Stop talking, start acting
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What if your house is on fire? What if your house is being demolished? Will you keep quiet?
The truth is, that is exactly what is happening to our planet; our home. We watched in despair as the great Amazon was reduced to ashes. We gave aid to our fellow Sri Lankans who were affected by severe floods. We act when it is done.
With environmental pollution becoming a pressing issue, we interviewed Mr. Sanith Wijeyeratne, the CEO of Carbon Consulting Company on the importance of environmental conservation and the urgency to protect and preserve rather than pollute and destroy the planet in which we live.
What is your story?
I just celebrated my eighth year at Carbon Consulting Company (CCC). Our work focuses on sustainability assessments and promoting sustainable development. Six months prior to working at CCC, I was contacted by a mutual friend to ask if I was interested in working at a Green Industry.
At the time I didn’t know much about the industry as I started out as a Corporate Lawyer but, I knew that there were problems. It came down to this opportunity to do something positive for the environment. It was really an opportunity to make a difference and to help others be a part of this process and, to inspire companies to make a positive change or to at least make them start looking at the environmental metrics.
What are the major obstacles standing in the way of environmental conservation?
The biggest issue is that people don’t want to actually do something. We just like to talk. A good example for this is Climate strikes. So many people are striking which is a good thing. Our problem is that the rest of us think that it’s enough.
All these countries had massive climate strikes but what did the leaders do, what was the outcome? The effects of this need to be seen. I don’t think it will be as effective as it should be.
Lack of concrete activity worldwide is another challenge. We still continue to burn fossil fuels despite having renewable energy sources. Everybody likes to plant trees; nobody looks after them.
That is what we tell children, to plant trees. The adults should look after the trees till the children come to a sphere of influence.
Everybody is looking for a quick fix.
How can Sri Lanka being a developing state, empower her economy while protecting the environment?
If we look back at our lifestyles some time ago, our houses were well ventilated; some people did not even have fans. The level of our country has nothing to do with it. We try to do what the West is doing while forgetting what we should be doing. We are building massive buildings which have central air conditioning. The air conditioner uses “dirty sources” like coal to function, which is not doing any justice to the environment. On the other hand, saving the planet has nothing to do with investing in high technology. It actually means using less technology and going back to our old habits like taking reusable bags to the Farmer’s market.
How do we find the balance between protecting forests and clearing them for agricultural purposes?
They are not mutually exclusive. It is a matter of enforcing the regulations and cultivating the land sustainably. There is a system called Analog Forestry, which is a method of reforestation.
We only have 4% of our rainforest left and that too in hundred and eighty-eight little spots. We are doing a project called “HINIDUMA BIO-LINK” in which we are trying to develop a system that can connect some of these spots but, there are farmers getting in the way. We give the farmers rainforest trees to plant on a portion of their land and, we pay them to look after the trees for 20 years. If he protects the trees, his household income goes up by 20%. It is not easy to do but it’s working!
What simple acts can we do to ensure the protection of the environment?
Limiting the use of air conditioners will reduce the emission of Greenhouse Gases significantly.
[Excessive emission of Greenhouse Gases causes global warming.]
Take public transport.
Limit flying out on holidays.
Don’t throw away electronic devices if they are in good condition. That’s plastic. That’s energy. That’s waste.
Stop using single-use plastic.
WStop doing business as usual! Everything else falls into place. If companies do not change the way they do business, they will continue to impact the environment negatively.
People have to change. If we continue to stick to our comfort zones, nothing is going to change!
-Kavishi Gunawardena