April 22nd is widely recognised as Earth Day in as many as 192 countries all over the world. Now for those people who are wondering what it is all about, here is the Wikipedia definition … «Earth Day is a day that is intended to inspire awareness and appreciation for the Earth’s natural environment.»
People from all walks of life marked this year’s Earth Day in various ways including tree planting, organised street and beach clean ups, music and art festivals, recycling projects, conserving energy, using public transport or cycling and much more. It was a day on which every individual could do something, in order to ‘make a difference’; and hopefully many people took this opportunity to do exactly that. What is important to remember though is that every day should be Earth Day, we should not simply show our appreciation for our natural environment just ‘once a year’.
Recycling
«Every aluminium drink can you recycle saves enough energy to keep your television running for three hours. So instead of dumping that can of pop in the bin, why not do the eco-friendly thing and recycle it? The planet will definitely thank you. – Taken from ‘How Earth Day 2013 is being celebrated around the world’ – Mirror.co.uk
Recycling has to be one of the easiest ways in which every individual can make a contribution to keeping our planet clean and reducing waste; but statistics from recycling-guide.org show that only 43% of household waste is recycled in the UK. Although this is a vast improvement from 2001 (13%) it is amazing that the simple task of separating rubbish for disposal is not a more common occurrence in our domestic environments. The Government and local authorities have played their part by providing the necessary resources for making recycling easier and it is now up to the individual to fulfill their role. As things stand this is the only planet we have and just as it has been and continues to be good to us by sustaining us with all its natural resources; we in turn can be good to it by doing what we can to keep it clean and healthy.
Clean and Healthy Air Quality
Apart from recycling the average individual can also contribute to being kind to Mother Nature by doing what they can to ensure that the air we are so dependent on is as clean as possible. Air pollution continues to be a problem in many cities and London is no exception. The Mayor of London, Boris Johnson has overseen the introduction of a cycle hire scheme and along with this; the availability of hybrid cars and buses will continue to improve the air quality on our streets. However it is still up to us as individuals whether we utilise the resources that are readily available to us.
The air quality within our homes, offices, schools and other indoor areas is proven to be poorer than it is outdoors and this should concern us all because we tend to spend more time indoors than out. Among the factors that influence the quality of the air in our indoor environments are dust particles (which consist of pollen, dead skins cells, pet hair etc.) and the toxic chemicals that can be found in some of the cleaning products, air fresheners and deodorants that we use.
Although dust can be easily dealt with by simply doing the cleaning on a regular basis (especially of carpet surfaces which tend to trap dust); it is also important that we ensure that we reduce our use of chemical-based cleaners. There are many cleaning product manufacturers that produce eco-friendly cleaners for both commercial and domestic use and these products are just as effective while being kind to nature as well as to our health. There are also some inexpensive options for domestic cleaning without chemicals and these come in the form of using ingredients like vinegar, lemon, baking soda, borax and other household products to make homemade cleaners. For those who are not inclined to doing the household chores there are many cleaning companies who provide environmentally friendly cleaning services.
So at the end of the day the impact we make on the environment boils down to the decisions we make as individuals, so let’s choose to make a difference!
Camisetas Atlético de Madrid Diario SPORT. Versión online del periódico deportivo. Todas las noticias del Barça y del mundo del deporte en general.