I have always been an ardent believer in climate change from the time I learned that the glaciers started to melt. It was way back in 2004 that I understood the term Global Warming and people thought I was crazy, because I tried to switch to “green” stuff way back in high school. I think my teacher had made it very clear that it is high time we start acting towards this disastrous concept and stop depleting the fossil fuels. All this hadn’t made sense to me, as I thought it is the world leaders that need to act and not us, but it hit back after I watched the documentary ‘Before the Flood’, directed by Fisher Stevens.
I am a huge fan of Leonardo DiCaprio and I couldn’t stop myself from watching this 1 and a half hour long documentary. I am not here to judge the documentary and tell you what should have been better or was it effective enough. I am here to share what I learned and I am writing this to encourage every earthling to watch it. You should watch this documentary only to realize to what extent the earth has been destroyed attributable to our activities. You should watch it to see what modernization has led to. You ought to watch it to commence a change and an initiative to facilitate and support this global phenomenon because, we are the voice and we are the change. We drive change. We drive decisions. Nothing can destroy the power of a common man. We can support a government and we could also make it fall.
The documentary talks about all the changes that Leonardo noticed on his 3-year journey across different countries. It is shocking to know how things have changed at an alarming rate. I was shocked to see the rate at which forests are being wiped out for various resources. I was also shocked to see what brands are involved in this hideous act.
Let me ask you this, would you be happy to see your children learn about beautiful forests and animals only from pictures and through computers and not experience the joy of nature and fresh air for real? Technology has advanced but it cannot get back what is lost.
I urge everyone to watch it to begin a change in your lifestyle. I know you might think, what difference does your lifestyle make towards saving earth? But imagine, if you start a simple change, your family would start it too and then your colleagues, friends, their families, and it is a chain reaction. Don’t ask me what can you do to save the planet, because there are variety of posts online that teach you what to do and what not do.
Here’s what I do as a 24-year-old. I am sure, you could do much more.
You could start with using your coffee mugs instead of plastic, because plastic never dies. It remains forever. Watch the documentary to see how many aquatic animals suffer due to plastic thrown in the ocean.
You could stop using aerosol sprays.
You could start gifting green plants instead of something plastic. You could start planting trees and growing plants.
Conserve Electricity always and wherever you can. It not only saves you money, but turns out to be a good habit.
Go green for real. Use Paper and printing machine ONLY WHEN NECESSARY.
Opt for organic bags. Recycle. There are recycle bins everywhere in every city. Use them. Re-use your stuff. Don’t throw it. Use YouTube for a cause at least once. There are numerous DIY projects that teach you how to re-use stuff and how to re-cycle
Change your light bulbs. Compact fluorescent light bulbs (CFLs) last 10 times longer than a standard bulb and use at least two-thirds less energy.
Walk or ride your bike to work, school and anywhere you can. You can reduce greenhouse gases while burning some calories and improving your health. If you can’t walk or bike, use mass transit or carpool. Every car not on the road makes a difference.
It is not difficult, trust me. If I can do it, you can do it too.
Save the planet for your kids and their kids. It is high time we started thinking about it for real. You would be responsible tomorrow for failing to create a better place for your kids. I find it sad that kids next generation are already hooked up on tablets and laptops instead of playing outside, getting hurt for real and learning new crazy stuff on their own. Start acting now and save the planet.
“We know only too well that what we are doing is nothing more than a drop in the ocean. But if the drop were not there, the ocean would be missing something.”– Mother Theresa.
InExAcT as always.
–Sheekha
Originally written on Feb 20th 2017.