IT IS true that the world is suffering ecologically and the global climate has undergone inconceivable changes. On top of that, the erratic behaviour of our own environment is proof enough that the world ecology is disturbed. Winter is shortened beyond imagination in Bangladesh, summers have become intolerably long and intense and even monsoons often cross the limit to turn into disasters. Of course, the reasons for concern are there and it is a well-documented fact that the icecaps are melting and emissions have reached beyond imagination. Relevant to mention, the United Kingdom experienced one of the warmest days in winter for a long time recently.
   With repeated articles on the possible rise of the global water level, almost all of us are aware that, in the near future, countries that are low lying – and that include Bangladesh – will be under water. For the world, the picture is also grim because every week there is something that links itself to the degeneration of the environment and concludes, inevitably, with harrowing predictions. Already we know that deforestation and other forms of environmental degradation going on the world will turn earth into a living hell and this prediction comes in various manifestations from images of desolate barren lands to pictures of the world under water. Not a very nice thing to know and live with because once we know or are fed with images of absolute and irreversible gloom, we may be too frustrated to even give it a try to make things better.
   Well, this aspect has never been looked into until now and all of a sudden we have this brand new coinage called climate porn. In basic terms, this means sensationalising and going on a hyperbole about the catastrophic events that may happen as climate change is on and as man continues to wreak havoc on nature. Of course, it can be argued that unless people are given a jolt there will not be any positive action and that does have a basis. But, what about taking the issue a bit too far and drawing apocalyptic images, which instead of motivating us to change habits, leave us resigned to destiny? A report from the Labour-leaning Institute for Public Policy Research, based in the UK, says ‘overuse of alarming images is a counsel of despair.’ It also adds by saying that extreme images make people feel helpless and that the use of cataclysmic imagery is partly commercially motivated.
   Now, it is in fact true that in the world of media it is only the shocking and the nerve shattering that attract our attention and if predictions of possible disasters of the carnage of ecology are toned down then they may not attract any attention and may peter out without any impact. Take, for instance, the HIV issue. The first image that the world saw and remembered of the fatal side of HIV was when Rock Hudson, the famous Hollywood star, was dying of the virus in front of a media machine in action. That was back in the mid-1980s and it was that death that woke millions of common people to the impending danger of AIDS. Naturally, the commercial side of the matter cannot be overlooked but that is what media is. Just after cyclone Sidr, a few papers saw increased circulation because their images were more profound than the ones published by others. Perhaps these images were too graphic but they captured the enormity of the situation.
   But, do these examples justify printing images of doom and gloom when ecology is concerned? The IPPR’s head of climate change Simon Retallack, who commissioned the report from communication specialists Gill Ereaut and Nat Segnit, said, ‘We were conscious of the fact that the amount of climate change coverage has increased significantly over the last few years, but there had been no analysis of what the coverage amounted to and what impact it might be having.’ After analysing 600 newspaper and magazine articles, as well as broadcast news and adverts, they concluded that coverage touched several distinct areas:
   Alarmism: characterised by images and words of catastrophe
   Settlerdom: in which ‘common sense’ is used to argue against the scientific consensus
   Rhetorical scepticism: which argues the science is bad and the dangers hyped
   Techno-optimism: the argument that technology can solve the problem
   A famous newspaper published the following lines while discussing climate change: ‘the awesome truth is that we are the last generation to enjoy the kind of climate that allowed civilisation to germinate, grow
   and flourish since the start of settled agriculture 11,000 years ago.’ It definitely has punch and the impact of that will be monumental, but certain people argue that instead of driving us towards steps to redress this scenario, this apocalyptic prediction leaves us hopeless. Many believe such linguistic treatment is justified given the gravity of the situation surrounding climate change.
   Well, as this debate goes on, it is perhaps best to take a middle stance. Of course, the world’s climate has suffered and the two great wars, senseless cutting of trees and ceaseless destruction of natural habitat have done their part to rock the environmental foundation, but it is not right that the future for us only holds a grim end. We can make it bright again and the sun need not be portrayed as a great ball of fire scorching and drying up the world. A small example becomes necessary here. Just after Sidr, we saw typical media hyperbole in action when many papers reported that the devastation and carnage over Sunderban would take 50 years to fix. But only recently we have read many reports as to how the healing of the forest has already begun in nature’s own way. Fifty years? Logic does not say that.
   Similarly, when destruction of ecology is portrayed, very little is said on what can be done to reverse it or what is being done to counter it. The IPPR report also states that although the media, government and NGOs discuss individual actions that can impact greenhouse gas emissions, such as installing low-energy bulbs, there is a dissonance in scale as the common tendency is to blow up the problems and tone down the solutions. And the belief that such relentless bombardment of negative images would eventually leave us disenchanted is not incorrect because it is common human nature that when we sense that there is no hope ahead, we leave ourselves to whatever that may happen.
   But honestly, is the situation that bad? In Bangladesh, environmental devastation has been criminal but there are efforts to counter that. Regrettably, these efforts are never given the front-page splash. We see large photos of brick factories belching black smoke, contaminated water
   from leather tanneries ending up in the river, industrial pollutants being disposed off in the water bodies and garbage being dumped recklessly. However, even though these problems persist, there are attempts to rectify them too. Mindless disposal of waste in the city has reduced, increased number of gas-driven vehicles has resulted in fresher air in the capital and massive tree planting moves were taken by government and non-government bodies. In fact, many of the parks in the capital that lay in a state of dereliction a few years ago are now green havens for people seeking fresh air and some open environment. So, why don’t we also focus our attention on these too? Greenpeace managed to stop a whaling ship from operation and it’s events like these that will instil in us that the world can be saved and no, we are not destined for an end of despair.