Today is World Environment Day, a
time to give back to the earth. The holiday was established by the United
Nations General Assembly in 1972 on the day that United Nations Conference on
the Human Environment began. This tradition started in 1974 in Spokane, Washington.
Every year we celebrate in a different country or state with a unique theme.
Today’s festival is held in Italy,
and the theme name is “Seven Billion Dreams. One Planet. Consume with Care.”
There are
many people who participate in the tradition. Gisele Bündchen sent out an SOS
to the world to take action for World Environment Day 2014 by joining one of
their teams to combat climate changes. Their call to action, Message in the
Bottle, asks individuals around the world to join one of the celebrities’ teams
and make a difference by pledging to take action in support of World
Environment Day, which culminates globally on 5 June 2014. The Chicago Botanic
Garden set aside a full day for kids and
adults to explore conservation and sustainability on World Environment Day.
Here are some things you can do yourself on this day.
1.
Consume less especially energy, water and food.
2.
Ride bicycle instead of driving with which we consume
less fuel, which equals less carbon emissions, and you’ll reap the health
benefits of a workout.
3.
Remove meat from your meals only one day a week and in
the course of a year you’ll cut carbon emissions equivalent to not driving your
car for a full month. The production and processing of meat products is
resource intense using land, water, food, and even producing greenhouse gases.
4.
Recycle. Plastic water bottles are recyclable, and in
our community you can even leave the label and lid on the bottle. But
nationwide the recycling rate for plastic bottles is very low. According to the
Fast Company, in 2007 the average American used 167 disposable water bottles,
but only recycled 38. That’s a lot of waste. Instead of using a disposable
product use a refillable water bottle.
5.
Consume energy. As incandescent light bulbs burn out,
replace them with newer compact fluorescent lights, or CFLs. These lights are
more energy efficient and can reduce your electricity use by 75 percent.
