June 5: World Environment Day — Human. Nature. Change.

Stories of Connection, Sustainability, and Community Action

“We do not inherit the Earth from our ancestors; we borrow it from our children.” – Lester Brown.

This is a powerful quote which places man at the heart of environmental responsibility. It reminds us that we cannot take the limited resources of earth as our birthright or inheritance, but as something we hold in trust for the future generation. The idea underscores the importance of using natural resources in such a manner that it leads to sustainable growth and development, ensuring that our children too can enjoy the fruits of mother nature. There cannot be exploitation of earth’s resources for our selfish gain – there is room for need, not greed.

Roadblocks in the Path of Sustainable Environmental Development

Our planet is facing unprecedented environmental threats. Since the pre industrial era, there has been a rise of 1.1 degree Celsius in global temperature, sparking extreme weather and a rise in sea level. According to UNEP, 2023, over 430 million tonnes of plastic is produced annually out of which only 9% is recycled – even Marina Trench is polluted with plastic waste. It is a matter of deep concern that microplastics have entered the food chain and reached the human blood system, including breast milk. Around 7 million premature deaths occur due to air pollution per year (WHO). There is no access to safe drinking water for over 2 billion people. We have lost around 70% of the wildlife population in the past 50 years (WWF) and at the risk of losing 1 million species. Despite this crisis, many powerful stakeholders continue to prioritize profits over sustainability, worsening Earth’s fragile condition.

Ray of Hope

However, as they say, every dark cloud has a silver lining. Despite the grim environmental situation, all is not lost. There are various individuals, agencies, communities and government policies which aim at providing a green solution to the environmental crisis that we face today. Let us glance over some of them one by one.

Solution to Plastic Pollution

Japan’s Dissolvable Plastic

Researchers at RIKEN and the University of Tokyo have invented a groundbreaking plastic which dissolves completely in seawater within hours and decomposes in soil within 10 days. Traditional biodegradable plastics leave behind microplastics, which is not the case with this innovative plastic. On the contrary, it enriches the soil with essential nutrients like phosphorus and nitrogen, making it a game-changer for agriculture and sustainability.

The Ocean Cleanup Project

Based in the Netherlands, the Ocean Cleanup, a non-profit engineering organization, aims at developing and deploying technology to prevent plastic pollution from rivers from reaching to the ocean and also to remove plastic garbage from the oceans. Starting from the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, they have now become operative in countries like Indonesia, Guatemala, etc.

Plastic Weaving in Dharavi

Community members of Dharavi, Mumbai have transformed plastic waste into woven products like bags and mats, thus addressing the problem as well as providing sustainable livelihoods, particularly empowering the women.

Ecobricks in Pune

A community group called the Pune Ploggers are producing ecobricks by packing plastic waste into bottles. An ecobrick is a plastic bottle densely packed with used plastic to create a reusable building block that achieves plastic sequestration. The process reuses post-consumer plastic, thus benefiting our Earth.

Roads made from Plastic

A major French construction company called Colas Group has developed “phantoms”. They integrate recycled plastic waste into asphalt to construct roads with enhanced performance and sustainability.

The Plastic Man of India, Rajagopalan Vasudevan, has pioneered the method of mixing plastic waste with bitumen to build more durable and eco-friendly roads.

Use of Recyclable Apparel

Among Indian brands B Label and No Nasties top the chart of organizations that recycle and reuse waste plastic materials in manufacturing branded apparel. While B Label creates sustainable apparel using recycled plastic bottles and organic fabrics, No Nasties produces organic cotton clothing with some lines incorporating recycled materials. Both the organizations emphasize on transparency, ethical practices, zero waste product and environment friendly manufacturing processes.

The international brands Patagonia and Adidas x Parley are pioneers in producing sustainable apparel. The former uses recycled polyester and nylon from plastic bottles and fishing nets in their outdoor clothing line. The latter produce shoes and apparel made from recycled ocean plastic waste,

Afforestation efforts made by single individuals as well as communities

Wangari Maathai – The Green Belt Movement (Kenya) – has mobilized communities to plant over 51 million trees across Kenya, focusing on environmental conservation and women’s empowerment. So has the Eden Reforestation Projects (Global)

We have our very own Forest Man of India – Jadav Payeng who single-handedly planted and nurtured a forest on Majuli Island in Assam over several decades. His 1,360-acre forest is now a thriving ecosystem supporting diverse wildlife. Vanashakti is an NGO in Mumbai that works with local communities to restore mangrove forests and urban green spaces, promoting biodiversity and coastal protection.

Organic Farming

Subhash Palekar popularized ZBNF. It is an organic farming method focuses on minimizing cost of production by relying on natural processes. By adopting this method, many Indian farmers have improved yields successfully and sustainably.

Masanobu Fukuoka developed “do-nothing” natural farming, which is similar to ZBNF in that it promotes minimal intervention in the agricultural process.  His work inspired organic farming movements worldwide.

Green Energy

Projects like Charanka Solar Park (Gujarat), Muppandal Wind Farm (Tamil Nadu), Hornsea One Offshore Wind Farm (UK) and Noor Solar Complex (Morocco) provide alternative sources of green energy and fuel, adding to the sustainability of our dear planet.

Small Steps, Big Impact: Citizens Leading the Green Movement

How can we as individuals contribute to the clean environment drive from our homes and communities? Some of the means are given in the table below.

This image is in no way exhaustive and we can of course add our own methods by which we add meaningfully to a greener Earth campaign!

Happy International Environment Day once again!! 

By Richa Verma

Richa is an online English teacher, independent blogger, voracious reader, movie buff who is smitten with wanderlust, and a homemaker. She can be contacted through her email address richavermamh@gmail.com