FOR long the vital Kyoto Protocol on greenhouse emissions resulting in global warming and threatening our planet earth has been in somewhat of a quagmire with USA refusing to give its stamp of consent to the process. At a recent UN conference on the Protocol, sponsored by Canada, and which turned out to be the Montreal marathon, America was finally brought back into the fold and she agreed to “discuss” issues at stake. As the largest industrial nation responsible for highest degree of greenhouse emissions, US' participation in the Kyoto Protocol bears considerable significance. It will not only encourage the nations participating in the process but will also send the right signal to such emerging industrial giants as China (already second to the USA as a polluter), Central Asia and India.

In addition to cutting back on carbon-monoxide levels, emphasis should be laid on finding ways and means of alternative fuel and energy sources both for industrial and other uses other than coal or petroleum products. Development of alternative sources of energy will help reduce the demand for, and marketing of, the traditional sources of fuel and energy for industrial use thereby automatically bringing down gashouse emissions. In this again, the major industrial nations will have to take the lead.

In the meantime, we remain seriously concerned at the progressive degradation of our environment at home, although it is of a different dimension. Manmade depletion of forests has reached an alarming stage. The scourge of land grabbing and illegal raising of structures through reclaiming of lands by filling up vital water bodies including raising of unauthorised structures on the banks of our rivers have not only seriously affected the natural course of the rivers but also contributed to the degradation of our overall environment in more ways than one. No tokenism or lipservice on the part of our government can ameliorate the domestic environmental situation.