environment Day 2004

FROM ISSUE # 102 (June 2004) | IN THIS ISSUE
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What is World Environment Day?
World Environment Day was established by the United Nations General Assembly in 1972 to raise environmental awareness and to encourage action to protect the environment. The 30th World Environment Day is on Saturday 5th June 2004; it's the year's most important occasion for focusing worldwide attention on the environment.

World Environment Day is a people's event with global participation; previously celebrated with people all over the world by getting involved in street rallies, bicycle parades, concerts, school activities, tree planting as well as recycling and clean-up campaigns.  In many countries, this annual event is used to enhance political attention and action and is marked by a global summit attended by important environmental and governmental representatives, held by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) in different cities.

Get involved in Environment Day 2004 and do your bit, however small. The more people who take part, the more we can make a real change together.

Things you can do
l  The world you live in is important… move thoughtfully and protect the web of life that surrounds our Earth.
l  Know that the air and water that circulates around the planet circulates through us.
l  Talk a walk outside and enjoy nature.
l  Talk to your friends and family about the environment.
l  Don't throw rubbish on the ground.
l  Put rubbish in a dustbin, or in one collection point.
l  Take your own bag to the shops (re-use a plastic bag or take a cloth bag).
l  Build a compost heap for organic waste.
l  Start a worm farm.
l  Plant a tree.
l  Sow some grass seeds over bare soil.
l  Pick up rubbish from the road.
l  Write on both sides of paper.
l  Use decorated newspaper to wrap gifts.
l  Use strips of newspaper as mulch around vegetable plants.
l  Plant a flower garden.
l  Grow vegetables.
l  Use an inside toilet.
l  Don't wash clothes in streams.
l  Don't go to the toilet within 50 meters from a stream.
l  After having a picnic, take your rubbish home with you, or put it in a dustbin.
l  Cigarette ends have hundreds of chemicals which pollute the soil.  Put them in a bin, don't throw on the ground.
l  Reduce noise pollution i.e. don't play loud music outside, don't use the car horn near people.
l  Use plastic bottles to create miniature greenhouses around plant seedlings.
l  Create toys or musical instruments from tin cans or plastic bottles.
l  Reduce the use of pesticides and agricultural chemicals.
l  Shop carefully to reduce waste and pollution.
l  Recycle or re-use paper, metals, glass, plastics.
l  Repair or give away what you no longer need.
l  Love a little.
l  Love a lot.
l  Rejoice in human energy.
l  Take care of the Earth; it belongs to each of us.  The Earth's health, wealth and beauty are OUR health, wealth and beauty
l  Remember, you can make a difference!!
Check out these websites for further information on Environment Day and related environmental issues:
www.unep.org/wed/2004
www.un.org/events/environment
www.environment-agency.gov.uk/wed
www.deh.gov.au/events/wed

I may be a villain to movie fans but I am a hero with the environment!  I encourage all friends and fans to appreciate and care for the environment and especially to not throw rubbish on the ground.  We all need to demand the local Nagar Palikas to implement effective waste management systems and provide dust bins on the streets.  This will help us keep our environment clean and healthy so we can have clean, healthy and happy lives.
-Sunil Thapa
                                                                                

I think people take care of themselves and they keep their home nice and clean.  We can see this whenever we visit…but most of us don't have this thing in mind that we should take care of our environment, be it locality, town, city, village, country....and mother earth as well as we do our own house.  We should take care of it so we can live a better life and our children can have a healthy and safe future.  I think we should create educational programmes to make people aware of protecting the environment, to teach people to value our environment and why we should keep it clean.  People should not spit and throw waste everywhere because it will cause diseases.  People should be discouraged from using plastic bags.  It is important to have trees and plants to help keep the air clean.  It is important to protect and keep the environment clean for the good of everyone.
-Nima Rumba.

Our wonderful planet Earth is capable of supporting a huge amount of life.
Billions of people; plants and animals share this space.  However the Earth is a fragile environment and if we do not look after it, careless human beings will destroy the otherwise perfect balance of nature.  Let us all act now to do something good for the environment!!
-Ruth Osborne
Australian Volunteer