1. Climate Change: A frightening scene on global scale
How frightened I became, when I saw the weather forecaster predicting 79°C temperature for
Stavanger in his 20/12/2015 weather forecasting report. Without further checks and verifications,
I am treating it as a technical error; but what if that was true? And it does not end there, but
spreads across many parts of the globe including where you are! That seems less possible
because it sounds too odd and uncharacteristic. Then, ask yourself whether the climatic
conditions you are observing now are the usual ones you have always been aware of during this
season? Everywhere, the odds are happening and every year new odds are observed as the old
odds become normal.
As a member of MEG 11 group (an international program in Environmental Governance at the
University of Freiburg, of 39 members from 27 countries across the globe), I have read with
many surprises from our common Facebook and Whatsapp pages, astounding climate reports
that these environmentally concerned individuals of MEG 11 reported from their various
destinations whiles on the Christmas holidays. For the purpose of clarity, am sharing with you
some few of these posts (unedited)
No snow on the alpes! How about Norway -Tungi from Hong Kong
5 degrees and pouring rain! It’s the warmest December here ever. Good we’re solving global
warming! –Kristin from Norway
+16 in Dublin yesterday -Colin from Ireland
I knew deforestation is a bullshit –Piotr from Poland
+20 in Granda –Viviana from Colombia
The weather forecast just predicted 79degree Celsius here in Stavanger for tomorrow; it better
be a mistake because I didn’t bring my summer cloths -Kristin from Norway
Where are you, White (snow) Christmas? -Lilian from Finland
The evidences are clear, though there is still some tangling of disagreement among climate
change skeptics. Yes, our climate is changing; in fact, it has already changed beyond marginal

2. thresholds and the situation calls for pragmatic and concerted actions to arrest the run of our
climate into abyss.
You, like many other people today, may call it ‘Climate Change’ but I call it ‘Lifestyle Change’.
The underlying cause of all these frightening observations today is the fact that humanity has
recklessly altered our lifestyle without critically examining the capacity of the Earth on which
these opulent lifestyles are occurring. We have relentlessly ignored scientific cautions against
unlimited industrialization in favor of economic boom and wealth creation. Not too long ago,
humanity ignored concern pleas to cease fire on war and missile explosions in our search for
political and ideological expansion and superiority. Not too long ago, humanity ignored noble
calls for population control in favor of religious and cultural stands, and today, we continue to
ignore valuable calls to correct these lifestyle changes to bring sanity to the human environment
and secure desirable future for ourselves and generations to come.
Any attempt to assess the global climate state, reveals that the present state stands worse to even
the immediate past state. Heartbreaking news, humanity is facing with global epidemic without a
safe hub to hide, the very existence of humanity is threatened and the future is uncertain. We
found ourselves today in a devastating nest of accumulated problems, which means the best time
to act could be some 500 years ago, but thankfully, the next best available time is today and now!
The best thing to do amidst such progressive challenges is not to sit down to fold our arms and
be doing nothing. Also, it will be suicidal to think that a problem which has been caused by all
humanity over generations can be solved by some few institutions occupied by some few
individuals we call experts. It can no longer be viewed as a first world problem; neither can it be
left to be carried by elites in societies. We are all at risk at equal measure.
The call to address global environmental challenges is a call for universal responsibility. It is a
challenge on humanity that we stand together to win at the end or loss together to end the life and
existence of the human species. Happy New Year and see you on the train to fight global climate
change come 2016.
By: Ronny Agyei Yeboah,
CEO (Centre for Environmental Research and Policy Analysis –CERPA)
Student at University of Freiburg, Germany (M.Sc. Environmental Governance)
info@cerpagh.com /+4915218003035
30th
December, 2015.