By Riyas Ali

Another Earth Day has come knocking at our doors. It should serve as a serious call to action rather than a special date to celebrate considering the peril the planet is in. It provides us the opportunity to pause and reflect on reversing the alarming path of destruction we’re on. It is this grim reality that should annoy  us on this special day. And with this awareness comes responsibility.

 

Saving the earth is not a yearly special day responsibility; it is an everyday job. Wide deforestation, global warming, rising sea levels and temperature should come as a warning to act. Going by the rate, it won’t be many years before the earth, home to wonderful biodiversity, flora and fauna, becomes inhospitable.

 

And this comes from the thought of a world which is measured not merely by the GDP but clean air and water and equitable access to food. Imagine a government that not only curbs the carbon emissions but limits the use of land for industrial development or agriculture. Our motto has to be giving more than what is taken. It will restore the earth that is habitable for every living creature.

 

Let’s be honest—Earth has been treated like a resource to be exploited, profited from, and reduced to a commodity for personal gain. Oceans have been turned into landfills, acres of forests cleared for agriculture, tea plantations, and even massive mountains have raced and flattened to build corporate complexes. Such ambitious projects have left the earth and its organisms on the brink of extinction. What is alarming is the resultant environment crisis has affected the vulnerable communities the most – those who did the least to cause this.

 

It is not just global warming or rising temperatures alone.  Earth day is about the food on our plates, the air we breathe, the water we drink and the future we leave behind. It’s about justice—for people, for animals, for ecosystems and for generations yet to come. That makes it a necessity for every one of us to act swiftly and effect the change. 

 

While development is key to every society and its progression, it should not be coming at the cost of our planet and its posterity. Earth has to remain as it was years ago, as an abode for everyone. Our efforts to bring about the change should start from today, planting trees, preserving water bodies, adopting near-extinct species and providing them with a safe and habitable ecosystem. The time to act is now.