Green Heart At Work: Celebrating World Environmental Day

Celebrating World Environmental Day 2015

Source: www.worldenvironmentalday.com

World Environmental Day is annually celebrated on the 5^th of June. This is an important environmental day to deepen global awareness of the need to care for, preserve, and enhance Mother Nature. This day is about raising awareness of environmental issues and to evoke positive environmental action amongst all people. It provides the perfect opportunity for all people to do something positive for the environment and to realise that each of us has a responsibility to protect to it from further destruction. It is important that people become environmental agents of change.

"Take care of the earth and she will take care of you."
- Author Unknown

This programme was started by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) to bring about the biggest global call and mobilisation for action. Each year it is celebrated with a unique theme. The 2015 theme for World Environment Day is Sustainable consumption and production. The slogan for the theme is "Seven Billion Dreams. One Planet. Consume with Care."

Source: UNEP

"We never know the worth of water till the well is dry."

- Thomas Fuller

It involves how the wellbeing of humanity, the environment, and economies ultimately depend on the responsible management of the planet’s natural resources. Unfortunately, people are consuming far more natural resources than what the planet can sustainably provide. It is no surprise then that many of the Earth’s ecosystems are nearing critical levels of depletion and even irreversible change. This is mainly as a result of high population growth and economic development.

"There is a sufficiency in the world for man's need but not for man's greed."

- Mohandas K. Gandhi

A shocking fact is that by 2050, with a rising population expected to reach 9.6 billion and if current consumption and production patterns remain the same, we will need three planets to sustain our way of life. To ensure a healthy future, it is imperative that all people live within planetary boundaries. U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon states that “Every little step toward improving the environment can help. Although individual decisions may seem small in the face of global threats and trends, when billions of people join forces in common purpose, we can make a tremendous difference”.

Human prosperity need not cost the earth. Living sustainably is about doing more and better with less. It is about knowing that rising rates of natural resource use and the environmental impacts that occur are not a necessary by-product of economic growth (UNEP).

"We do not inherit the earth from our ancestors, we borrow it from our children."

- Native American Proverb

So, please keep your world clean and green. Earth is the only liveable planet, help save it for future generations, and abide by environmental laws. The need for change is pressing. The time to act is now! Remember, Every Day should be World Environment Day.