Is planting of saplings all there is to World Environment Day?

If most schools were not closed for summer vacation on June 5^th, the World Environment Day, students would have had to stand in the sizzling heat and clap their little hands as principals, teachers or guests undertook the annual ritual planting of samplings in the school compound. While it is true that felling of tress has made the world a lot less green, and that tree leaves soak in a good bit of the excess carbondioxide that we emit in producing global warming, I feel we need to move in more directions and with greater thrust.

In fact, under this year’s theme 'Many Species. One Planet. One Future', people from different parts are celebrating diversity, with sessions to name a gorilla to preserving rare species on the verge of extinction. To highlight environmental issues celebrations are being undertaken for 3 to 7 days so as to draw in every person into the event, as each person’s conviction and participation is crucial if the palnet has to survive.

The environment is also no longer just that abstract noun, as intangible as the government. It has 2 parts: the natural environmnet (forests, seas, mountains etc) and built ones (cities, roads, water supplies, buildings, and in fact even schools), and a great degree of expertice is going into specializing and subspecializing int these areas.

The health concerns of the environment has been categorized as:

• Air quality, including both ambient outdoor air and indoor air quality, which also comprises concerns about environmental tobacco smoke.

• Climate change and its effects on health such as deaths due to heat waves and floods

• Disaster preparedness and response as in the Mangalore air crash and several train accidents

• Foodsafety, including in agriculture, transportation, food processing, wholesale and retail distribution and sale.

• Housing, including substandard housing abatement and the inspection of jails and prisons.

• Liquid waste disposal, including city wastewater treatmentplants and on-site waste water disposal systems, such asseptic tank systems and chemical toilets.

• Noise pollution control.

• Occupational health and industrial hygiene.

• Radiological health, including exposure to ionizing radiationfrom X-rays or radioactive isotopes as happened recntly in Delhi.

• Safe drinking water.

• Solid waste managementVector control, including the control of mosquitoes, rodents, flies, cockroaches and other animals that may transmit pathogens.

While the list is long here are 3 points that each citizen might like to help play a role in:

1. Plastic is one the worst scourges causing floods, choking drains and putting 655 of the world population at risk of malaria. Banning or stopping their use can take us far.

2. Using energy efficient devices such as CFL bulbs will cut down our CO2 emissions and reduce global warming.

3. Most wars in future will be waged for water. Water harvesting or saving strategies such as more efficient WCs can help conserve this scant resource.

It is time we looked beyound merely planting saplings on June 5^th.