“Have you ever spent a day with nature?’ If not, decide when you would be”

As urbanites or townsfolk, apart from thinking of our well- planned concerns, we always have few exclusive desires in the corner of our mind. At the drop of a hat, everybody has the urge to spend at least a single day with nature entirely. Now, the reminder has come to check the possibility of fulfilling this resting desire with a special day, i.e., The Environment Day, celebrated around all the corners of the world. This is the day which is considered so important as it bothers about both the living beings and non-living beings. It also evokes that the nature is supplying us food, water, oxygen, fuels, minerals and everything we need for our whole life.

United Nations is celebrating June 5 as the Environment Day in every year .It is the crucial day for the tree huggers and nations to bring awareness to its people about environment. This year‘s Environment Day is hosted by Canada which organizes the events therewith.

Theme of Environment Day -2017: ‘Connecting people to nature’

This theme insists on the importance of the connection between human beings who are having 1,50,000 years of history with our planet having 4.5 billion years old. Mathematically, ratio between these numbers is almost zero; Biologically, the connection between these two things is of infinity. This theme reveals the truth that we are probably disconnected with nature now a days.  We were connected to the nature closely in ancient times but when time rolled by, we have walked far away from the nature. This environment day stresses us to reconnect with nature again in all the possible ways.

                            “Spend a day with nature; make a new way to future”

This move will help you to understand the nature and its beauty. In order to disseminate this theme, the organizers have planned to conduct various activities throughout the world as part of the celebrations of this year’s environment day.                           

Events across world

  • On this day, the selected major buildings, statues and monuments across the world from New York’s Empire State Building to the Burj Khalifa in Dubai will turn green in color in evening.
  • Beach Clean-ups from the Pacific Ocean to the Caspian Sea.
  • Tree-planting from all over India to the London training ground of Arsenal FC.
  • Hikes and Walks in city parks and wildlife refuges from Iran to the Philippines.

Events across India

  • Indian Government to mobilize the waste management system on this year, accordingly, govt plans to install color-coded litter bins in 4,000 towns from June 5 to encourage people to separate solid waste from composite waste and to motivate reusing &recycling processes.
  • It includes clean-ups in the lake city of Nainital, along the Mutha River in Pune, and on the beach in Thiruvananthapuram.

Challenges for Environment

While celebrating the events with enthusiasm, we have to consider the challenges that environment encounters at the same time. They are Global warming, Deforestation, Climate change, Loss of Biodiversity, Severe health problems, Water scarcity, Air pollution, Over exploitation of natural resources, Over population and Urban sprawl.

In addition to these, industries cause severe effects to the environment by not focusing on the safety measures properly.

  • Fire accidents in Oil industries and Petrol Bulks causes air pollution in a massive scale.
  • The recent incidents of Oil leaks from ‘supertankers’ mixes with the water in the sea .It affects marine life and affects the livelihood of fisher folk.
  • Emission of Greenhouse gases from industries causes ozone depletion.

Safety Protective Measures

  • Safety Management Programs in the industries must include the control the emission of greenhouse gases.
  • Safety measures should be applied in the supertankers and oil industries with utmost importance.
  • Inflammable materials should be stored in the industries cautiously to avoid sudden accidents.

Role of Public

Clean and green environment could be possible when people actively participate by implementing protective methods. They can involve in Rain water harvesting , reducing the use of vehicles by carpooling method, avoiding using plastic bags, recycling and reusing wastes, reducing the energy conservation by switching off electrical appliances when not in use, reducing the use of papers in homes and offices, planting trees in home if possible, checking vehicles regularly to control air pollution, buying wooden toys instead of plastic toys for kids, using stairs to avoid lifts, using solar panels, and etc.

Meanwhile, many NGOs are working towards the safe environment making awareness campaigns like organizing marathons, clean- ups in beaches, rivers, and many more. Individuals can participate in this kind of activities and could contribute their part for environment protection.