The future University for Life & Peace held a Commencement Ceremony for its Winter School 2020 on January 8 and featured a keynote speech by Professor Nay Htun, Honorary Patron & Founder of GEGG Myanmar (Green Economy Green Growth), and former UN Assistant Secretary-General at UNEP and UNDP. GEGG has been organizing a number of significant forums over the past decade to explore themes on all things Green, sustainable development, regenerative capacities, etc.
Dharma Master Hsin Tao, Ling Jiou Mountain (LJM) Founding Abbot, says that ecology has its roots in spirituality and life is the extension of the memory matrix. All things are inter-related and -dependent, and things impact one another in a diverse symbiosis, with none in the position of independent and stand-alone existence. The insight and the train of thought shared by Professor Nay Htun lend themselves well as explanatory remarks to Dharma Master Hsin Tao's philosophy.
Professor Nay Htun is of the opinion that Natural Laws dictate the protection of resources of water and air that belong to all people, and Nature fights back when ecology suffers excessive abuses. Watershed cases in point include the Great Smog of 1952 in London that killed more than 4,000 people and prompted the British Government to legislate the 'Clean Air Law' in 1956. That very same year 1956 also witnessed quicksilver poisoning in Japan's Kumamoto Prefecture, rendering patients impaired in motor motions, hearing, speech, dementia, etc.that could progress to bouts of spasm, even deaths. The Minamata Disease remains without cure even today.
It was around that time in the late '60s when quite a few books on the environment became best-sellers to catch people's attention to public health issues. International limelight soon followed with consequent burgeoning actions. An environmental science book 'Silent Spring' by author Rachel Carson in 1962 took the world by storm with that arresting title alone - excessive use of chemical pesticides inflicted severe damages to ecology that Spring went silent with no bees and birds to usher in a new cycle of the year or life in general at that.
The Winter School 2020's topical theme of "healing the Earth" also echoes Professor Nay Htun's working experiences at the UN. The highlight of his tenure of more than 20 years at the global body was action-taking besides promoting theories and contributing professionalism. That the UN declared June 5 'the World Environment Day' is evidence and proof that the world is urged to take the issue of environmental protection seriously and actual actions are called for indeed.
In closing, Professor Nay Htun shared with the audience this heartfelt statement - 'Let us care for our common home, the Earth, with happiness, sharing, tolerance, and compassion. Future generations rely on what you do today, not tomorrow.'