World Environment Day
Posted on by Isabelle Brown
June 5 is a day that offers a global platform for inspiring positive change across the world. Since established by the United Nations in 1972, this day is renowned for environmental action.
We can think of this day as the sister celebration to Earth Day—A chance to spread messages of respect and conservation for our shared home.
It’s easy to let the connection that binds us to our environment slip our minds. Having an international day to recognize our responsibility to protect it reminds us of this message, and allows us to view the world in terms of each individual nation as a global community.
We are given a chance to think about the way we consume. Businesses can push to develop greener models. Manufacturers are encouraged to produce more sustainably on this day. Governments are urged to safeguard wild spaces. Educators use this day to inspire students to live in harmony with the earth. These students will be the fierce gatekeepers of a green future for generations to come.
The theme for World Environment Day 2020 is “Biodiversity”. The idea of biodiversity encompasses all the different species on the planet—all 8 million to be exact. From plants and animals to fungi and bacteria, we all share an ecosystem that can be looked at as an intricate web in which we all act as an interdependent part.
As we know, our world is in the midst of a global disease pandemic as COVID-19 spreads all around the globe. This creates the need for an urgent call to action when it comes to understanding and taking care to acknowledge biodiversity and how every separate part of the web affects the others.
World Environment Day is the perfect time to use this year’s hardships as a learning and teaching moment. To look upon the issues and see the big picture of biodiversity will help us to all underscore the fact that we are intimately connected with nature. To protect ourselves from the spread of pathogens like Coronavirus, we must protect the environment.
Every time you choose to turn off the lights when you leave the room, reduce food waste, recycle, make attempts to use less plastic, shop locally, plant your own herbs or vegetables, or decide to use eco-friendly alternatives in your everyday life, you are making a difference.
Every single positive change we make is one that pushes us toward a healthier, safer world. If everyone made one small effort every day, like switching to LED lightbulbs in our home, our environment would thank us in return. Maybe in ways we cannot see, but in ways that would benefit the intricate web that we all have a place in.