WE often talk about saving the earth, ways to preserve and conserve the environment as well as protecting the flora and fauna.
So now as individuals, what are we contributing to protect the place called ‘earth’ which belongs to all of us?
This is something that we need to ponder upon. It is not the sole responsibility of the authorities to come up with laws concerning the environment or just for some non-governmental organisations (NGO) to carry out campaigns but this it is a collective responsibility.
With time the awareness to take care of the earth has increased and now many are getting engaged in activities, events and policies to demonstrate their love and care for our environment.
When Buletin Mutiara team approached the public to find out their perspective on ways to safeguard our Mother Earth, many were environmental conscious and had already embraced the ‘go green’ concept as a way of life.
Some also shared their views on ‘The World Earth Day’ which falls on April 22.
S. Kumuthemalar, 32, Entrepreneur (Kuala Lumpur)
“A big ‘No’ to paper, let’s go paperless! Think about how much paper we can save just by receiving and paying bills via electronic. I have been going paperless for a quite a long time and I encourage everyone to do so.
“We can even opt for e-books and e-paper. Fewer papers mean not just fewer trees being cut down but also less of hazardous paper waste in our environment.
“Not only that, plastic bags bring negative impact to the environment especially for marine life. Instead of single use of plastic bags for shopping, let’s opt for recyclable cloth bags.
“When one person stops using plastic bags over their lifetime, thousands of plastic bags will be prevented from being ‘discharged’ to the environment.
“Imagine what will happen if each and everyone of us start doing it, we will be actually doing our ourselves and Mother Earth a great favour.
“Taking green initiatives such as these is one way of bringing significance to the ‘World Earth Day’.”
R. Shatyeeswary, 33, Admin Executive (Klang, Selangor)
“Earth Day should not be celebrated for the sake of celebration, but the real celebration is by instilling the value of nurturing the earth in every person.
“I think with the awareness created especially in Penang, I see many people practising the
the 3 Rs (Recycle, Reduce, Reuse) concept. I practise it myself.
“I have relatives in Penang and I always hear them talking about the waste segregation at source policy which the state government has implemented in the residential areas, both landed and strata properties.
“I am really impressed by the seriousness of the state government in making the state cleaner and greener.
“Apart from that, I think every household should conserve energy the best that they could, just like we say charity starts at home. Conserving energy should also start at home.
“I save electricity by turning off the lights or fans whenever no one is in the room or hall. I am very particular about this until people at home will jokingly call me a TNB officer.
“But I must say my family and I use air-conditioner to a minimum level possible.
“I have never planted trees and I want to do it in the near future.”
Mohammad Noor Nadzir Mohamad Nasir, 27, Government staff (Penang)
“For me, the environment-related education programmes are vital and must be done continuously with the passage of time.
“Interactive programmes will serve as a good medium to convey the environmental-related issues to the younger generation. They are the builders of tomorrow.
“The success of an educational programme and awareness campaign can be measured by how often the public is talking about or practising it.
“Therefore, I support any educational programme or awareness campaign regarding environment, such as the banning of straw by the state government (Penang).”
Ray Ikelan, 35, Civil servant (Penang)
“If you ask me, little things that we do at home can also play a part in conserving the non-renewable resources such as the natural gas that we use daily at home to cook.
“People might think, how can we conserve energy when we cook? It is very simple, let’s take cooking hard-boiled eggs as an example.
“We can use ‘energy-friendly’ techniques. Put the eggs into the pot filled with water, cook it until the water boils, then turn off the fire. Let the eggs stay inside the pot for 10 minutes.
“The egg yolk will be cooked to a perfect texture and colour and at the same time we minimise the usage of the natural gas.”
B.Kumarathevan, 49, Pastor & Motivation Speaker (Penang)
“Our attitude towards earth must radically change. We must see it as our responsibility and I believe we all can contribute at least a little to keep it green by not throwing rubbish everywhere, especially into the drain, river or sea.
“We also should put up notice in our houses and workplace to turn off the electrical power when we don’t need it, just to save consumption of energy. My family and I practise this.
“Personally, I will use online media to motivate people to show some “love” to mother nature by preserving and planting trees besides focusing on the issues of cleanliness in the neighborhood.
“We should organise some community projects, including ‘gotong royong’ and also put up banners, billboard advertisements and give out car stickers to create awareness.
“I welcome the idea of celebrating the ‘The World Earth Day’ in Penang as this will serve as great platform to champion and educate the public on taking ownership of the earth.”
So let us all do our part in protecting our beloved earth. Any contribution from every single individual is very significant.
Kudos to all of you who have already taken up the ‘green steps’! If you have not, do not wait a second as the Mother Earth is in need of your care and love.
Story by Tanushalini Moroter