Be Friends of Nature: Contribute to a Cleaner
View(s):Knowingly or unknowingly, we all emit a certain amount of carbon to our surrounding environment. Having an environmental friendly life with less emission to the environment can make our living more sustainable. We all can contribute considerably to reduce the amounts of harmful gases and particles which could cause air pollution by maintaining our lives in an environmental friendly manner.
Sri Lankans experienced the severe effect of air pollution in the month of December last year. Many children and adults getting cold and cough due to high rise of particle density in the sky over the country. The density of particles increased from the normal level to a considerably higher extent in Colombo. Sunlight was not seen for three days and the sky was gloomy and darker due to sunlight not directly falling. The temperature was down to 220C and the effect was felt by people all over the country. In fact, this abnormal condition brought death to at least 1,800 cattle and goats especially in the Nort and North Eastern Provinces, as they could not bear the cold environment. Everyone knows that this effect was not mainly due to any condition originated in our country, but due to severe air pollution in neighbouring India which brought all the particles to Sri Lankan skies too.
In Sri Lanka during dry season many forests are being burned either to clear the land, hunting animals or ignorance of the people, and very valuable forest cover is being lost in addition to large number of animals. Bush fires are very common in several countries including US, Australia causing extensive damage to the forests and properties. Readers remember very well about forest fires in the Amazon rain forests. The Amazon rainforest is vital to the planet’s climate, playing a role in regulating or balancing regional and global climate and bringing rain to distant regions. Moreover, the Amazon also stores large amounts of carbon. When the forest is cut down or burnt down, the carbon is released into the atmosphere, contributing to global warming.
Readers are also aware of the Australia’s unprecedentedly catastrophic bushfires rage, skies turned blood red by smoke, families sheltering on boats to escape the flaming shore, and landscapes littered with the charred bodies of iconic animal species such as kangaroos and koalas. The emissions do not result in bad conditions only for the areas of their origin but also for the entire world because we all share the same atmosphere as it’s the main roof of all of us. Therefore it is a collective effort of all of us to get out from these catastrophic phenomenon. Higher admission of pollutants, dust particles and unfavorable gases especially the Greenhouse Gases (GNH Gases) can make significant changes in the atmospheric composition making extreme weather events and climate change as the ultimate results. As we all know, we also contribute to this matter to a certain extent because human activities are identified as one of the main sources of emitting harmful gasses like Carbon dioxide, Methane and Chlorofluorocarbon (CFC).
Wild elephants scavenge for food at an open landfill in Pallakkadu village in Ampara district (AP Photo)
Courtesy: NewsIn Asia
Forest fire at Rahathangala forest Buttala (Courtesy WordPress .com)
There are several environmentally friendly methods that each individual could contribute substantially.
In Transportation try one of the following ways to get to work or school; Cycling, walking, car-pooling, public transport. On average, for each liter of fuel burnt in a car engine, more than 2.5 kg of CO2 are produced. Make public transport safe, convenient and affordable. Take care in selecting vehicles to minimize their impact on emissions.
In Food production reduce intake of animal products. Industrialized countries need to reduce their meat consumption from the current 224g/ person/ day Global convergence to 90g/ person/ day would have a significant effect on carbon levels and health.
In Energy use turn down the heat reducing the temperature by just 10C can cut 5-10% off your family’s energy bill and avoid up to 300kg of CO2 emissions per household per year. Placing your fridge or freezer next to the cooker or boiler consumes much more energy than if they were standing on their own.
In Water use conserve household water. Identifying and encouraging people to collect and use ‘grey’ water for washing, bathing and watering gardens and livestock will help preserve drinking water supplies. Harvest rain water. Boil less water. If you only boil just enough water for your cup of tea, you could help save a lot of energy.
In Waste Management recycle as much as possible. Take used glass to the bottle bank and separate paper and cardboard, plastic and cans for recycling from the rest of your waste. Recycling one aluminum can saves 90% of the energy needed to produce new a new one. Reduce waste.
Having an environmentally friendly life with less emission to the environment can make our living more sustainable. As knowledgeable human beings, we all can contribute considerably to reduce the amounts of harmful gases and particles which could cause air pollution by maintaining our lives in an ‘environmentally friendly manner. At the same time we can save more life and can reduce the damage caused after a natural catastrophic phenomena without letting thousands of life and property to get damaged.
By Wathsala Gunathilake, Lecturer in Geography, University of Kelaniya Environment
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