A CHANGE OF HABIT

by Desmond Kelly

Because, as a very proud ex-Sri Lankan, and now, an equally proud Australian for the past half a century, at least, I do feel that I have the right of “telling it like it is” without fear or favour, so, to the many thousands of eLanka readers, I now give you “A CHANGE OF HABIT”

With no reference to any “Nunnery”, whatsoever, THIS  “change of habit” has EVERYTHING to do with BOTH SRI LANKA & AUSTRALIA (the two Countries I care most, about).

Sri Lanka, Australia, & for that matter, everywhere, on this PLANET of ours, “the flavour of the PAST FEW YEARS has been “CLIMATE-CHANGE”. Everyone wants everyone else to, (in simple terms), cut-down on the unnecessary pollution that is being spewed out into the atmosphere right now. SUDDENLY, our World has been “given to understand” that, unless we STOP polluting the atmosphere forthwith, in another half century (or thereabouts), it is going to be impossible to live on a hot, dried-out, desolate Earth, a veritable Gobi-style desert of a place, with no “Man-Friday” or “Woman-Saturday” in sight.

I have no argument with all our top Scientists, in this matter. Most of the “Professors” in the Science-World at present, are not the old bewigged “Characters” we once used to “watch” on television, like Professor Sumner-Miller for example. Now, they look like people who have just left their Universities, young ones, who have every reason to believe, I suppose, that Earth is heading for disaster.

I will not be around to see it happen. As far as I am concerned, it HAS BEEN HAPPENING for “many moons” already. For eons, factory chimneys have been emitting black clouds of smog into the sky, Forestry – Magnates have been cutting & slashing mega-acres of beautiful green “giants” of plant-life to provide us with “fancy-furniture” & “terrific-toothpicks”,while animals are losing their habitats, automobiles aiding & abetting with chunks of Carbon Monixide, another poison that unfortunately is the cause of many “suicides”, into the bargain. Yes, folks, it has been happening all along. Sad, but unfortunately true.

NOW, “a change of habit” will only occur if there is a lessening of GREED in this World of ours. “Money is the root of all evil” says the song & ” It’s impossible”, says the “title” of another, to which I will now add my own lyrics, “tell the World to not pollute, it’s just impossible, stop the smoke & stop the soot, etc., etc.,”
I could go on to complete another “song”, but it would be, alas, to no avail.

EVERYONE now, wants to get on the band-wagon.
Admittedly, takes us away for awhile,from the debacle that is the United States of America, their new President, & another silly-looking sausage who wants to pollute the air further with his nuclear rockets, takes us away from the “General-Media” who are a lot of “fakes” anyway (according to President Trump), & brings us wobbling back to “Climate-Change”. SONGS  are being written and rewritten about it . There are sooo many launches” of publicity stunts about it, they are rapidly becoming “motor-boats”, “AIRLINES” are promoting “Climate-Change” even as they hit sudden “air-pockets”, making people feel “sick in the guts” about ir, what a lot of absolute bloody rubbish this is.

First & foremost, we need a “change of habit” in Lanka. Everyone knows how much I care for that Country, but FACTS ARE FACTS.!. Beautiful, as it is, “My Lovely Island Home needs a good “CLEAN-UP”. Forget about Climate Change, It doesn’t start in the air. It starts on the bloody GROUND!!.From a tourist’s point of view, for example, from one of the best-known beach-side Hotels in Colombo, plus even in another former Capital like Kandy, the view from a Premier Lake-side Hotel looks magnificent, UNTIL one gets closer to the water. There is where the disappointment starts. PILES OF “Plastic-Scrap”, broken bottles, home-garbage, plastic bags, sewerage, you name it, it’s there. No-one, in their right minds would even want to step into the water in these locations & there are plenty of them. Travelling Agents, Airlines, Luxury Liners & their staff would dearly love to see tourists revisit places like Sri Lanka, but, no way, hose!, despite all the “hoo-hah” about Climate-Change, the “Habit-Change” to “Cleanliness is next to Godliness” would be a much better drawcard to more tourism.

To be fair, Australia, although not nearly as bad, has “Climate-Change” problems too. For a Country that is supposed to be a “First-World” one. Without going into too much detail, Australia MUST get rid of each and every road-dweller. These people have to be housed even in the simplest dwelling ratger than having to sleep out on the roads at night. Spring, Summer, Winter or fall, it really doesn’t matter at all.

ALSO, on certain days each month, “Council Rubbish Collections” call for Citizens to have their “hard-rubbish” stacked neatly on “nature-strips” for collection. They are stacked neatly, of course, for about five minutes. Some poor man or wonan will pass by, see something that perhaps they can use, & there goes the “neatness”. UNTIL COLLECTION, the entire area looks lije a rubbish-dump. A very nice tourist’s view of Australia, ian’t it? . SOMETHING must be done to change these basic habits. Many years ago, Mr.Lee Quan Yew did it for Singapore. No excuses should be tolerated. Talking about the root of all evil, Politicians of ALL COUNTRIES have plenty of MONEY.

Use SOME of it for a “CHANGE OF HABIT”. Climate Change will then look after itself.

Desmond Kelly
Star of eLanka.