WORLD ENVIRONMENT DAY

World Environment Day (WED) is celebrated on the 5th of June every year, and is the United Nation's principal vehicle for encouraging worldwide awareness and action for the protection of our environment. First held in 1974, it has been a flagship campaign for raising awareness on emerging environmental issues from marine pollution, human overpopulation, and global warming, to sustainable consumption and wildlife crime. WED has grown to become a global platform for public outreach, with participation from over 143 countries annually. Each year, WED has a new theme that major corporations, NGOs, communities, governments and celebrities worldwide adopt to advocate environmental causes.

Saving the environment is not an issue anymore. It is a survival truth. Individuals, organizations and governments need to come together and join hands to protect what is left of our planet so that the future is not wiped out before it’s time for curtain call.

The pyramid of life is on very shaky ground. Experts say that proper handling of waste materials, such as reusing or disposing of them properly, should constitute an important part of the our efforts to preserve energy and protect the environment. Countries worldwide should use less coal and more reusable power like hydro or solar power.

Let us plan our cities according to water available and not avail water for too many homes that have been crammed into development. Saving energy reduces air pollution and greenhouse gases. The less we pollute our environment, the more we prevent global warming. Let us check the seas from rising and submerging our lands. 

Increasing number of organizations are being formed to prevent the planet from premature extinction. More and more corporates have joined the race to save the planet. We can simply begin by buying recycled products for your office, home or school. The greater the demand for recycled products, the more companies will be encouraged to add recycled material to their products.

And we can begin right at home. Let us reuse what we would easily throw away and conserve for a future. Recycle everything one can from newspapers, cans, glass bottles and jars, aluminum foil, motor oil, to scrap metals. We should avoid using electrical appliances for things one can easily do by hand, such as opening cans. We should try and conserve electricity by turning off the lights, TV, or other electrical appliances when not in use. Use cold water in the washer whenever possible.

What we can recycle let us do so. What we cannot let us not use them. Buy less disposable products. Buy paper products as they break down better in the environment and don't deplete the ozone layer as much. Ban plastic. Buy recycled goods. It’s trendy! Re-use brown paper bags to line your trash can instead of plastic bags. Store food in re-usable containers, instead of plastic wrap or aluminum foil.

Keep cars tuned up. Buy a more fuel-efficient model (such as a hybrid or electric) and recycle your engine oil. Use public transit whenever possible. Let us walk more and drive less to conserve fuel and prevent auto-emission.

We should avoid littering our roads and highways. And prevent others from doing so. Always dispose of your litter properly by saving trash and dispose of it at a rest stop. Littering is not just bad for the environment, it is also an offence carrying heavy fines.

We use more organic fertilizers. Compost and reduce waste which would otherwise get buried and produces greenhouse gases as materials decompose. Avoid burning dead leaves as burning creates air pollution, and putting them out with the trash wastes landfill space. Instead we can compost the leaves and yard debris, or take them to a yard debris recycler. It is simple to pull weeds instead of using herbicides. Our farms need less pesticides and more organic methods.

Finally, let’s teach our children to respect nature and the environment, and learn in the process how we can hold on to the one planet which has a miracle called life.

Save the environment. Save Life.

http://www.uccee.org/Saving_The_Environment.html