At the end of each year for as long as years have been counted, humans have been known to come up with resolutions for the next one. Following them through is easy for the first weeks of January but then comes February and the deeper we get into spring, the further away we sail from the resolutions we made in those dark and cold last hours of the previous year but, this year is special as I became a part of a world class organisation and looking at the efforts it is currently undertaking towards a better tomorrow by Going Green reflects the true thought and delivering nature that is making it stand apart among its competitors.
Going by my resolution for this new year would be to mindful of and sensitive to the natural environment in your daily life.
I am going to implicate the 3 ‘R’s of environmental protection.
Popularly known as Reduce, Reuse and Recycle.
See to be very clear and precise I have always thought of things which I or people around me use in excess, like wasting food items and water when people on the other regions of the planet not too far (Read Somalia,Nanchang,etc) were deprived of even a drop of water (not mentioned food as it was only a distant dream).
We should Reduce our consumption which in turn would Reduce our waste.
The first step is reducing the amounts of resources I consume and use. I will surely think twice before buying or using anything. I will surely pop up a question every time I buy something “Do I really need it?” By reducing our consumption we would also decrease the amount of waste produced. And, while writing this para I recalled, wasn’t this the thing which mom and dad always suggested…I tell you, parents are always right.
There are endless ways to reduce the waste we often mistakenly produce. Some of the very simple ones would be to think before a print or photocopy, to print and copy as little as possible, edit on screen and not on paper, use e-mail to minimize paper use, whenever going for a print or copy, do it double-sided, change the margins on your Word documents. The default margins on the documents you print are 1.25 inches on all sides. Simply changing the margins to 0.75 inches will reduce the amount of paper you use by almost 5 percent. (I loved the last point. just wonder how eliminating 0.5 would save us 5 )
Reduce my energy consumption by simply turning off my computers when not in use or simply and also I am going to install a master switch outside my room which I would switch off when I go to work in case there are any appliances on by mistake.
While writing this piece I understood the quote Rochelle mam, my English teacher at school, told us, “The frog does not drink up the pond in which he lives.”
As I mentioned at the start of the article its time for the second ‘R’ Reuse.
Before disposing anything for garbage just give a thought can it be used for anything else and if you don’t get an answer give it another thought you will definitely get some use of the article something’s like plastic containers can become food storage, paper can become wrapping paper. The ways in which to reuse things are unlimited. All we need is to be creative. I came out with some excellent creative ideas while going through a post on a website which suggested that we could reuse envelopes by placing a new label over the old address, designate a box for scrap paper and use it for printing all drafts or unofficial documents, reuse plastic bags or better get a reusable canvas bags.
Finally the third ‘R’ Recycling, it’s the most important aspect as long as the stats show such as we should wrap presents in gift bags because once we tear the wrapping paper off a holiday gift it ends up in the recycle bin, but gift bags can and should be used over and over again.
Just when I went through this fact I was completely blown off knowing that we could operate a TV set for an estimated three hours with the energy saved by recycling just one aluminum can.(Source:Wikipedia)
Last but not the least I would encourage my friends and all near and dear ones to incorporate atleast one ‘R’ in this new year as good things must be spread because by going by Henry David Thoreau “In the end we will conserve only what we love. We love only what we understand. We will understand only what we are taught.”
Thinking green means being aware of our interconnectedness with the world and reflecting on the unintended damage we cause nature in the daily course of our lives. Thinking green leads to acting green - taking corrective action to make environmental responsibility a reality.
If there is just one thing you take from this lens, today please promise that you will change the way you do just one thing and incorporate at least one if not three ‘R’s
Whether it be to switch off the electronic appliances or reusing paper or always carrying a canvas shopping bag in your purse, just one thing WILL make a difference!
I wish you success in fulfilling your goals for the new year and don’t forget that together we can move mountains. Remember “Today’s mighty oak is just yesterday’s nut that held its ground.“Here’s to a fresh green start of 2012!
Thank you and Go Green!
