The Ailing Planet The Green Movement’s Role

Nani Palkhivala

Initiation of the Green Movement

Started nearly 25 years ago

World’s first nationwide Green party founded in New Zealandin 1972

The movement has not looked back ever since

Green Movement’s Role• The green movement, a term that includes

the conservation and green politics, is a diverse scientific, social, and political movement for addressing environmental issues.

• Environmentalists advocate the sustainable management of resources and stewardship of the environment through changes in public policy and individual behavior.

Primary Focus of the great movement …

• The conservation movement seeks to protect natural areas for sustainable consumption, as well as traditional (hunting, fishing, trapping) and spiritual use.

• In its recognition of humanity as a participant in ecosystems, the movement is centered on ecology, health, and human rights.

•

There is immediate need to promote 'sustainable development' as popularized in 1987 by World Commission on environment

and development.

• Environmental health movement dates at least to Progressive Era, and focuses on urban standards like clean water, efficient sewage handling, and stable population growth.

• Environmental health could also deal with nutrition,

• preventive medicine, aging, and other concerns specific to human well-being. Environmental health is also seen as an

• indicator for the state of the environment, or an early warning system for what may happen to humans

Why is our planet damaging• Mankind is now the number one cause of all the

destruction happening on Earth. As well as trying to destroy each other on the battle-field, we are the cause of a series of other disasters, beginning

• with the industrial exploitation of the resources of the Earth.

• This has become especially bad since the population of the Earth has trippled in the last fifty years to a point which, even with more efficient means of distribution, there is simply not enough food to go around.

Population Growth

Environmental

Pollution

Resource Depletion

Industrialization

Ozone Depletion

Global Warming

• The seas and oceans are being poisoned by chemical products, oils, industrial and human waste. On land, especially in the industrial countries where most waste is actually "manufactured", there is increasingly little room to bury it and even when buried, noxious elements leech out and destroy the health of the area. An even greater problem is the disposal of Atomic waste, unsafe to dump into the sea

• and even more unsafe to bury under the land. An alternative possibility, that of sending it out into space, would perhaps create other more serious dangers, not immediately apparent to us.

• The seas and oceans are being poisoned by chemical products, oils, industrial and human waste. On land, especially in the industrial countries where most waste is actually "manufactured", there is increasingly little room to bury it and even when buried, noxious elements leech out and destroy the health of the area. An even greater problem is the disposal of Atomic waste, unsafe to dump into the sea

• and even more unsafe to bury under the land. An alternative possibility, that of sending it out into space, would perhaps create other more serious dangers, not immediately apparent to us.

Emission of Waste water,

Waste gases,

Hazardous waste,

Toxic, carcinogenic, cumulative and synergistic chemical

Ecological imbalance

Release of Radioactive rays dangerous for health

Increase salinity and

Reduced vegetation

Easy! 8 Ways to save our planet

1. RECYCLE GLASS

Recycled glass reduces

related air pollution by

20 percent and related

water pollution by 50

percent. If it isn't

recycled it can take a

million years to decompose.

2. TURN OFF COMPUTERS AT

NIGHT

By turning off your computer

instead of leaving it in sleep mode,

you can save 40 watt-hours per

day. That adds up to 4 cents a day,

or $14 per year. If you don't want to

wait for your computer to start up,

set it to turn on automatically a few

minutes before you get to work, or

boot up while you're pouring your

morning cup ‘of tea.

3. RECYCLE NEWSPAPER

There are 63 million

newspapers printed each day

in the U.S. Of these, 44

million, or about 69%, of them

will be thrown away.

Recycling just the Sunday

papers would save more than

half a million trees every

week.

4. WRAP CREATIVELY

You can reuse gift bags,

bows and event paper, but

you can also make

something unique by using

old maps, cloth or even

newspaper. Flip a paper

grocery bag inside out and

give your child stamps or

markers to create their own

wrapping paper that's

environmentally friendly and

extra special for the recipient.

5. RETHINK BOTTLED WATER

Nearly 90% of plastic water

bottles are not recycled, instead

taking thousands of years to

decompose. Buy a reusable

container and fill it with tap

water, a great choice for the

environment, your wallet, and

possibly your health. The EPA's

standards for tap water are more

stringent than the FDA's

standards for bottled water.

6. PLANT A TREEIt's good for the air, the land, can shade your house and save on cooling (plant on the west side of your home), and they can also improve the value of your property.Make it meaningful for the whole family and plant a tree every year for each member.

7. PLASTIC BAGS SUCKEach year the U.S. uses 84 billion plastic bags, a significant portion of the 500 billion used worldwide. They are not biodegradable, and are making their way into our oceans, and subsequently, the food chain. Stronger, reusable bags are an inexpensive and readily available option.

8. LET YOUR FINGERS DO THE WALKING—ONLINEConsider if you really need a paper phone book. If not, call to stop phone book delivery and use an online directory instead. Some estimate that telephone books make up almost ten percent of waste at dump sites. And if you still receive the book, don't forget to recycle your old volumes.

Drive Less and Drive Smart• Less driving means fewer emissions. Besides saving gasoline, walking and

biking are great forms of exercise. Explore your community mass transit system, and check out options for carpooling to work or school.

•

• When you do drive, make sure your car is running efficiently.

• For example, keeping your tires properly inflated can improve your gas mileage by more than 3 percent. Every gallon of gas you save not only helps your budget, it also keeps 20 pounds of carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere.