A Call to Action for Earth Day
The theme of this year’s Earth Day is “invest in our planet,” and that is precisely the message that we need to carry with us if we hope to save our planet. Unfortunately, with each coming earth day, the situation is more urgent than ever before. With more extreme weather events, a changing climate, species losing habitat, and the continued exploitation of captive wildlife worldwide, we are pushing earth to its limits.
As we look to the future, there are some areas of conservation that are most urgent to focus on with hopes that at this time next year, things will start to improve, rather than continuing to dig us deeper into environmental doom. In addition to the individual changes being made (such as recycling and compost efforts in the home, converting to a more low-waste lifestyle, etc.), we must continue putting pressure on large companies to become more conscious and on the government to hold themselves accountable for policy changes.
While creating long-term strategies can be challenging in many political systems, it’s no longer an option. We must be demanding that those in power have the foresight to institute climate and earth-friendly policies. Because at the end of the day, having an excellent economy and stock options won’t matter on a dead planet.
Emissions
According to the UN, emissions have increased by nearly 50% since 1990. Although they slowed down over the past two years due to global lockdowns, we wasted no time returning to pre-covid emissions levels this year. To make a lasting impact on these levels, we must tackle the large companies responsible for mass amounts of emissions.
By permanently bringing those numbers down, we will be taking a massive step in the right direction! From there, we can continue efforts to create a more carbon-efficient transportation system worldwide. Collectively, the transportation sector is to blame for upwards of 25-30% of world emissions every year. This comes from both human and cargo transport on trains, planes, trucks, cars, and motorcycles.
What can you do this year for emissions? A great starting place is assessing your personal impact by calculating your greenhouse gas emissions. Based on your results, create a sustainable plan for reducing the number you get. Maybe you’re able to bike to work, carpool more, or even start using public transportation. While they can seem trivial at the moment, our daily habits add up! Imagine your daily habits, times everyone else’s in the world, and how many emissions they create.
Once you’ve made a plan for your emissions, join the fight against large companies. Attend protests, reach out to your local and federal government, speak up for the planet through your vote and remember that we can accomplish lower emissions, but we all have to work as a team.
Drilling and Mining
Stripping the earth of its natural resources has long been an issue; however, it's no longer necessary in today’s modern world. We could lean into electric vehicles more by making them the lower cost and more accessible option among consumers. We could use recycled minerals rather than mining more when it comes to developing new technology (like smartphones, more on that here).
So the question is, why are we choosing the more destructive path and continuing to believe that those in power are doing everything they can to fight alongside us for a healthy planet? Majorly reducing and eventually getting rid of drilling and mining is a must for making progress in climate change and environmental destruction.
What can you do this year for drilling and mining? Our consumer habits determine the demand for the natural resources mined and drilled from the earth. Simply by following the tip in the emissions section above, you can help reduce the need for gas/petrol in your vehicle! You can also voice your concern to large companies like Apple and Samsung that knowingly use conflict minerals in their devices. We can make significant headway by encouraging more ethical and environmentally conscious methods from the companies responsible for the most destruction.
Habitat Destruction
The mass deforestation and destruction occurring worldwide is directly impacting human life in so many ways. The impacts of these actions are being seen globally; however, governments and policymakers have continued to turn a blind eye in the name of capitalism and continued profit. With the destruction of landscapes comes extinction, disease spread (think covid…), human-wildlife conflict, and increased emissions.
Humans are so reliant on the health of our environment and the health of the wildlife around us because we have a symbiotic relationship with one another. Without each of the animals on our planet, each ecosystem would be out of balance, and without each landscape present, the animals would have no place to live. The rivers, trees, and mountains are not something we can exploit, destroy, and sell. They do not have a place in our capitalistic world, but as long as we continue trying to profit off the earth in such drastic ways, we will only be killing ourselves with the effects.
What can you do this year for habitat destruction? Pay attention to the products you’re using and how they’re being harvested or extracted from the earth. Certain common ingredients, like palm oil, can often promote unsustainable farming methods, which destroy mass amounts of habitat annually. Research your everyday household products and the ingredients you see on your labels. The more you know about your consumer habits, the more empowered you’ll be to create change in our world.
The common theme among these environmental concerns is that they’re all connected. Each one of these leads to the other. Emissions increase due to habitat destruction for drilling and mining. But today, on Earth Day 2022, we have enough resources and innovation to change the way we’ve “always done things” and start anew. We’re being challenged to step up for the earth, and if we do not take this challenge seriously, the consequences will only get more severe.
Remember, this is not just the responsibility of one country or group of people. We all live on this earth, and it’s all of our duties to play a role in protecting the planet. Because at the end of the day, all of our actions are playing a part; it’s just a matter of what kind of impact we want to have.