World Environment Day is celebrated every year on June 5. The day was first observed in 1974 by the United Nations in order to raise awareness to protect our surroundings. The day is also known as Eco Day or Environment Day. Every year the day is observed with a specific theme. This year, the theme is Only One Earth. It is the campaign slogan, with the focus on “Living Sustainably in Harmony with Nature”. We spoke to the UN Environment’s Goodwill Ambassador for India, Dia Mirza who revealed the seven changes that she made in her personal life since becoming an environmental activist.
The 40-year-old actress said, “There have been big changes. The first and primary change is understanding that all my actions, all my patterns of consumption have a little impact on the environment and that human health and the health of the natural world are totally interlinked. So, some of the things that I always share with young children as actions I’ve been able to take, that I hope to continue to take, adding to them, over the years are 7 actions. So, I call them the seven colors of the rainbow. It becomes easy for people to recall what these actions are.
Action 1, is to refuse all single-use plastics, carry your own cutlery, and carry your own water bottle, even when you are hosting parties. Whatever it is, any celebrations, any occasion, any event, refuse single-use plastics.
The second is to take short baths. Make your baths last one song. Try and only take bucket baths so that you are not wasting water. Of course, always repair all drips. So, if you see a tap dripping fix it. If you can go an extra mile, install water check meters in your society. So that you don’t have an overflow of tanks and waste of water.
The third thing that I think I’ve been able to do and everybody else can do is to practice a mostly vegetarian diet. So, eat plant-based meals as much as possible. It makes a big difference. Along with that, you can eat seasonal, local, and unpackaged food even better.
The fourth thing I do is that instead of gifting people material things on special occasions, I prefer gifting them experiences of growing trees in their names. So, because of that I’ve managed to grow 8,000 trees so far and the number is adding up and it is really good. I love to see how people react and respond to receiving a gift like that. It is quite special.
The fifth thing that I think all of us can very easily do is switch from regular CFL bulbs to LEDs. When we use technology and hope that is energy efficient that is a low carbon emission – It makes a huge difference of course, CFLs are not good for the environment, LEDs can help.
The next thing that anyone can do or must do and I really enjoy doing over the years is managing waste at home. Segregating your compostable kitchen waste, all your vegetable peels, fruit peels, and any kind of food wastage — can all get composted at home. And all your dry waste can go wherever it has to. It becomes more easily recyclable. When you mix your wet and dry waste, it creates a lot of toxicity, and its not good for anything – not for the soil, not for air, not for water.
And the seventh thing that I really enjoy doing—is supporting organisations that work for the protection of wildlife and nature. These are organisations that are always struggling for funds and any amount of support is highly appreciable. So, I try and contribute as much as possible to these organisations. Apart from my time, I think investing money in nature, giving your money to organisations that protect wildlife and nature and then also investing in companies that are sustainable can make a huge difference.
So these are the sustainability practices that I believe will help the environment and the Earth and I know that everybody else can do it. It is not hard to do,” Dia signs off.
We must join hands to save our beautiful planet as there is no other place in the universe so beautiful, so vibrant and so lively. Let us be more responsible. Happy World Environment Day!
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