above it, space, and the oceans.

If we have the capability to disturb and destroy, then we should be able summon the courage to care, and repair. And in this sense, we do not have the moral right to limit ourselves by the geographical and political delimitation we have crafted on the earth's surface which we call countries. We should care for all parts of the globe as much as we can,while we look for ways to reduce the deleterious effects of our space explorations on space.Surely it is not too much to ask of our brilliant scientists to require them to put more effort into space environmental wellbeing in their planning.

In the old days when man knew so

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