It sounds ironic to exchange wishes on World Environment Day 2021; a day celebrated on June 5 of every year. But, with Earth striving to inhale an air of peace and dense greens getting burnt down for humans’ sake, we must take all the credit for this upheaval. We are unabashedly all busy posting pictures of newly brought plants on social media.
If this was not enough, humans are out on the roads themselves trying to kill the tusked “pregnant four-legged animals” to ensure they prove victorious over them, if not over the tiny viruses staging their shows all across the globe.
While we have spent childhood swinging on tree branches on Hariyali Teej, kids today are seen all engrossed into their smartphones with a pair of thick glasses that adorn their otherwise red, tired eyes. Humans have found replacements. We’re saving trees, going digital; however, birds have no guarantee for their lives with an exponential increase in mobile towers and signals. But, hail! It is World Environment Day 2021, and you see you have decorated your plane, painted your balcony with pots of green.
While you have not even cared to mark the environment’s happy day, a 16-year-old Greta Thunberg went raving about protecting mother nature. “How dare you?” was heard echoing in the UN Assembly. Tears rolled down her cheeks, but nobody gave a damn! Critics went on doing their business. Tinsel town poured in a few tweets – their jobs done, life went in smoothly.
But, who cares? After all, we all gotta die someday! So here we are, stuck up in our trap, forests burning, air polluting, water getting impure (spilling of oil to be the latest addition in destruction business), and finally, tiniest demons killing millions. But, remember, God’s watching it all! What goes around comes around. So, instead of continuing with our mistakes, why can’t we start afresh? It’s never too late to make a change.
As the theme of World Environment Day 2021 is “REIMAGINE. RECREATE. RESTORE,” how about beginning again and joining #GenerationRestoration? Let’s start with baby steps, one change at a time. Replace plastic with paper or reusable bags, plant more trees, choose sustainable clothing, use electricity wisely, and make peace with nature. Don’t forget that it is us who need nature, and not the other way round.
Here’s wishing you all a very Happy World Environment Day!