Let’s make every day earth day

It was Earth Hour on March 26 this year. Across the world, at 8.30 pm at their respective local times, events were organised to encourage people to switch off their lights for one hour.
 
The first-ever Earth Hour event was held on March 31 2007. It was initiated by the World Wildlife Fund — Australia to show its support for climate action. 
 
Earth Hour Day is all about promoting awareness of environmental issues. The theme for Earth Hour 2022 is “Shape Our Future.” The objective is to further raise awareness about the ecologically severe problems impacting our world today.
 
It was good to see that some local authorities also organised events to encourage their residents to follow suit here in Sarawak. This is an interactive way to increase awareness about issues related to our environment. 
 
So far, we tend to do these types of programmes intermittently rather than have them as part of government-level official programmes on a sustainable basis permanently.  
 
It would be a positive move to include such events in the Sarawak government’s yearly calendar. This would widen awareness coverage among Sarawakians. 
 
We can also include Earth Day in our calendar of events. This was marked a few days ago, on April 22 2022. Earth Day predated Earth Hour and was initiated in the USA in 1970. It provided a platform to voice out emerging environmental consciousness. It successfully placed ecological concerns on the front page of newspapers and coverage on TV.
 
Earth Day went global in 1990 with an estimated participation of 200 million people from 141 countries and growing.
 
During this year’s Earth Day, I did not see many awareness activities organised locally. However, there were a few scattered activities. 
 
I was fortunate to participate in one such event in Long Lellang, organised by Miri City Councils Green Community and Environment Development Standing Committee. 
 
It was encouraging to see the collaboration of the two longhouse residents. Tree and flower planting took place, and there was a composting demonstration and how to make DIY composting bins. The importance of waste management and proper waste disposal was also shared.
 
We must have effective waste reduction strategies and waste disposal systems across Sarawak. This is especially urgent in our rural areas. The lack of waste disposal facilities is spoiling our pristine countryside.
 
Many riverine communities avail themselves to the rivers to dispose of their waste. This, of course, leads to rubbish such as the plastics being discharged into our oceans and beaches. 
 
It is also common to see plastic waste strewn along rural roads. Although many activities such as ‘Say No to Plastic and Say No to Styrofoam’ campaigns have been carried out for the last 25 years, much still needs to be done.
 
Part of the problem we face is that many environmental activities are launched symbolically. That therein lays the issue; they are merely ‘symbolic’. After the publicity and all the back-slapping and congratulations for launching the environmental event there is little or no follow-up. The lack of sustainable practices leads to the limited impact of these symbolic events.
 
We require persistence on a governmental and individual level to have long-lasting impact to improve our environment and reverse our harmful behaviour and attitudes.
 
I must say that many NGOs deserve credit for leading the way in raising environmental awareness. Those who also persistently lobby to introduce environmental laws and campaign for enforcement of the laws also deserve our thanks.
 
Many campaigns and improvements to our environment occur due to passionate individuals or groups who are persistent. In fact, these people make a difference in the progress towards a cleaner and healthier environment.
  
It is good to see that the Sarawak government is also now paying heed to the call for better protection of our environment.
 
Last year Premier Datuk Patinggi Tan Sri Abang Johari Tun Openg set up a new ministry for this purpose — the Ministry of Energy and Environmental Sustainability, which is led by him.  
 
This is a timely initiative to promote environmental sustainability. The premier has stated that Sarawak’s ultimate environmental goal would be to have an environment with the highest quality for all living creatures.
 
This year’s Earth Day theme is ‘Invest In Our Planet’. It implores us to act boldly to preserve and protect the planet for our own well-being.
 
We need to discard our old ways of thinking to do things. We further need to get out of our comfort zone to create a better and cleaner environment. “
 
So what will you do to save yourself, your family and your friends? 
 
If you are already doing something, that’s great. Ask yourself what more can you do. 
 
Let’s all turn every day into Earth Day to ensure you and I have a healthy, better and safer environment in Sarawak and our planet. 

The views expressed here are those of the columnist and do not necessarily represent the views of New Sarawak Tribune.