I found out from Team Vox that today is Blog Action day for Climate Change. I am not exactly the most environmentally conscious person in the world, and I have to admit I can be pretty ignorant about the environment sometimes (I like driving, and I tend to go on the computer for hours and hours every day) but I do know a thing or two about eco-friendliness, or the lack of it, in my home country. So I decided to write a post on climate change.
Just in case you don't know me already, I come from a country called Brunei, which is situated on the Northern part of Borneo in Southeast Asia. My father was born and raised in a village Kampong Ayer, which is the Malay term for Water Village. He grew up in a house on the river, and sometimes had to swim to school because he missed the (water)bus.
When I was younger, I hated going to the Water Village. I used to think the place was stuffy and dirty and I couldn't understand why people considered the place a tourist attraction. But as I grew older, I began to appreciate the place. Especially now that I'm not in Brunei, I long to walk the wooden jetty to my late grandfather's house, just to say hello to everyone who still lives there. Actually, I'm not even sure whether anyone still lives in that house - the last time I went, the place was falling apart. I haven't been there in five years... for the obvious reason that the relationship between my mother and my dad's side of the family has been cut off after my dad passed away. I do drive by the place a lot when I'm in Brunei, but that's only because my father's resting place is outside the village. I don't really go inside the place.
Anyway, I grew to love the place simply because I could imagine living a simple life there. The only thing that I still can't get used to is the amount of garbage being dumped on the river every day. There is no denying that the direct disposal of rubbish into the river has been a habit for the people of Kampong Ayer, because when I was a kid I asked for a rubbish bin and my aunt just laughed and said 'it's there, out the window'. I used to think it was fun to throw empty plastic bottles on the river and watch them float. Sometimes I'd put a note in the bottles and pretend that I needed rescuing. I would have to admit, seeing a bottle float away like that is a beautiful sight, but that's only when the tide is high. When it isn't, the river tends to look like this:
Growing up, I've witnessed a number of cleaning campaign events in Kampong Ayer, but the place just seems to be filled with the same amount of rubbish, and sometimes even more, within days. This is obviously heartbreaking, but it is difficult to blame the residents because most of the time they have no choice. They would either have to let the rubbish accumulate in the homes, or just dispose them into the river. And even if new communal bins have been introduced and there is a house to house rubbish collection service (click here), this might not change the awareness the people of Kampong Ayer have over protecting the river.
Children in schools have been taught how to maintain cleanliness and not throw rubbish into the river, but being in a culture where the child always listens to elderly, and rarely ever vice versa, it could be difficult for them to convince their parents to reuse and recycle products. I know this for a fact because when I was younger it was difficult for me to get my parents to drive me to the recycling plant in Muara to drop off our old newspapers, my old exercise books and some scrap metal. The reason? Because they were too busy. Yeah. Right. More like lazy :P
Laziness is a common problem among Bruneians. Trust me, I am one of them and I know I can be very lazy. I know I would rather go to the Mall and sing on the K-box with my friends than scoop out the garbage sitting on the banks of the Brunei river. I would rather stay indoors, preferably in an air-conditioned room and do whatever, or drive around in my car, which is also air-conditioned.
I know it's bad. But Brunei is a hot and humid country and I don't exactly like to sweat when I don't intend to. And I know a lot of Bruneians prefer an air-conditioner over a ceiling fan. Sometimes they use both. But air-conditioners pollute the air; they emit CFCs which deplete the ozone layer; contributing to global warming. So it really is ironic that while you're trying to cool yourself off, you really are just making the world hotter than it was initially. Perhaps we should all invest in CFC-free air-conditioners the next time they need changing? That would be expensive, obviously, but isn't it better to sacrifice a few extra bucks than to have the entire planet destroyed in the future, right?
And speaking of driving to places like the mall, a lot of our natural forests have been cut down to make way for roads as well as buildings, which really isn't good for the ozone layer either. Sure the country needs development, but most of the time these new buildings are made for businesses. Do we really need more shops? If I were given a chance to vote, I would say no to more shops and yes to more schools and institutional buildings, centres for the disabled or even interactive learning centres. Just imagine a Techniquest in Bandar. One doesn't have to drive all the way to Seria just to visit the OGDC, so even less carbon will be used up. So yeah, if we really do need to cut down more trees to develop the country, we really need to make way for something that can truly benefit the country. More shops will definitely promote competition between businesses, but this will not necessarily be an advantage to the economy... I often notice every time I come home for the summer that the shops I visited the year before have gone out of business.
There needs to be a balance between infrastructural development and natural environment. Maintaining this balance, however, is very tricky. I don't really have the power to stop the people from cutting down the trees to make way for shops, but perhaps I can try limiting my usage of air-conditioners.
Maybe next time I switch on the air-conditioner I will imagine the consequences. It could actually work, this time. Despite the current state the Brunei river is in, I still think Kampong Ayer is beautiful... but it won't be for long if global warming causes it to sink under the rising tides infested with garbage and pollution.
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