Saltwater Wells in My Eyes

As alluded to earlier, something sinister is happening to our environment. Mankind's multiple abuses - deforestation, overfishing, water and sea pollution, depleting fossil fuels and excessive carbon (greenhouse gas) emissions - have led to severe environmental degradation. More than 2,000 top environmental scientists have alluded that we are at the start of a major and irreversible climactic catastrophe.

Global warming (by as much as 6 degrees Celcius over the next 100 years), rising sea levels (up to 50 cm in the next century), shrinking tropical islands, melting glacial ice, and depleting of natural forest cover. These have affected entire communities and led to massive disasters in recent times like floods, mudslides, hurricanes, and numerous pollution related illnesses.

Are we safe here in Singapore? After all, we did escape from the brunt of it all in recent years.

Well, I seemed to sense that something was amiss today. Perhaps I am just paranoid but somehow things felt a little different.

First the sky seemed to be overcast the entire day yet without any occurrence of rain or haze. This was peppered with strong gusts of winds that made walking in the mid day rather pleasant and cool. Certainly February isn't the hottest month of the year, but neither is it usually this balmy.



Sea levels seem to be rising as seen in this photograph of East Coast Park taken this morning. Water washed over the concrete embankment and looked as if they may cover the entire shoreline. Perhaps it could just be normal high tides but I noticed that sea levels are visibly higher these days compared to years ago.



The rising tides have also led to the nearby canal being dangerously full of water. All it could take are a few hours or continuous rain before the spectre of floods dawns upon us yet again.



Is the situation so desperate that we have to break down and cry?


Ethan asking his papa to carry him.

I guess Julian Lennon's hit Saltwater (1991) best sums up what appear to be happening in this day and age:

"We are a rock revolving
Around a golden sun
We are a billion children
Rolled into one

So when I hear about
The hole in the sky
Saltwater wells in my eyes

We climb the highest mountain
We'll make the desert bloom
We're so ingenious
We can walk on the moon

But when I hear of how
The forests have died
Saltwater wells in my eyes

I have lived for love
But now that's not enough
For the world I love is dying
(And now I'm crying)

And time is not a friend
(No friend of mine)
As friends we're out of time
And it's slowly passing by .. yy .. yy
Right before our eyes

We light the deepest ocean
Send photographs of Mars
We're so enchanted by
How clever we are

Why should one baby
Feel so hungry she cries
Saltwater wells in my eyes

I have lived for love
But now that's not enough
For the world I love is dying
(And now I'm crying)

And time is not a friend
(No friend of mine)
As friends we're out of time
And it's slowly passing by … yy … yy
Right before our eyes

We are a rock revolving
Around a golden sun
We are a billion children
Rolled into one

What will I think of me
The day that I die
Saltwater wells in my eyes

Saltwater wells in my eyes"

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