One touch of nature makes the whole world kin.-William Shakespeare
Imagine a blue sea surrounded by thick green forest, birds chirping with the melody of nature. Such a beauty, that a thought of it will plant peace and happiness in our heart. But gear up your heart as we reveal the truth that, the gift of natural environment that you enjoy today without giving any care in the world will not be enjoyed by your next generation. Nobody will desire for such horror to become reality, lets us see in what way we can save our dear environment.
Birth of World Environment Day
“The environment is where we all meet; where all have a mutual interest; it is the one thing all of us share.” —Lady Bird Johnson
“Environment” is a dynamic place where every second, a new beauty of nature is discovered & another beauty ceases to extinction. To tackle & save such massive gift of mother earth, World Environment Day [WED] was established by the UN General Assembly in 1972 on the first day of Stockholm Conference on the Human Environment, resulting from discussions on the integration of human interactions and the environment. Since then, WED is organized every year around a theme that focuses on a particularly pressing environmental concern and the official celebration takes place at the global host country of that specific year.
Evolution of WED since 1972 to 2017
World Environment Day was celebrated for the first time at Spokane, United States around the theme “Only one Earth” on June 5th 1974 which is two years after the UN designated World Environment day on June 5th 1972.
Later after 1972 the theme started to range from “Human Settlements”, “Water: Vital Resource for Life”, “The Environment Millennium – Time to Act” at different host countries like Bangladesh, Canada, Australia etc.
Last year on 2017 June 5th WED was celebrated at Ottawa, Canada under the theme “Connecting People to Nature – in the city and on the land, from the poles to the equator”
World Environment Day 2018
To maintain a healthy body one needs to input healthy food & thoughts. But won’t the same healthy stuff destroy us if over consumed? The same is in the case of environment we live in where we over consume resource for our need without realizing its harm on environment later .Consumption of plastic is one such example of how an innovation that was invented for our need has now destroyed environment.
This year to fight against “plastic giant” which is one of the most urgent environmental challenges of our time on June 5th, World environment day will be celebrated around the theme “Beat Plastic Pollution”. And guess what? Our country “India” which is known for its “Heritage and biodiversity” is the “Global host of World Environment Day 2018”.
India on a mission to “Beat plastic Pollution”
“On the 5th of June, our nation will officially host the World Environment Day Celebrations. This is a very important achievement for India and also a recognition of India’s growing leadership in the direction of tackling climate change.” – Narendra Modi, PM of India
“India has demonstrated the magnitude of what is possible when leaders, individuals and businesses come together to tackle a challenge – even one as great as plastic pollution,”- Erik Solheim, Head of UN Environment.
India is leading the movement with a goal to “Inspire the world to “beat plastic pollution” .The national commitment to this global cause will run with the promise to make this the largest and most substantial World Environment Day ever. The opening of WED 2018 will begin at New Delhi on June 2 that will showcase green innovation & programs from every corner of the country. Finally on June 5th Prime Minister Modi, will visit the exhibition and make a global call to action, outlining India’s commitments in the battle to beat plastic pollution.
Stories of “Beat Plastic Pollution” around the world
The drive to destroy plastic began with full speed across the world ranging from largest beach clean of Versova beach in Mumbai India, Plogging movement at Sweden, small village of Pangot in Uttarakhand which is a bird-watching paradise started to ditch plastic, fishermen in Kerala fish on a mission to fish for plastic at sea, Galapagos Island started turtle friendly conservation project with plastic debris as their target.
NIST- Running with mission to save environment
NIST Institute runs with a mission to provide quality service in the field of Health, Safety & Environment. Environment being one of our core expertise & focus we render training and service across the globe.
Our range of service with an aim to save environment include Fire safety Course to manage destruction caused to environment by fire, Chemical safety to prevent hazard caused by chemicals like cleaning solvents, paints, motor oil, Emergency Hazardous Spill Response to tackle threat on environment due to release of Bio-hazard material, Radiological Contamination, fuel & oil spills.
What can you do to “Beat Plastic Pollution”
When the entire globe is running ahead with a mission to eliminate or prevent hazard caused by plastic it’s high time that you too join in this mission.
Start with baby steps by following the age old “The three R’s rule”.
- Reduce – Say no to straw, use ecofriendly carriage bags, and give up chewing gums
- Reuse – Use reusable plastic like PET Polyethylene terephthalate, discover innovative plastic DIY’s.
- Recycle – Collect, Sort, shred, clean and melt the plastic to form plastic pellets.
Let’s begin the journey to create better & safer environment for the generations to come.
If you know any more innovative ideas to “Beat Plastic Pollution” feel free to share the same in the comment section!
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