Never too busy to save the world!

This is a blog that I wrote for the Earth Day website a couple of weeks ago. I realize that it is quite a deviation from my usual rants and ramblings. But it was for a good cause so I figured 'what the hell' :)

Here goes:

Since you have made your way to this blog, I am certain that you are someone who is passionate about sustainability. Personally, my passion, or rather concern, for the environment started when I joined the Environment club in school and has been with me ever since. This was long before it became fashionable and the thing to do to be eco-friendly (heck, these were the days when the word sustainable wasn’t even used in this context!). But I digress. Fashionable or not, every person who cares for the environment makes me that much more optimistic about our future!

The idea of sustainability may be fantastic and a wonderful one to preach, but what should we do about it? In an ideal world, we would all be able to become Greenpeace activists (kudos to all of you out there) and work together to save the earth, one day at a time. But in reality, for most of us, our work/studies tend to take top priority. We are left with practically no time to dedicate to our passion for the environment owing to this. That said, we must realize that it isn’t the end of the world (no pun intended!).

Each of us in our own small way can help ease the pressure on the earth. The adage ‘Little drops make the mighty ocean’ isn’t just something that was fun to talk about in school. We can all work together and do our bit to give back to the world. I have listed down a few things that we can do to help our planet. Most of these ideas, though glaringly obvious, are seldom practiced.

· Turn off the water while brushing/shaving. You can save close to 8 gallons of water by doing so

· Unplug all appliances and chargers that are not in use to save them from draining energy.

· Instead of throwing away the water that’s been stored for a few days, use it to water the plants at home/in the office.

· Take the public transport/carpool whenever possible.

· Use the stairs instead of the elevator/escalator wherever possible.

· Try and use renewable energy (solar, biodegradable, wind, etc.) wherever possible.

· Recycle, recycle, and recycle!

These ideas, besides being socially beneficial, will also provide you with a financial benefit. So that’s an added bonus! There are tons of other tips to help preserve our environment. Please help me in suggesting a few others and practicing them as well.

On April 22^nd, people all over the world will join together to celebrate not only our planet, but life itself. Let’s make a pledge to start practicing our ideas on sustainability on this day!