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Earth Day Special: How To Restore Our Planet

Climate change is a reality that we have been facing for many years now. Here's our Earth Day special about how you can make a difference.

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By: Divya Jain Published: Apr 22, 2021 08:00 AM IST

Earth Day Special: How To Restore Our Planet

Climate change is a reality that we have been facing for many years now, and it’s time to take charge and act. The problem became so adverse that in 2015, 196 parties signed a legally binding international treaty on climate change, commonly referred to as the Paris Agreement. Limiting global warming under 2-degrees Celsius, compared to pre-industrial levels, is the primary goal of this treaty. By Divya Jain

Such initiatives are key to fighting the issue. And, they must be set in motion now.

According to NASA, 2019 was declared the hottest year ever with average global temperatures recorded at 0.98-degrees Celsius warmer than the 20th century.

Even forests are disappearing at an alarming rate; our planet lost 1.3 million square kilometres of forest area in 15 years (1990 to 2015), according to the World Bank data. For an easy reference, the total area lost is larger than South Africa.

The reasons for extreme shifts in temperatures are many, including deforestation and global greenhouse emissions. Along with rising temperatures, other effects of climate change are warming oceans, melting glaciers, decreasing sea cover, shrinking ice sheets, rising sea levels, and increasing acidity of surface ocean waters.

 

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As many countries and leaders are working towards making environment-conscious decisions, people on grassroot levels need to step up as well. Malaysia-based Climate Reality Leader and Founder of Accelerating Climate Action Renard Siew says, “It is extremely urgent” for everyone to start caring for the environment.

“I think people don’t realise that human health is inextricably linked to our planet. Human activities (i.e., industrialisation and deforestation)–it destroys natural habitats and disturbs the ecosystem, which brings wildlife uncomfortably closer to humans. This creates a conducive environment for zoonotic diseases to spread such as Covid-19, which we all know is a terrible thing,” he adds.

On a similar note, nine-year-old Indian environment activist from Manipur Licypriya Kangujam says, “We need to act urgently to solve the global climate crisis before humanity is wiped off completely from our planet.”

Kangujam has been advocating for actions on global warming and demands that climate change be taught as a compulsory subject in schools.

 

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Every year, the world marks April 22 as Earth Day — an event to diversify, educate and activate the environmental movement worldwide. The movement that started in the US in 1970 went global in 1990 with almost 200 million people participating in 141 countries to bring environmental issues to the forefront. The annual event is observed with a focus on a theme and 2021 is about how we can together Restore Our Earth.

When asked about the most important step every individual can take to do his/her part in restoring the planet, Indian environmentalist Sagar Singh says, “Our focus should be on the importance of lifestyle changes. Choosing less polluting forms of transportation like bikes, trains and buses, and moving to plant-based diets. However, it’s unlikely that large numbers of people will voluntarily shift their consumption patterns without help from the governments and corporations that encouraged those patterns in the first place.”

Siew makes a similar point, “We need to adopt sustainable lifestyles. The decisions that we make every day from whether we choose to take public transport to work or be vegan, shop for sustainable clothes or invest in companies that are sustainable, all these choices do matter.” Kangujam says the first thing individuals should do is, “Ask [for] clean air to breath, clean water to drink, and a clean planet to live in. But all these rights are snatched away from us. Every individual should fight to restore these three basic rights.”

 

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Shoba Mohan, the Founding Partner of RARE India adds, “We all live on the assumption that someone will do something to make matters right and climate change will stall. The fact is that each one of us is responsible for where the planet stands today; so to take responsibility of this situation we have brought upon ourselves is the first step. We need to be aware of our individual contribution either as ourselves or through the actions of our ancestors or through the lives we have brought forth so that we can make appropriate choices, work towards minimising the effects of the past and coach the next generation to help them understand the challenges.”

In the last few years, we have seen young activists like Kangujam, Greta Thunberg, Autumn Peltier, Leah Namugerwa, Ridhima Pandey and Xiye Bastida take charge of combating climate change by protesting, joining groups like Extinction Rebellion, questioning inaction by leaders and participating in global summits to make their voices heard, among other initiatives.

 

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“A lot of people say that young people are the leaders of tomorrow but I beg to differ. I believe that young people are the leaders of today. They are the ones who are really at the forefront of advocating and fighting for a better planet because their future depends on it,” says Siew, who is also an Earth Day Network (EDN) Youth Ambassador.

Kangujam, who is one of the youngest climate activists and has been campaigning for a change since 2018, adds, “Young people can be vocal for local climate issues. They can raise voices to their leaders to take urgent climate action to save our planet and our future.”

According to Mohan, “This responsibility has to touch every facet of our lives and we have to look at every cause that is responsible for the problems that the planet faces today. From the way we eat to the way we dress, travel and live our lives… Everything is connected with the choices we make. Do what is right not what is convenient.”

Being an activist, however, is not easy when you need to fight tooth and nail to be heard. Asked about the challenges they face, Siew says, “Where I come from, environmental issues are typically at the bottom of the list of things that people would give due consideration to. It’s always how do we maximise profits or economic growth over the protection and preservation of the environment.”

 

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Kangujam adds, “Many people told me that I’m too young to get involved in activism but I proved them that age doesn’t matter to make a difference. I strongly believe that children can lead the change. Also, I receive lots of online threats, abuses and cyber bullying every day in order to silence my voice. Balancing both studies and activism is one of my hardest challenges because both are equally important.”

Singh, who was part of the Aarey Forest Conservation Movement in 2019 in Mumbai, India, believes that every day is Earth Day. “Up until January 2020, I was planting trees, working on water conservation projects, and visiting schools and colleges to bring societal and behavioral changes, but today in 2021, during the pandemic, I realised instead of just planting trees why can’t I build a forest? So currently, I’m creating a Miyawaki forest and I post content on my Instagram page–mrearth_— to bring people closer to our planet.”

On the other hand, Siew will be campaigning for climate literacy to be made a compulsory part of education curriculum and will be embarking on a tree planting initiative at his local community centre.

 

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Kangujam will be launching “a new project on the 51st anniversary of Earth Day called ‘Plastics Money Solar Shopping Cart’ where people or children can buy eco-friendly zero-waste products and school stationery items by bringing single-use plastics waste from their homes instead of real money. Later, the collected plastics will be recycled to make school benches, desks, house roofs, road tiles, etc. This will help eliminate 1,000 tones of single-use plastics each year from India .”

The official Earth Day group has also organised several events worldwide. Check their website for more details.

Editor’s Note: Keeping the current situation of the pandemic in mind, T+L India recommends every reader to stay safe, and take all government-regulated precautions in case travel at this time is absolutely necessary. Please follow our stories on #IndiaFightsCorona for all the latest travel guidelines.

Related: These Are The Best Pictures Of Earth From Space, According To A NASA Contest

Written By

Divya Jain

Divya Jain

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