.png)
13.5 billion years ago, matter, time, energy, and space came into being in what is known as the Big Bang. Out of this chaos, there emerged a beautiful planet, our Earth.
Earth is the only planet which supports life. Its diverse flora and fauna add to its charm; the ice-capped mountains, the serpentine rivers, the serene canopies of trees, the lush green grasslands, and the golden sand—all have their magical appeal.
And then we learnt to explore, invent, and create. As we progressed, we realized that Man is the supreme creation of God. Our inventions and discoveries changed things drastically on Earth. First, we invented wheels; then cycles, ships, and modes of transport. Computers, mobile electronics gadgets, houses, factories—the list is endless. We invented things to make our lives easier, so the demand for raw materials has been increasing by leaps and bounds.
The exploitation of our Earth’s natural resources has unbalanced nature; it has increased the suffering of all living things on the planet. Weather and climate are changing in various parts of the world due to global warming. The latest example is the California bushfires; wherein leading climate scientists argue that climate change increases the temperature, wildfire occurrence, risk for drought, and potentially the frequency of such events in California. Natural disasters like Earthquakes, Droughts, Floods, Landslides, and Acid Rain have become frequent. The Earth has lost more of its natural resources in the last few decades than ever before in our history. We fail to understand that once these resources are depleted, it will be nearly impossible to renew them.
The world lost over 12 million hectares of forest every year from 2000 to 2010. Expansion of commercial agriculture, especially large-scale farming, has largely caused this significant loss of forest cover. Nevertheless, damaging the environment, particularly forests, comes at a great cost. When forest cover is affected, climate change effects intensify. Because deforestation accounts for nearly 15% of the worldwide emissions, this, in turn, enhances desertification; a problem that already negatively affects over 1 billion people around the world.
Mahatma Gandhi once said, “Be the Change you wish to see.” Gandhi would agree that we, the citizens, need to help in modifying our own behavior. We need to make small changes to influence the bigger picture. It is up to us whether we want to save our planet or contribute to its destruction.
Even if we stop emitting greenhouse gases now, it will be decades till we actually see its impact on our environment. There is a time lag between what we do and when we feel it, but we must act now.
We need to assess our electricity consumption and make efforts to reduce our electricity waste. This will not only save us money, but it will also contribute to reducing carbon emissions. Furthermore, we should reuse the wastewater from our home RO to clean utensils and other daily uses.
The use of air conditioners in offices and houses emit greenhouse gases, which contributes to global warming.
We need to protect our planet so that we can save millions of lives & biodiversity because we need it for our survival. As a youth, we have a challenging task to protect our Forests, Oceans, Land & Air in such a way that it does not hamper the development of our country. Scientists around the world say that we have 12 years to reverse climate change; 12 years is all we have to save our mother Earth. It's not too late to start thinking about our planet, to take action, and to stop the destruction of our beloved Earth. This is all we have. Once we destroy the only habitable planet that we know of, there is no planet B. So, let’s take steps to improve the condition of our planet NOW! Let us all work together to reverse climate change and make the Earth a better place for ourselves and other living organisms.
“Every big castle was once started with a single block; despise not small beginnings. A little step taken every day builds up the hope of greater accomplishments. Do something every day!” ― Israelmore Ayivor
Tarannum Khan
Bibliography:
Comments