Paradise Lost - Diminishing Dilmun

Fireworks illuminated Orlando’s skies as the Wizarding World of Harry Potter opened its winged-boar-flanked gates to magic-adoring muggles. It was a magnificent evening with frogs croaking the chorus to the Hogwarts school song.
However just a few hundred miles away, the atmosphere was saturated with dread and panic as the seas churned in agony. A slick black oil cover has been enveloping the Gulf of Mexico in what has been dubbed the ‘world’s worst environmental disaster’. Pictures of mutilated seagulls and suffocated fish have littered newspapers and websites, spurring nausea and growing global terror. The Deepwater Horizon Spill, or more commonly known as the BP oil spill, has put into perspective the massive damage humans are impacting on the environment and yet, once again, defenseless animals have taken the toll for our misdoings.

The earth is literally bleeding as the cold tortured black of the oil has morphed into blood-curdling red, as marine animals choke and suffer a painful, unnatural death.

Though not on such a massive scale, oil spills and other manmade hazards have been lethally scarring the earth for years now.

We are so oblivious to our life-threatening actions that we are unaware of the consequences and repercussions that follow. Every plastic bottle we use, every plastic ring, every Styrofoam cup, every polythene bag hurts the environment in some way.

There are some things not even magic can solve.

Recycling may seem like a hippie trend to you – a fad that people may enjoy – but it really isn’t. It’s nearly, or maybe even more essential, to saving the world’s resources and environment than solar panels or fancy new biofuels.

Bahrain has had its share of environmental disasters – the Tubli Bay horror, for example – to take the matter seriously. The colourful bins that dot the sidewalks are not merely relief from the long vast stretches of barren sand – they serve a crucial role in propelling Bahrain into a greener, friendlier environment and keeping the bigger picture in mind, they help sustain future generations.

A short walk to your nearest bin on a random Friday to empty your overflowing exclusive plastic collection bin can go a long way.

It’s not preaching – It’s a reminder. A reminder for Bahrain – to wake up and join the green movement, to curb its wasteful ways and become renewable and efficient. Because we want people to remember Bahrain for the ages – as the Lost Paradise it has always been.