Despite global warming being agreed upon by climatologists for several decades, not all world leaders are convinced of the disastrous possible consequences of this phenomenon.
Last year, at the Copenhagen climate summit, national leaders failed to come up with a legally binding agreement to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
Conflicts of national interest prevented them from thinking globally, whereas global warming knows no national boundaries, and global thinking is absolutely needed to solve the problem.
Greenhouse gases, as well as other gaseous pollutants, move from one place to another in the earth's atmosphere.
Carbon dioxide molecules from a forest burning in Sumatra and Kalimantan may reach Malaysia's and Singapore's air in the same day. Sulfur dioxides from power plants and factories in the US result in acid deposition in eastern Canada.
Thousands of lakes in Scandinavian countries such as Norway and Sweden are poisoned by acid deposition, the precursors of which come from other European countries.
After the meltdown of the Chernobyl nuclear power plant in the former Soviet Union, European countries lost millions of dollars to the fallout, which affected crops and livestock. In all, 20 countries were dusted with cancer causing radiation.
Pollutants not only travel through space, affecting neighboring countries, but also through time. Chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) escaping from sprayers, refrigerators and air conditioners reach the stratosphere within few years, destroying the ozone layer.
The molecules may stay there for 75 to 100 years and can spread all the way around the globe. The ratification of international agreements such as the Montreal Protocol have been successful in curtailing the production of ozone depleting compounds.
Even so, the ozone layer will continue to deteriorate for another 50 to 100 years before it starts to recover (Chiras and Reganold, 2005).
All countries in the world share the earth's atmosphere. Seas and oceans are shared by many countries and many rivers flow through several countries. Water can also move from one country to another through a global cycle.
All countries in the world are connected to each other by air and water. Solving global environmental problems, therefore, requires cooperation among countries. Acting selfishly in the name of narrow-minded nationalism, will result in global environmental deterioration, which will, in turn, negatively impact all countries.
Even if each country varies in vulnerability to an environmental disaster such as global warming, the less susceptible countries must also bear responsibility to prevent environmental catastrophe.
If the natural resources of a country are so depleted that they can no longer support the population's need, or the environment is extremely deteriorated and no longer habitable, or the land is inundated due to the rising sea water level, there will be an exodus of refugees to neighboring countries.
There will be much more boat people than we have today, trying to live in wealthier countries that have sufficient natural resources, a stable environment and job opportunities.
The, social, political and economic problems resulting from the massive influx of refugees will carry tremendous burden. To varying degrees, every country will suffer.
We must act together to attack the root of most environmental problems, that is consumption of natural resources. The two most important factors contributing to the increase of consumption are population growth and wasteful consumption.
Each person needs resources to live. More people mean more resources needed. The processing of resources in every human activities results in waste.
More consumption means more waste. Greenhouses gases are an example of waste. The impact of population growth on the environment is exacerbated by peoples' extravagant lifestyles. The rich consume resources far beyond their needs for a decent living.
For example, a celebrity travels between countries on a private jet, when commercial airlines are available. Since the rich and famous are often emulated by others, more and more people consume more resources than they could possibly need.
High rates of population growth are mostly found in poor countries, whereas those who lead wasteful lives are found in wealthy countries.
Americans, for example, disproportionately consume more resources than almost everyone else on Earth.
Despite the US's population making up less than 5 percent of the global total, it consumes 30 percent of the world's resources (Chiras and Reganold, 2005). To save the Earth, poor countries must curb population growth and the rich nations must relinquish their wasteful lifestyles.
People who are lucky enough to be ale to afford a luxurious life should think about what impacts they are having on the environment. As they have more money, advanced science and technology, rich countries must help the poor control population growth and eliminate poverty as these two related factors are major causes of environmental degradation.
Poor and rich countries must work together to create a better world, where resources are distributed more fairly to ensure that every person on the world can afford basic needs.
All nations share one earth, the only habitable planet that we know of. We share responsibilities to keep it habitable, not only for our generation but also for the next generation. The looming global environmental catastrophe caused by global warming necessitates cooperation among nations.
No nation will be completely safe, if we fail to prevent this calamity. Acting selfishly in the name of national interests will jeopardize the future of humankind on Earth. To save the Earth, or rather humans on Earth, altruism is absolutely needed.
The writer is a lecturer at Forestry Department, University of Bengkulu.
