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World Environment Day
Introduction
"By resolution 2994 (XXVII) of December 15, 1972, the General
Assembly designated June 5 as World Environment Day, to deepen
public awareness of the need to preserve and enhance the
environment. That date was chosen because it was the opening day of
the United Nations Conference on the Human Environment (Stockholm,
1972), which led to the establishment of the United Nations
Environment Programme (UNEP). Twenty years later, the Assembly
convened UNCED in Rio de Janeiro, where nations came together to
take the decisions needed to rekindle the hopes of the 1972
Conference and to take up the challenges of a viable and equitable
balance between environment and development and a sustainable
future for the earth and its people".
Necessity of celebrating the day
To commit a crime against the natural world is a sin. For humans to cause species to become extinct and to destroy the biological diversity of God's creation, for humans to degrade the integrity of the Earth by causing changes in its climate, stripping the Earth of its natural forests, or destroying its wetlands-for humans to contaminate the Earth's water, its land, its air, and its life with poisonous substances - these are all
sins. The planet on which we are born, live and die is only one of billions of others in our galaxy, and our galaxy is only one of millions of galaxies in our universe. However we only have the one world, and we have to live in that world so we need to take care of it. Modern science talks about the "bio-organism" or the idea that the world, as a whole, is a living thing. Like any living thing if you poison, kill, or damage it enough then it will die.
The world in which we live today has many problems that make it less than perfect. The waste from our cars, our factories and our homes are causing problems like acid rain, poisoned rivers and oceans, and an increase of disease due to poor air, water and
soil. The number of people in the world will soon break the 6 billion barrier. How many more people can our world hold ?The most fo the developed countries use over 100 times the energy per person than the developing
world. Most energy is made from oil, gas, coal and nuclear all of which cause more pollution
problems. chemicals & pesticides are killing off certain parts of the insect chain, causing the emergence of "superbugs" immune to all pesticides, and also running off into the rivers and water table causing
pollution. Less that 20% of the world's forests left. The world's forests are the lungs of the planet, without them the world would be unable to
breathe. In Roman times much of the planet was used for the growing of grain. Now it is the industrial belt. Over farming and poor land husbandry have turned a considerable proportion of the world into useless
desert. The Killing part of the food chain, by the over use of chemicals and pesticides, means the death of the rest of that chain and eventually, as the top of many chains, of
humanity. species extinction due to over fishing, over farming, deforestation and desertification are killing off species that may hold the key to some of our incurable diseases and upset the delicate natural balance. So
to raise environmental awareness and to encourage action to protect the environment should get first preference of all.
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Gandhi(The National-father of india)'s
concern regarding environment and modernisation.
As early as in 1909, in his perceptive publication, Hind Swaraj, Gandhi defining the civilization of the West in the name of modernity is a ‘Bhasmasur’ (Destructive monster). It is a civilization which equates consumerist lifestyle and abundance with development. He claimed it was not civilization in real sense of the term. He distinguished between the needs and the wants of the human beings and cautioned against socalled consumerist culture and a waste-centric society.His statement‘the Earth has enough to satisfy the need of all the people, but not for satisfying the greed of some,’ has become serprisingly relevant in 1990’s.The reflection of Gandhi’s vission regarding environment has been fashioned by the largest ever number of the nations of the world in the "Agenda 21" at the Earth Summit at Rio-de-Janeiro in 1992. Gandhi had not only the vision about the adverse link between the civilization and environment but also there had the threat to natural resources leading to what is known today as ‘ecological crisis’.
World Environment Day and We
Environment Day can be celebrated in many ways, including street rallies, bicycles parades, green concerts, essay and poster ompetitions in schools, tree planting, recycling efforts, clean-up campaigns and much more. In many countries, this annual event is used to enhance political attention and action.Heads of State, Prime Ministers and Ministers of Environment deliver statements and commit themselves to care for the Earth. More serious pledges are made which lead to the establishment of permanent governmental structures dealing with environmental management and economic planning. This observance also provides an opportunity to sign or ratify international environmental conventions. On this World Environment Day, let us examine the state of our environment. Let us consider carefully the actions which each of us
must take, and then address ourselves to our common task of preserving all life on earth in a mood of sober resolution and quiet confidence.
The World Environment Day theme for 2005
The theme for this year's World Environment Day is "Green Cities." The majority of the world's people live in cities, where they are simultaneously creating the world's most complex environmental challenges and developing the world's most innovative long-term environmental solutions.
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