Hello, I am Vidita Mishra from Class 9, a student of Laurels International School.
I’m not here to tell you what to do for the sustainability of our environment. Instead, I’m here to tell you what is happening and how it got this bad.
Have you noticed how our environment is degrading? Air and water pollution are still huge problems. Climate change is causing extreme weather events that hurt the most vulnerable people.
Did you see how our resources are the same, but the population is increasing so fast? And with more people, the demand for everything grows. To meet this demand, we cut down forests to make homes, destroying wildlife and vegetation along the way.
Have you ever seen street cows eating plastic bags because they are searching for food? Or dogs drinking dirty, muddy water from the roads? They are living, but they could get very sick. They could even die. But do we care?
What about animals that attack humans? Why wouldn’t they? We are the ones taking their place. We keep cutting down their forests, so where are they supposed to live? They will fight back, and people call them cruel or brutal. But we are living in their homes. Where should they go?
And what about the vegetation? We need plants for food, but because of pollution, plants are getting dried up. This affects our health and causes grain shortages. In such conditions, people might even start growing grains with chemicals, which isn’t good.
We all know that only 1% of the water on Earth is drinkable. But we still waste it. Even when we know that in some areas, people aren’t living—they are just surviving. People are dying because of bad sanitation, dirty water, food shortages, and pollution.
This might not be the biggest move, but we have to make a move, at least for our future generations. To protect the planet we call our world.
Sustainability, in essence, is the capacity to endure. It’s about using resources responsibly so they are available for us now and for those who come after us.
Achieving sustainability means balancing three pillars to create a world where we get what we need without compromising the planet’s ability to support life.
We know that every single drop of rain contributes to our water bodies. How can we not contribute, too?
Can’t we just reduce waste? Conserve energy and water? Use sustainable transportation and support eco-friendly products? A thousand-kilometer journey starts with small steps.
Can’t we…
- Invest in renewable energy sources?
- Use energy-efficient technologies?
- Build sustainable infrastructure to reduce our environmental footprint?
Or what about implementing sustainable policies where we work? Organizations can make policies that promote sustainability, like carbon pricing, pollution regulations, and incentives for green technologies.
If not for the people or animals… can’t we do something for our world? Isn’t it our responsibility to protect it?
It is.
Why do we keep nature as our last option? Why is it not a priority?
Even after knowing that demand is increasing but resources are limited… and there is no place for waste.
Why don’t we care?
