The whole world has been stunned by the pandemic that struck so suddenly, leaving no time to protect ourselves. What’s more, we don’t know how the disaster evolved. It started in Wuhan, China, and spread rapidly in just two months to the whole world. Today, 3 million have contracted the disease and more than 200,000 lives have been lost. Covid-19 is sowing extreme confusion as even the strongest powers, the most dominating nations, each with their own aspirations to reshape the world, have been rendered completely helpless.
Today’s pandemic is just a part of the severe ecological crisis we cause ourselves every single day. Activities like deforestation, wildlife hunting and trading, the destruction of our river systems, indiscriminate littering and environmental pollution are permanently wounding our planet. Humanity itself has created this huge bombardment of catastrophes and nobody knows if our lives will be even more painful and disastrous tomorrow.
We must remember that everyone is treated equally in the eyes of nature. There are no better or worse choices when faced with natural disasters. Rich or poor, high or low class, tall or short, we will all share the same fate under the fury of heaven and earth. The pandemic also strongly reminds us that nothing in the world is more important than our health and, without good health, money and fame are both completely evanescent.
With this in mind, what must work together to save our lives, not individually. We must stop the destruction of our mountains, forests, rivers and oceans immediately and go back to green. We must ensure that everyone on Earth understands that we must conserve each morsel of food, every drop of water, each breath of fresh air, all gifts that Mother Nature has bestowed on us.
We must work even harder to create truly green lives, primarily based on all we breathe, eat or drink, in all our minor daily activities, all from natural, clean and original sources. We must immerse our lives in a green environment, cohabitating with nature, with our rivers, lakes, plants and trees, using transportation with low polluting emissions. We must adopt green habits, demonstrating our awareness of protecting the environment every day. We must exploit the use of natural light, conserve electricity, switch off unused devices and limit plastic use.
By living green, everyone will repair Mother Nature’s wounds with their own hands, with the simplest stitching. Living green in its purest form is working closely together humanistically. To achieve this, human love, a love for humanity and a love of nature are timeless values. We will survive the disease. As in the past, each natural disaster will make those loves increasingly stronger. Adversity, in any context, is a test for us to reassess one another. It is an alarm bell telling us to face up to a new reality.
Start Your Green Life Today!
THE DTU BOARD CHAIRMAN
DISTINGUISHED TEACHER AND HERO OF LABOR LE CONG CO
(Media Center)