Welcome to the end of the world... as we know it

Have you watched 2012? Good movie eh? A lil' on the depressing side though - imagine seeing our Merlion fall apart just like the statue of Christ in Rio De Janeiro. On second thoughts, it won't be that depressing after all. Special effects and epic death-defying car/plane/truck-being-chased-by-tectonic-cleavages aside, it really draws parallels with whats happening in the world today. And no, I'm not referring to the conspiracy theories.

In case you haven't read the news, the UN Climate Change Conference 2009 started yesterday in Copenhagen (dubbed Hopenhagen, and with good reason too). The aim? To get the major countries of the world to sign a treaty that binds countries to carbon emissions reduction targets. Its been promising so far, what with the likes of India and China finally taking action, not to mention the very ambitious targets of other countries.

Singapore also pledged to "reduce carbon emissions growth by 16 per cent below the 2020 "business as usual" level".

This all sounds very optimistic and if Hopenhagen 2009 turns out to be a success, it'll pave the way for a more sustainable future. Still, there are some people out there who still believe that climate change a.k.a global warming is a myth. Or perhaps ongoing actions to cut emissions are threatening their interests, personal or otherwise. Whatever the case, the recent hacking of climate researchers' emails (http://www.nytimes.com/2009/11/21/science/earth/21climate.html) just provides climate skeptics with more ammunition. The emails "show that climate scientists conspired to overstate the case for a human influence on climate change."

Bullshiat. Even 10 year old kids are acknowledging climate change.

Which brings me back to 2012. Imagine a conspiracy that is happening right now, exactly like in the movie. Information blackout. Researchers who tried to let the world know - assassinated. Governments around the world forced to keep quiet. We'd all be living our happy lives, oblivious to the effects our actions are having on the climate. Until its too late.

Scary thought eh?

Still, there are some aspects from the movie that are sadly, missing from our world today. Swift, decisive action is one of them. Now is the perfect time for that, instead of sticking to the "if he does it, then I'll do it" mentality. The problem is, and has always been, time. The effects of climate change require time, time that most of us will have probably lived out and died. Imagine how things would change if those brilliant scientists say the world will warm 3 degrees in another 2 years time.

We need action. And we need it now.

http://www.hopenhagen.org/home/map

Best we can do now its hope.

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Back to my Modern Warfare 2. Not exactly the most environmentally friendly holiday activity, but hey, at least I'm not flying all over the world (I wish).