How to prioritise Global Warming amongst a myriad of other critical issues in Sri Lanka?

There has been so much focus and reports written, meetings held and world conferences to address the threats that are coming with global warming. It is clear that the world is changing drastically and measures need to be taken now, but how on earth do global citizens address this massive challenge in reality? How can Sri Lanka begin to tackle this when all our resources are going into the war? We are already facing unpredictable weather and the destabilisation of our natural resources upon which people rely on for their livelihoods and very existence. We are seeing the loss of lands and homes due to an increase in destructive natural phenomena, widespread loss of livelihoods and a general deterioration of health and increased disease. It is very saddening to know that most of this deterioration in our beautiful environment has been forced upon us by inappropriate development ideals and pressures to become more like the west. And so the high rise buildings, air con super centres, mega hydro electric schemes and coal power parks keep growing. There is mass deforestation replaced with completely unsuitable reforestation programmes using resource hungry plant varieties which leach the land. The list is endless. How to we tackle this? The buzzwords circling the big meetings in big hotels are all about diversification, mitigation and adaptation but what is it that people themselves feel they can do? What can they do when they have so many other priorities on a daily basis? Bring the veddha’s to the table, the fisherfolk, the farmers and paddy cultivators and see what they have to say. It can be tackled, we have the resources and the awareness to move things along, but it is almost like a change of mindset that is required, to make people stop and think about the consequences of all the actions. We at the Green Movement believe that this change of mindset can happen in Sri Lanka, and that we must try to live in accordance with the middle path in a peaceful and mindful way, to change our materialistic and unsustainable life patterns. Of course this is certainly not the only way but it is a good foundation upon which to work on.