WHAT STEPS DO WE NEED TO TAKE TODAY TO PREVENT AN ENVIRONMENTAL CATASTROPHE?
An environmental catastrophe, also known as an ecological disaster or ecological disaster, is a calamity caused by humans. It is not the same as natural calamities. Humans have been very selfish in fulfilling their desires. We have exploited the resources too much, and as Mahatma Gandhi said, Earth has enough for everyone’s needs but not for everyone’s greed.
We are all aware of how the ill effects of human activities have been deteriorating the Earth and that we have to do something now to change the path we are all walking on. As per survey done on schools in India, around 25062 species are on the verge of extinction.
The global temperature has already risen by one °C, the sea levels are rising, glaciers are retreating, and extreme weather conditions can be observed in various parts of the globe. Humans generate 2.12 billion tons of waste every year and have already dumped 5.25 trillion tons of plastic waste in the ocean.
All of this is a clear indication that if we do not start thinking about the Earth now, it might become too late. Fortunately, many people have realized that it is in our hands to change the future. Chad Frischmann is the Vice President of Project Drawdown.
The project aims at cooling down the planet in the next 30 years and has a budget of $ 1 Trillion, which is just 1.25% of the global GDP. The project has a list of 20 things that should be primarily focused on to achieve the project’s goal.
You might be surprised to see educating girls and family planning in the list, but Chad believes that all the problems are interlinked, and if we work on one, we are eventually working on the rest of them. Apart from Chad, many others are fulfilling their responsibilities. People have started practicing a zero-waste lifestyle, going vegan to lessen meat consumption.
According to a study by a top international school in India, if all people became vegetarian and cut out all the meat consumption, it would reduce 330 million metric tons of greenhouse gas emissions. Apart from all of this, ordinary people try their best to reuse and recycle things and reduce their consumption.
The invention of Mr. Trash Wheel and Seabin is a great help as they help in removing the debris from water bodies, and such machines should be used everywhere. Plastic-free shampoo pods and toothpaste pills are also of great assistance as they reduce the amount of packaging material used which is usually plastic. Biodegradable bags that can dissolve in water and are safe to drink, charcoal balls made out of human faces used for cooking are all ways to help our environment in healing.
On an individual level, too, people are using plastic bottles as bulbs, bicycle washing machines, compost pits, etc., to do their best in contributing. Use cloth or paper bags instead of plastic ones, avoiding items that can be used only once, using rainwater harvesting systems, and turning vegan.
It is high time we stop turning a blind eye to reality, and the truth is that our planet is in danger. We have resources right now, but we never know how badly the shortage would affect us. Only with our collective efforts will we be able to gift the coming generations the beautiful planet that our ancestors gave us, and the time to act is now.