A Very Inconvenient Truth

Marine biologist Dr Toh Tai Chong has an important message for you, says DARREN HO

- Darren Ho

THIS IS THE age of wisdom and of foolishness. It’s the epoch of belief and incredulity. But before we go any further, Dr Toh Tai Chong of the Reef Ecology Lab at National University of Singapore and a cofounder of non-profit organisation Our Singapore Reefs (OSR) has one thing to tell the world: Climate change is real, and it’s occurring right now. At his speech at the SeaKeepers Asia gala last month, he spoke about a seaside community in Bangladesh, that’s existed for generations, that’s being eradicated by the effects of climate change. “Often, the people hit hardest by the real-world consequences of climate change are the poorest and least able to adapt to the impact of a warming world,” he remarked.

This is one of the problems when it comes to trying to cap the effects of climate change in the world. More often than not, the carbon polluters and contributors that have led us to this state are multinational corporations owned by the wealthy and influential, who do not experience the effects of global warming. Instead, that yoke is hoisted onto the shoulders of poor communities in less-developed economies, intensifying their daily struggle for survival.