Seventeenth International Conference on Climate Change: Impacts & Responses

Abstract

There has been a remarkable, loss of African trees, some of which have disappeared for good. There are many causes for the loss. I focus my attention on cutting trees to make room for cash crops such as coffee and tea plants. In addition to contributing to erosion and introducing chemicals that impoverish the soil, pollute the water and air, living beings that are nourished by plant life have died out and some birds and animals have become extinct or have moved on other areas–areas that have been shrinking. The cash that has been generated is not only negligible but has not been able to meet demands for food or for shelter. Widespread poverty has been a part of this tree devastation. This is happening in other rural areas in the world. Most of this information is evidently known particularly in the rural parts of Africa. There have been many attempts to counter this destructive trend. The possibility of emigration is of the poor to wealthy is present. Unfortunately, for understandable reasons, wealthier nations are closing their border and making it next to impossible for the poor to emigrate. The poor cannot afford to take advantage of the few available opportunities. What is needed is prioritization of tree planting as advocated by Wangari Mathaai of Kenya. Due to world-wide institutionalization of greed this call lands on deaf ears. We live at an age when money has become a world-wide religion. Today, money is god. We need radical atheism.