Ever since i was a kid, up until my present age, civilization has always been on the road. Never taking a break. Every new day sees the appearance of some new advancement and learning better ways to deal with other humans and our environment generally.
UnsplashI live in a state considered to be one of Nigeria's biggest oil & gas producing and refinery state. I do not disagree about that, neither about most of the benefits having this major sector within has afforded us. Yet, it just seems the demerits are far more.
For instance, I don't know if it was planned to be so, but most big industries around here are sited just beside water bodies that otherwise serve as relaxation spots and/or fishing spots. That may have been the case back in the day, but not anymore.
Now, these water bodies are plagued with waste from the industries that pollute it. The waters are so unclean and smelly that you can hardly dip your fingers in and not pull it out looking really greasy and covered in dirt. What am I even saying?....You would never want to go close to the waters talk more of touching it. An eyesore it is. Then there's the issue of the destruction of the natural habitat of aquatic organism. A visit to the waterside and you will find fishes and other water-dwelling organisms afloat the water - mostly dead. And now, because this is a source of livelihood to the fisherman, he catches what he can(dead or alive) and still sells them that way. We can only imagine the effect it will have on human life when consumed.
Then there's also the issue of polluted air. The industries are functional and mostly sited around residential buildings. The fumes from the industries pollute the air very much. Houses and the air is infiltrated with black soot. That's why everyday when we clean surfaces, the cloth used to clean it becomes so black like it's been very long the place was cleaned. I remember travelling out of the state, when I got back in, breathing seemed so hard at first. While we're gaining from having these companies, it taking from us too, especially draining our health.
On the flip side though, being a growing civilized society, we've had and are having our moments. Too many of those benefits that come with growth. One of which I would say is that the quality of our life keeps improving. Things are not exactly as they were yesterday. There's the access to more, even wide array of information. We also know to coexist with people with opposing views and values from us, even as much as embracing other cultures and doing away with traditions that are archaic and unsuitable for the time that we are in. There's also much discipline and orderliness. Not to mention the vast growing areas of agriculture, technology, education, medicine and the likes.
Civilization will keep getting better with each day. And unless we look for ways to curb all of the adverse effects, we might just have to keep dealing with the system we have made that feeds us and also feeds from us.
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