Earth Day .. April 22, 2019 ..

 Why is Earth Day celebrated ? When did it start ?

"Earth Day is an annual event, celebrated on April 22, on which day events worldwide are held to demonstrate support for environmental protection. It was first celebrated in 1970, and is now coordinated globally by the Earth Day Network and celebrated in more than 193 countries each year."

The idea for a national day to focus on the environment came to Earth Day founder Gaylord Nelson, then a U.S. Senator from Wisconsin, after witnessing the ravages of the 1969 massive oil spill in Santa Barbara, California.

History of the Earth Day (click here..)

How to observe Earth Day .. (click here..)

Do something ..  (click here..)

Simple things to do  (click here ..)

Come lets create awareness and help mother nature ..

The Earth Day was celebrated in Alliance University on 22 April 2019. The event started with a presentation by Prof. George Easaw on the need  to preserve species which is the motto for the current year. The interesting part was the discussion which went alongside the presentation.

The meeting was attended by almost 10 faculty from the streams of Economics, HR and Operations and a couple of students. The main points discussed during the meeting focused on the following points :

1. Caring for nature and preserving species is part of our culture. Prof. Aswathi was trying to recollect that preserving the environment and the species is not something new, but has been there in our society from time immemorial. (click here for Prof. Aswathi's blog on Mother Eath Day.)

With active discussions, the learning and
understanding was great.

Let me introduce a concept in Kerala homes may be for millennia, Sarppakaavu. I remember when we used to go to our friends' home in Kerala, in the older tharavads, there used to be an area called the Sarppakavu, (snake's place). Only recently I came to know that this place was the result of human's attempt and desire to help preserve the different species in their native living environments. Mainly snakes, birds, squirrels, rats etc used to reside there, but it was our effort to preserve an environment for reptiles and animals to live peacefully, a conscious effort to preserve the species of flora and fauna.

2. Technology can help further this preservation of species. Prof. Sajan and Prof. Sukanya, proponents of technology in our group were fervently arguing that sustainability is not a viable option in the long run. With improvements of science and technology, the speed at which we exploit natural resources will change. Many new innovative applications will come that may change our consumption and demand patterns. Can we sustain this exploitation of natural resources for ever ??

The faculty members were of the opinion that technology if properly implemented, could through the use of Blockchains, AI etc help to optimise the usage, increase efficiency and trace the sources of these energy.

They also were of the opinion that sustainability and environmental conservation should not to be a nationally focused activity, instead it should be globally coordinated by a strong international body with powers to enforce rules and bans. Planet Earth belongs to everyone and a disturbance in one area brings cumulative repercussions around the world.

3. The impact of SDG goals were discussed by our Economic Professor, who was explaining how environmental sustainability can be ensured by sound economic principles.

A view of the audience and discussion members .

Overall the discussion was high class. The meeting which started at 11.30 AM went to 1.30 Pm (2 hours ) before it was called off as the room was needed for other meetings for the day. We met in LHE 101.

The points noted and implemented by students when they implemented No Impact week (click here) in Alliance University during the first week of April 2019 was also discussed. No Impact Week impacts SDG 11, 12 and 13.

SDG11 - focuses on building sustainable cities and communities by controlling Carbon emissions and helping preserve a heathy lifestyle with physical exercises and responsible consumption 

SDG12 - focuses on cultivating responsible consumption and production patterns among the population so that resources are equally used by the people across areas and also left back for future generations to use 

SDG13 - focuses on the impact of our irresponsible actions leading to higher environmental pollution because of higher Carbon footprints of our actions. Identifying those actions is a firm step to preserve the environment in the long run.

The No Impact Week was a great success as the students were made aware that reducing our Carbon footprints or impact on the environment is within our reach and we can make conscious and concrete decisions to reduce the Carbon footprints to help save the environment.

George ..