Long before Sustainable Development Goals were set by the UN, the World Environment Day was started which also focused on Sustainable consumption.
World Environment Day (WED) is celebrated on the 5th of June every year, and is the United Nation's principal vehicle for encouraging 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.
Let's look at three major issues and how, as responsible citizens, we can contribute to beat it.
1. Marine pollution
There are several reasons for marine pollution ranging from wind-blown debris to industrial waste invasion into ocean. Eighty percent of marine debris is plastic and marine animals often eat them thinking it is food and it ends up in the food web. The Great Pacific Garbage Patch is now estimated to be the size of Russia.
What can we do:
- Avoid consuming single use / disposable plastics like cups, spoons, plastic bags
- Try to reduce waste by avoiding packaged goods
- Reduced the use of chemically processed products in day to day life ranging from soaps to clothing
2. Global warming
Human activity since the Industrial Revolution has increased the amount of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, leading to increased radiative forcing from CO2, methane, tropospheric ozone, CFCs, and nitrous oxide. Nitrous oxide is a by-product during the production of nylon and synthetic products
What can we do:
- Avoid using synthetic clothing
- Opt for public transportation, car pool, bicycles
- Plant trees or at least avoid cutting them down
3. Lack of Sustainable Consumption
Sustainable consumption is based around the concept of “continuance”—the capacity to meet both present and future human generational needs. This focuses on the consumption of clean environment friendly products that have zero impact and adopting environment behaviours.
What can we do:
- Be a green consumer, whose purchase choices reflect environment related motivation
- Consume food that is grown organically. Eat locally produced goods and avoid the carbon footprint
- Adopt ethical fashion, buy Fair Trade
Above all, ask a lot of questions before consuming anything. How is my decision to buy this product impacting the environment. Can I make a difference?
Let us all be agents of change. Let us go green,b the green goes!