Can I do my bit to Save the Earth?

June 5 was World Environment Day. The world and its cousin pontificated at length on the need to save the earth. Everyone planted saplings, made token gestures, and vowed reduce carbon footprints with missionary zeal. 

Today, its back to business. Vehicles spewing toxic fumes on the roads. ACs running all day and night, guzzling power. Plastic wrappers strewn on roads, choking drains and waterbodies. Use and throw bottles and containers being used without a second thought. Tons of wrapping paper and packaging used for e-commerce deliveries binned after opening. Waterbodies and green patches getting filled up to accommodate the bulging urban population. Trees and woods being wiped out to quench our requirements and greed.

So, what use is celebrating a single day for thinking about our home - mother earth? At the end of the day, we humans think only of our own comfort and utility. Why bother about how things will be 20 years from now? Why think about other organisms sharing the earth, that are slowly getting wiped out? Why think of the child on the street thirsting for a drink of water or morsel of food? Who is bothered about floods and droughts, or forest fires in remote corners of the earth?

Doesn't affect me, so why should I sacrifice my enjoyment of the moment?

Can I make a difference to change the future from bleak to hopeful? If only we all ask ourselves this question.

The answer is, yes I can. How? My two cents on how each one of us can contribute to preserving the environment.

8 Simple Changes I can Adopt for the Earth

• Recycle clothes, packaging, water, and whatever resources you can. We are all guilty of buying too much, hoarding even more. Lets think of re-using old stuff instead. Bored of that old tee or kurta? Restyle it, or pair it differently. Jeans are extremely environment costly - so use them as long as you can. Wear eco-friendly clothes made from cotton, khadi, jute.
  Sustainable is no longer a fancy word or fad, its a necessity. Avoid buying one-time wear designer clothing. Instead of buying a lehenga for a lac that you will probably wear once in your lifetime, rent or borrow from your family or friends. Our parents used to wear hand-me-downs from elder siblings, so why can't we? Let's make conscious choices while shopping.
• Reduce packaging - reuse cartons, carry bags and containers. Avoid buying things in small quantities - the packaging costs the earth. When you organize parties or get-togethers, insist on glass bottles and reusable cups for drinking. Those 100 ml bottles - just think how much time each bottle will take to disintegrate - are poison for the earth.

• If you run a business or an institution, try using natural light, air and recycled water for your office. 24/7 air-conditioning costs electricity and is hardly healthy. Design workspaces in a manner that you can take advantage of sunlight, natural breeze, and rainwater.
• Before you purchase the next gadget, dispose of the old one properly. Better still, donate it to someone, if it is in working condition. 
• Remember our school sermon? Holds true more than ever today, when electricity is scarce. Switch off the lights, fans, TV, AC when you leave the room. Elementary, but you will be surprised how often this is overlooked. Shut down your laptop, instead of keeping it in hibernate mode. Switch off Wi-fi or internet connection when not in use. And for heaven's sake, do you really need an Alexa or Google Assistant or Siri? All AI tools guzzle power like crazy.
• If you care about the earth, avoid wasting food. Even small amounts of it.
  There is absolutely nothing cool in pretending you don't care about food left on your plate at home, or in restaurant serving bowls once you have had enough. Buffets are the worst offenders, as people try to overload their plates to get their money's worth. 
  
• Try to order a-la-carte, instead, while eating out, and order only what you can consume. 
• If there is extra food or leftovers, ask your server to get it packed. Bring home, or distribute to a needy person. 
• Restaurants can offer two portion sizes - one large for families and one medium or small for singletons or couples. 
• For catering services, its best to keep refilling the counters instead of having full bowls on display. People waste more when they see more food laid out in front of them. 
• Organizers can opt for arranging sit in dinners instead of buffets. Diners are more conscious when they are being served. Food wastage can be still minimized.
• While partying at home, don't order extra from apps just for "emergencies". That extra almost always goes waste. After a couple of drinks or mocktails, no one can eat much, and no one bothers to store the extra food after a tiring party.
• Walk, cycle, or take public transport. Use the car only when its unavoidable. And you don't really need to have more than one car per family, do you?
• Ask yourself whether you really need those 6 vacations in a year. Consider reducing the number of your pleasure trips, or go somewhere nearby. Travel on train, instead of hopping on the next flight. Air travel costs the planet. I try to travel by train whenever I can. Yes, it takes time, but it is eco-friendly and far more economical. Road trips by car may seem innocent, but guzzle enormous amounts of petrol and gas. If you have to travel by road, take a bus instead.

These pointers are known to each one of us, yet we often don't care to follow these. And if we have the power to splurge, that itself overrides all common sense. We can afford it, so why not? That's the general feeling.

Only, there won't be anything left to afford soon. 

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