Saving the environment: Stop being so indifferent

Posted on Oct 15, 2007
This post is part of the Blog Action Day initiative.

Since I'm a kid without much writing experience or points to contribute to saving the environment, I've just decided to concentrate on one of my pet peeves.

In India, a new subject called Environmental Education was introduced 2 years ago. Unfortunately like all things in Indian education it is a theoretical, boring and booking subject on which we actually have to write an exam!.

Furthermore the stuff we have to learn is something to which urban children can't relate much. We have Sustainable agriculture, Biodiversity and stuff like that.

As global warming and environmental destruction edges closer and closer I think it would be far better if the subject was redesigned as a more practical one, where we clean up around the school and place recycling bins and plant trees and stuff.

The core issue governments have to tackle today is not knowledge but indifference. For some reason developing countries have this in abundance. Due to years of colonialism and the bad governance, and general apathy to the common good, people are highly self centred. Compassion and selflessness has to emerge from every individual, only then can we save the planet, not by forcing children to write an exam, it puts them off even more. What is needed is gruesome images of destruction and damage, because for some people shock is the only way to invoke change.

I'm still glad that there are still a lot of people in the world who care, and maybe saving this place isn't just a dream after all.

It's time to get practical!

The least people can do is to
  • Stop throwing trash on the street - There is nothing worse than an educated man/woman spitting or throwing papers on the street.
  • Walk when you can - Don't take a car to go to the gym to exercise. Why hurt the planet when you can walk to the gym and fitter.
  • Live life not money - Ok this is unrelated to environment but just improving your life and your mindset is another human set on the right track, and the Earth needs more humans on the right track.
Um... well that's it. And yeah I'm already following my pointers. :D