All the measures and agreements made by the governments of the world, all the international events aimed at alleviating the climate crisis, the promises and signatures in defence of our biodiversity and planetary ecosystems, the famous COPs (Conference of the Parties) of the countries that have signed the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) in which millions of euros of public money are being spent on ineffective summits that are only festive meetings, the laws and promises that each government says it is fighting to alleviate climate change? ARE USELESS. Politicians deceive us with their speeches prepared by advisors. The lies and manipulations of their actions led by multinationals, make their words nothing more than a mere announcement on paper. And worst of all,
They have demonstrated this on a continuous basis. It is true that as always, someone will be saved from this complicity and there will be people in the world of politics who will try to change these circumstances. But the political power of interests is so deep-rooted that anyone who steps out of this pattern is undoubtedly forgotten in this globalised world to which we are subjected without being able to advance with dignity towards the human values that could possibly be the banner of our path towards a better and more egalitarian world.
Cover of the book “Silent Planet”.
Dave Goulson, in his book “Silent Planet – the consequences of a world without insects” for me is the continuation of the book “Silent Spring”, courageously written by marine biologist and zoologist Richel Lousi Carson (1907-1964), in 1962 and which was a fundamental milestone in the birth of environmental consciousness and changed the perfection of the world in the face of the depredation of nature by the poisoning of the countryside with pesticides and insecticides harmful, not only to the health of humans, but to all other species.
Dave, in his chapter 11 “The approaching storm”, warns us at the no end that: “It is very easy for a government to make long-term promises, knowing that other politicians will be in charge when it has to justify failure. Just look at what happened in 1992 with the Conference on Environment and Development in Rio de Janeiro. The declaration was signed by almost exactly the same countries (196) that signed the Paris Agreement. At the Rio Conference, our governments promised to halt global biodiversity loss by 2020. The truth is that between 1992 and 2020 there has been the greatest loss of global biodiversity in at least 65 million years. If we want to save the planet, we cannot rely on the void promises of our governments”. How true that is. So, what can we do? Frankly, we would have a very difficult time with the system that is currently in place. There are many interests involved, many unfulfilled promises and a clear and unique objective: power, based on money and the social control of humanity regardless of the consequences of poverty or the destruction of our planet.
Eduardo Costas, professor at the Complutense University of Madrid and Academic of Pharmacy, warns us that extreme temperatures are one of the fastest growing causes of mortality. In his article he makes it clear that from now on we may suffer extreme temperatures with extremely cold days or heat waves that break the data we have so far on temperature. He shows us that he has studied in detail January, from the 1st of the year 2000 to the 31st of December 2019, with a total of 750 different preferences in 43 countries around the world, collecting temperature records and taking notes of the causes of death, accounting for a total in 20 years, more than 130 million people died. On average, the rate of excess deaths due to both extreme heat and cold was 74 deaths per 100,000 population, which equates to more than 5 million deaths per year.
However, with Covid the world was brought to a standstill, but with the climate crisis that 5 million people a year die in extreme heat and cold waves alone, nothing is being done to stop this climate crisis. The facts are what they are and cannot be ignored. And this is only for heat waves, not counting those who die in massive floods, typhoons, landslides and a long etcetera that is becoming alarming.
Extreme heat warnings have been triggered in virtually every part of the world in the Earth’s northern hemisphere, with daytime temperatures on record and tropical night-time heat hazardous to health, according to a statement from the World Meteorological Organisation (WMO). Half of Europe, the United States, parts of Asia and Africa are being affected. John Nairn, an expert from the WMO, said that “night-time temperatures are particularly dangerous to human health because the body is unable to recover from the permanent heat, leading to an increase in heart attacks and deaths”.
But politicians believe that all this comes from heaven and that they are not responsible for all these serious consequences. They ignore or want to do so by washing their hands in lies and in not acting immediately and in cooperation with other administrations to alleviate this mess they have got us into by their incompetence and uselessness.
However, there is a political body that unfortunately is not binding and no country pays any attention to it, such as the United Nations, which continues to direct its press releases warning governments of the climate situation, asking them to take urgent measures, etc.
Photo: Alamy. Félix Diaz, indigenous representative of the native peoples of Formosa Province.
Recently, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Türk, requested all nations of the world to ensure the participation of indigenous peoples in decision-making. He urged national and global institutions to protect indigenous and environmental defenders, recalling that it is they who are on the frontline in the fight against climate change.
Although there are an estimated 476 million indigenous peoples in all regions of the world and they make up 6.2% of the world’s population, they account for 18.2% of the world’s poor. “Yet they survive and thrive with enormous dignity and resilience, the result of wisdom and knowledge acquired from generation to generation. She added that indigenous women are masters of wisdom and are responsible for passing on knowledge between past generations and today’s communities. She said that precisely because of their knowledge and their relationship to the environment, indigenous peoples can help find solutions to remedy the damage caused by the global crisis.
It is necessary, Volker said, to create spaces so that elected representatives of indigenous peoples can enter government councils and create state institutions where they are represented, and he concluded by saying that: “All human rights concern indigenous peoples. And the time has come to ensure that they can participate fully, freely and safely. It is time to move beyond debate to direct and specific action to protect their rights”.
Indigenous leaders and environmental defenders and their activists have been subjected to violence, murder and threats far more frequently in 2022.
It is therefore indifference and unheard of, contempt, that the EU-CELAC (Community of Latin American and Caribbean States) summit, chaired by the Spanish Prime Minister on 17 and 18 July, was not attended by indigenous leaders who have much to say and contribute to dialogue, cooperation, respect and protection of their peoples. Heads of government who are directly responsible for what is happening to the indigenous peoples of their countries, in total disregard for their lives and their peoples, treating them like dirt and ignoring their rights despite the laws they are obliged to respect.
Photo: Felix Diaz. In front of the Casa Rosada where the President of Argentina resides in Buenos Aires, camped for two years and five months requesting to be received by the President.
One example is the treatment received by the leader of the indigenous peoples of the province of Formosa (Northern Argentina) Félix Díaz, who has been camped for two years and five months with a few members of his community in front of the Argentinean government’s Casa Rosada to be received by the President of Argentina, a disgrace that goes against the Argentinean constitution itself, a lack of respect and a crime against humanity, a genocide that is spreading in many countries against the native peoples. Afterwards they have the audacity to have meetings with three governments to talk about cooperation, when they ignore their own citizens.
Photo: Wichi people. Another of their schools, practically out in the open.
The Government of Formosa allows the schools of the Wichi indigenous community to be just two boards covering the roof, with nothing else on the sides, allowing the children to freeze and get wet in winter or on rainy days, trying to kill the indigenous culture and their language, so that the children forget where they come from, as if they were just scum with no rights. And the government opposition laughs at these little schools, if they can be called that, boasting that they have good air conditioning. Pathetic, humiliating and shocking, in a 21st century that seems to have made no progress and that in many places continues to govern as in the 18th century, by means of caciquism, slavery and colonialism, violating the most fundamental human rights.