Scaling the Thermometer a Celsius a Day

No one can deny that the world is getting hotter day by day. Although I come from an ASAL region – Ukambani to speak – we have a myth that whoever is rained on gets taller. Am I a specimen in evidence of this? I don’t know but at least I know that I played and danced in the rain countless times in my formative years. Those who are close to me know that I would give anything for a wet weather! I mean, there is no way I would exchange a muddy, rain soaked terrain for a hot, dusty one.

It must be the influence from having been raised in a dry land. But that is not my point here. We are progressively experiencing the coastal weather even though we are located on the highlands. We have listened to debates about global warming but we seem to care less. So who is going to save us from all the heat – and I mean this one literally with all the pun intended?

When I first came to Nairobi in mid 90s, I was awed by the aura and the weather patterns. The months of June and July were perpetually wet almost having drizzles throughout. What has happened then? From a layman’s perspective I now believe that global warming is a reality. Men, you just can’t walk around comfortably anymore. You will be scorched by the heat and a couple of steps away you will be covered in a thin layer of dust. During those years when I first habited Nairobi, a hot day like today would be graced with late afternoon showers to moderate the heat and the dust.

Currently, we have witnessed persistent hot days without a change in the skies. It is becoming progressively difficult to see clouds up in the sky. What are we doing to Mother Nature? It reminds me that for every small bit of waste I drop about recklessly, every tap I leave running or lights I leave on, I characteristically take part in the slow death of the lifeline of the future generation. At times I wonder is this the place of cool waters that the Maasai community discovered.

I mean, the nights are warmer, more humid and no one can contest the fact that we will soon be unenviably tempted to sleep in our birth suits – in the nude so to speak! I miss Prof. Wangari Maathai and her unassailable love for trees. How I wish that I would demonstrate just one percent of the courage that she had in fighting for the restoration of Kenyan forests. Can somebody please tell me if there are policies in government structures meant for the preservation of natural habitats!

For the communities that have nurtured their culture selfishly, one can glean the truth that there is a dialectic relationship between a peoples’ culture and the preservation of the environment. I am no cultural agent for teaching of local tongues but neither am I one to take a bullet for those blowing their whistles loudest in deterring the inculcation of mother tongues amongst the children. All I am saying is that communities that are proud of their mores are also proud of the cultural regulations governing the use and management of natural resources.

Kwa hakika, mwacha mila ni mtumwa! We are now spending lots of millions of shillings begged from foreign cultures who seem more concerned about our environment than we are to talk about the effects of global warming. The truth is that these communities are more worried about themselves than us. Ironically, they also seem to have more forest cover than we do! I will not be surprised if a medic releases statistics demonstrating that the high rate of lifestyle diseases is directly proportional to how we have vandalised the environment.

I am penning this as a reminder to myself that I should do something about environmental conservation. It is a tribute to my nostalgic moments about those years ago when I would walk around the streets of Nairobi with my shoulders hunched and my hands clasped tightly across my chest to ward off the cold of chilly Nairobi weather. Call me a romantic I will not deny. But neither will I deny that we have given Mother Nature a raw deal and she is pissed off with humanity. If and when she decides to retaliate remains for all to see. Turkana is a good example.

It is a good example of our avaricious appetite in destroying the environment. It is a great illustration of the thermodynamics taking place in the thermometer of weather patterns. The tick tock of the clock is a plea to us that we need to pay attention to the rise and rise of temperatures and sea levels. The Celsius or is it Fahrenheit is being calibrated differently everyday and we need to be worried. May be the weather has a telepathic feel of some sort because as I wrap up on this I can smell the soil signifying some rain drops have fallen on the dusty streets of Nairobi. May it rain oh Lord, may the flood gates of heaven open!