Time for a Billion Acts of Green

By Promod De Silva

The Earth is our only home, at least until we venture out into deep space in search of other habitable planets. But that day is far, far away. Until then, as Marshall McLuhan so eloquently pointed out, "We are all crew of Spaceship Earth". Thus, it is important to protect and nurture the Earth, perhaps the only planet in the Solar System capable of sustaining life. That is why the Earth is unique - it has life, and intelligent life at that. But we must be intelligent enough - and bold enough - to realise the problems facing the Earth, find solutions for them and ensure a brighter future for our planet.

Today, there is unprecedented enthusiasm for protecting the Earth, due to factors such as climate change which threaten our very existence.

There is widespread awareness of the need to preserve the Earth's biodiversity and natural resources. But 41 years ago, in 1970, there was no such widespread enthusiasm on the need to protect the Earth. Yet, there were visionaries who foresaw what was to come and initiated action.

The seeds of Earth Day were planted when a handful of scientists and conservationists became aware that the phenomenal post-war growth of global industry - and its attendant air and water pollution - was destroying much of the natural world.

It was during this era that US Senator Gaylord Nelson, a conservation-minded Democrat Senator from Wisconsin, first proposed making environmental protection a national priority. Nelson noticed that a number of small organisations had achieved some success in promoting environmental issues locally. Inspired by these events, and by the growing number of anti-war protests that had sprung up across the country, Nelson decided in 1969 that a single day devoted to an environmental teach-in might be the perfect way to put pollution, deforestation and other issues at the top of the agenda.

Environmental concerns

Speaking at a conference in Seattle in September of 1969, Nelson proposed that in the spring of 1970 there would be a coast-to-coast grassroots demonstration on behalf of environmental concerns - and in Nelson's words, "The response was electric. It took off like gangbusters." People had apparently been looking for an outlet to express their growing environmental consciousness.

Nelson also took out a full-page ad in The New York Times in January of 1970, announcing that Earth Day would take place on Wednesday, April 22. The date was chosen because of its timing with student class schedules, warmer weather and no competing holidays. That is how Earth Day was born. Although conceptualised in the USA, it has now become a global movement, a global day.

On April 22, 1970, some 20 million people took to the streets, vastly exceeding even the most optimistic expectations. Thus, the first Earth Day was deemed a blazing success. The event was front-page news almost everywhere, and coverage was overwhelmingly positive. The event cemented in people's minds the importance of environmental issues as a community concern and an international priority. And when, in 1990, Earth Day went global as an international event, the world embraced it with the same enthusiasm as Americans did in 1970.

People power is the bedrock on which the success of Earth Day rests. It is an event where you Act Locally but Think Globally. The theme for this year's Earth Day 'A Billion Acts of Green' is highly appropriate in this context. The basic idea is an individual should at least perform one 'Green' Act, which will collectively become a billion or more Acts of Green in the run-up to the 2012 Earth Summit in Rio.

Five ‘Rs’

One of the best ways to do this is to think of the five 'Rs' - Reduce, Re-use, Re-cycle, Replenish and Restore, although the first three are the most widely known. If we reduce the consumption of petrol by one litre by walking a bit, that is an Act of Green. If we re-use a polythene bag instead of throwing it away, that too is an Act of Green. If we recycle a plastic bottle, that qualifies as an Act of Green. There are a myriad ways in which we can perform an Act of Green, often spending little or no money and saving lots of it, eventually, not to mention the immense benefit to the environment.

Recycling is in fact one of the few things we can do that contributes measurably to our planet's health on a daily basis. It is a habit that we can all do to contribute to the bigger picture. People feel good when they recycle, because they know they are doing something good to Planet Earth. Remember, the Earth has a finite amount of resources - everything from a new pin to a ship consumes some of it. Recycling, the biggest Act of Green, reduces this burden to some extent.

Perhaps, the other biggest Act of Green is switching over to renewable sources of energy where possible. This is because our increased use of fossil fuels is causing global warming, which could impact adversely on life on Earth. The Earth's climate is driven by a continuous flow of energy from the sun. Heat energy from the sun passes through the Earth's atmosphere and warms the Earth's surface.

As the temperature increases, the Earth sends heat energy (infrared radiation) back into the atmosphere. Some of this heat is absorbed by gases in the atmosphere. These gases, which are all naturally occurring, act as a blanket, trapping in the heat and preventing it from being reflected too far from the Earth. They keep the Earth's average temperature at about 15 degrees Celsius: warm enough to sustain life for humans, plants and animals. This natural warming effect is also sometimes called the 'greenhouse' effect.

Most significant

Carbon dioxide (CO2) is the most significant of the gases in our atmosphere which keep the Earth warm. The amount of naturally produced CO2 is almost perfectly balanced by the amount naturally removed.

We are now releasing this CO2 at an ever-increasing rate by burning fossil fuels (around 28 billion tons of CO2 were released into the atmosphere last year) and the layer of greenhouse gas gets thicker. This in turn makes the Earth warmer and it means that the conditions under which humanity has thrived are rapidly changing. This is called global warming and by extension, climate change. Even a rise of two degrees Celsius would have a devastating impact on many parts of the world, life forms and human communities. This means we should cut down on emissions from fossil fuels and other such sources. It is time to think of other forms of energy such as wind, solar and biomass. Installing even a single solar light in your garden qualifies as an Act of Green.

Collectively, these acts will not only have an impact on global carbon emissions, but will also demonstrate the massive power of small everyday individual Acts of Green.

While Earth Day falls on April 22, the whole month of April is now being increasingly called Earth Month to highlight the fact that dedicating just one day for our Home is just not good enough.

That is the spirit in which we should treat Mother Nature and Planet Earth. They deserve our love and care every day of the year, not just on Earth Day. If we do at least one Act of Green every day, there will be a glimmer of hope left for Planet Earth.