World Environment Day 2020: Five ways we can contribute to saving our environment

We must turn to solar, wind or geothermal energy as they are environment friendly and do not have any aftereffects.   |  Photo Credit: iStock Images

New Delhi: Massive industrialisation, urbanisation, extraction of mineral resources are some of the factors that have played havoc with our environment and caused huge damage to it.

The theme for this year's World Environment Day is 'Biodiversity' and 'Time for Nature'. It has laid emphasis on the role in providing essential infrastructure that supports life on earth and human development. Since 1974, World Environment Day is being celebrated every year on 5 June.

Due to the change in our lifestyle, the condition of the environment has fast deteriorated. While technology has made our life comfortable, the environment has faced negative consequences. On this World Environment Day 2020,  we look at some of the ways in which we can contribute to protecting the environment.

1. Planting more trees: Apart from purifying the air, trees also help us humans in many other ways which include climate control. With the increase in greenhouse gases, trees help in maintaining the air quality by emitting oxygen. Trees also act as habitat for wildlife. Forests are home 80% per cent terrestrial biodiversity of the world.
2. Avoid using single-use plastic: Plastic has become a part of our life. But it is also a major source of pollution to our environment. And the single-use plastic is mainly to blame for it. The single-use plastic not only chokes our drains, pollutes underground water table but also causes severe damage to marine life like Turtles, seabirds, whales, and other species. Therefore, the need of the hour is shunning the single-use plastic and adopt eco-friendly items like cloth carry bags for our daily use.   
    
3. Alternative energy source: Most of the electricity used by us is generated by coal which emits greenhouse gases carbon dioxide (CO2) and nitrous oxide (N2O) causing pollution in the atmosphere. The use of petroleum products for transportation purposes is also another source of pollution. The harmful gases produced by these two fuels (coal & petroleum) also contribute depletion of the ozone layer. Therefore we must turn to solar, wind, or geothermal energy as they are environment friendly and do not have any aftereffects. 
4. Adopt public transport: As we all know more and more cars on the roads add up to pollution, it is in our own interest to adopt the use of public transport and shun private vehicles for commute for as much as possible. People nowadays have more cars than the number of family members in the house. Owning a car has now become a status symbol. We need to shed such a mindset to start contributing to our environment by using public transport.
5. Rainwater Harvesting: The careless use of precious resources like water has created a huge water crisis in many countries. The need of the hour is to take the issue seriously and avoid 'Day zero'-the day when a city’s taps turn dry and people stand in line to collect their daily quota of water. We should start saving the water and make arrangements in our houses for rainwater harvesting.