Since 1970, April 22 has marked the celebration of Earth Day, started by Gaylord Nelson, an American Senator who sought to put the environment on the national agenda.
The first Earth Day saw 20 million Americans take to the streets to demonstrate for a healthy, sustainable environment.
Earth Day went global in 1990 mobilising 200 million people in 141 countries, giving a huge boost to recycling efforts that paved the way for the 1992 United Nations Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro.
Since then, Earth Day has gone from strength to strength, linking people across the planet in the fight for a clean environment. Now it’s your turn. Think green and find ways to save energy, recycle used items and clean up your environment - be it at home, at school or at the office.
(Excerpt from 7Days.ae)
From the same article, here are a few ways to participate and make our Earth a better and safer place:
Green your school>> Say NO to Plastic Bags Get your school art class to start a project where students design a reusable cloth shopping bag. Get out the paint jars and print a personal environmental message on your own reusable bag and don’t forget to take it along with you when you hit the shops.>> Start Recycling - If your school doesn’t have one already, organise a recycling programme that will reduce waste and recycle materials. Hold elections to vote in classmates to become ‘governors’ of school recycling, in order to make sure the job gets done.
>> Take Notes - Create an Earth Wall in your school, where students can write down a note stating one way to help the Earth, and keep track of how many tasks you can accomplish.
Green your office
>> Stay Online - Pay your bills online and eliminate the endless trail of bank statements, receipts and paperwork. Use email instead of sending out printed documents when possible.
>> Carpool Party – It may sound revolutionary for Dubai’s drivers, but carpooling with your officemates could reduce your carbon footprint with every mile travelled. And imagine how many fewer cars there will be on the roads - the instant traffic solution too!
>> The Switcher - Elect someone to be the designated switch-off monitor and cut carbon emissions by reducing electricity use. At the end of a long day at work, walk the walls and make sure computers, monitors, printers and lights are turned off daily.
Green your home
>> Watch your Water - Take shorter showers and use a low-flow showerhead; wash your clothes in warm rather than hot; collect larger loads instead of small ones; let your clothes air dry and run your dishwasher only when it’s full.
>> Re-energise your Home - Invest in energy efficient appliances and immediately replace frequently used light bulbs with compact fluorescent bulbs to reduce your home’s carbon footprint. Energy saver bulbs can be found at most supermarkets and at ACE.
>> Make it a Family Affair - From the food you eat to the clothes you wear every member of the family can pitch in for a greener household. Try to create family meals using organic products, local if possible, as the pesticides and chemicals sprayed on conventional food are very hazardous to the environment and your health.
Wearing hand-me-downs may not be considered the coolest thing by kids, but if they knew the impact even an old black T-shirt has an on the environment, they may be encouraged to change their minds.
Green Beginnings
A wedding is one of the most important days in a couple’s life. If you care about the planet, why not integrate your principles into your big day? With the average cost of a wedding running into the thousands it seems obvious that weddings have a huge footprint, both ecological and economical. Going green doesn’t mean you have to compromise on your big day, though. By taking a look at the bigger picture, you can move beyond the usual decadence and consumption to create a truly personal, moving, and sustainable celebration that people will remember for years. You may even open a few eyes in the process.
GREEN TO THE VERY ENDIt’s no longer enough to live a greener life - now people are being encouraged to be environmentally friendly when they leave the Earth too. A little morbid perhaps, but true.In a green funeral, bodies are not embalmed, but are dressed in pure fibre clothes; cardboard coffins, which are as thick as their wooden counterparts, are used as they biodegrade within three months, and burial plots are in a natural setting - green funerals attempt to be eco-friendly at every stage. “People are trying to think about what’s the best way to live and with that, what’s the best way to die,” said Roslyn Cassidy, a funeral director for Green Endings in the UK, which provides eco-friendly funerals.
WORRYING FACTS
By 2030 the number of automobiles in the world will increase by 50 per cent
The world consumes two barrels of oil for every barrel discovered
It is predicted that global temperatures in 2100 will be 1.4 - 5.8°C warmer than they were in 1990
The five warmest years over last century have likely been: 2005, 1998, 2002, 2003, 2004. The top ten warmest years have all occurred since 1990
The current pace of sea-level rise is 50 per cent faster then in the last century
Agriculture and biodiversity are already being impacted by global warming. Ten per cent of all known plant species are under threat of extinction
Automobiles count for almost a third of the US’s Carbon Dioxide (CO2) emissions - the largest emitting source after power plants
Oil and gas currently provide more than half of the world’s energy supply, and according to the International Energy Agency, they - along with coal (which also releases CO2) - will continue to be the major sources of energy well into the 21st century unless things are changed
(Excerpt from 7Days.ae)
April 22nd, 2008 at 3:52 am
[...] umesh released a post on Earth Day today! that may be of interest. Here’s a brief excerpt: [...]
April 22nd, 2008 at 12:23 pm
[...] lolatonitonga wrote an interesting post today onHere’s a quick excerptMake it a Family Affair - From the food you eat to the clothes you wear every member of the family can pitch in for a greener household. Try to create family meals using organic products, local if possible, as the pesticides and … [...]