Global Warning: the world needs to act now

The current argument raging in the press, amongst world leaders and between the leading academics of our time over whether global warming exists or not seems remarkably strange to me and my friends. You see, when we were in school, from year seven in our science classes, it was taught to us as fact. It was only as i grew older and started to read the newspaper did i realise that not all people believed the world's climate was changing. It was astonishing to me that people like George Bush could deny it was happening when I (in seventh grade terms but still) had been taught the science behind it. I never questioned it all. In year eight geography we were taught the difference between renewable and non renewable sources of energy and the need to switch from oil to more sustainable resources. For one project, we were split into groups and each given one of the main sources of renewable energy (wind, wave, solar, tide, etc), told to research them and then give a presentation and argue why our one was best. (It obviously had an impact as I was given wind, and these days we have a wind turbine and our weekend are spent trying to see how much energy we could get from them.) It seems only now has the most powerful country in the world started to actually accept what is happening (behind my school!) and to realise the extent this crisis will reach.

But what about the Muslims? There are a minority of Muslims that realise the danger, but as per usual they are largely behind the rest of the world. You'd think the religious countries (whether it be Christian, Jewish or Muslim) having being told by God to take care of his planet and his people, would be the first on this issue? But no. Then again considering it is the Muslim countries that are the oil-producing ones and the ones that have the most to lose from people switching away from oil, perhaps its not surprising.

We here at Empowering Us realise what a HUGE issue it is, and so to mark the importance of the environment and climate change, (and how Muslims need to be made more aware of it) Wide Awake, Abu Funza and I have decided to devote the rest of the week to posts and articles in this area. We can only pray that our readers will take something away, spread the word and the world will change before it is too late. (Not to end on a glum note or anything....)