Earth Day is celebrated to raise awareness of the need to protect the Earth’s natural resources for future generations. On April 22, 2024, we will celebrate the 54th Earth Day. Planet vs Plastics unites everyone in an unwavering commitment of building a plastic-free future for generations to come.
Abraham Lincoln said, “Democracy is a rule of the people, for the people and by the people.” Similarly, Earth - the fifth largest planet in the solar system, belongs to everyone. Earth is for all, by all, of all. Earth is the only planet in the universe that hosts life and is made of Jal (Water), Jungle (Trees) and Zameen (Land/Soil).
Everyone and everything on the Earth are dependent on each other. If any of the three components - Jal, Jungle and Zameen - are not safe, it can cause serious threats to the humans, plants, animals, and micro-organisms on Mother Earth.
The Earth provides a ground that holds life and everyone here should consider its preservation as their topmost priority. We should save water and water bodies on earth like rivers, ponds, wells, soils and many more. We should also preserve trees and jungles that provide us air (O2 - oxygen) 24*7 and build a healthy environment around us. Similarly, we must take all necessary steps to keep our land/soil fertile, as it allows us to produce food. We should also reduce single-use plastics for the sake of human and planetary health.
Above facts tell us clearly that it is imperative for everyone to maintain the health of these three as per their standards. If not, then our survival and sustainability is under crisis. It can’t be done by one or two individuals. It has to be done collectively by everyone in tandem.
Save Water: We know that there is no life without water. The availability of quality and quantity of water is decreasing day by day. This indicates a crisis situation for all of us and we are moving into a dangerous zone of our survival. Water is related to all of us. So, its solution lies with us all. We all must save as much water as much we consume in a year in the rainy season. We have a tendency to pass the buck to the government to do things. This mindset has to be changed. Water conservation is a collective responsibility and has to be done by all together in tandem.
National Institution for Transforming India (NITI Aayog), India is undergoing the worst water crisis in its history and nearly 600 million people are facing high to extreme water stress. The report further mentions that India is placed at 120th amongst 122 countries in the water quality index, with nearly 70% of water being contaminated.
Revive Jungle: To live a healthy and happy life, we need quality air (O2) in required quantity. Covid-19 has taught us the importance of air. O2 is reducing in both quality and quantity at a fast rate. This is a strong indicator against our sustainability. We need to combat this situation by establishing ample O2 factories. Trees are O2 producing factories. We need to plant trees and ensure their survival. We must produce as much O2 as much we inhale in a year. In this, everyone will have to contribute their bit in generating O2 for the public.
The India State of Forest Report 2021’ prepared by the Forest Survey of India (FSI) mentions that the total forest and tree cover of the country is 80.9 million hectare which is 24.62 percent of the geographical area of the country. As compared to the assessment of 2019, there is an increase of 2,261 sq km in the total forest and tree cover of the country. Out of this, the increase in the forest cover has been observed as 1,540 sq km and that in tree cover is 721 sq km.
C. Preserve Zameen: We need energy for a lively life. To get energy, we need different types of food. To produce diverse food, we need vast fertile land. The fertility and area under food production is decreasing. This is not a good symptom for a sustainable ecosystem. We need to avoid misuse, wastage and overuse of land. Soil degradation is the physical, chemical and biological decline in soil quality due to its improper or poor management for agriculture, industrial or urban purposes. We have to adopt multi cropping and multilayer farming. In the construction sector, we need to grow vertically (high-rises) to preserve food growing land.
As per the latest Desertification and Land Degradation Atlas of the ISRO published in June 2021, 87.85 million hectares of land in India (around 30 per cent of the country’s geographical area) has already been degraded, of which 3.32 mha was added between 2003 and 2019 alone.
Conclusion: Our Mother Earth is seriously ill due to our atrocities done with her. An ill mother can not serve and sustain her service to us. We all must safeguard the health of every living being on our planet by living a plastic free life. Therefore, we must conserve water and grow trees.
For reference web link: https://government.economictimes.indiatimes.com/blog/earth-day-2024-earth-is-for-all-by-all-of-all-and-choice-is-between-healthy-planet-plastic/109485954?utm_source=latest_news&utm_medium=homepage&s=08