Weekend-5-1

6
ways to celebrate
Earth Day
Green practices to your everyday routine
Sabiha Akond Rupa
Turn off the taps already
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No, we’re not asking you to be dirty, but there really isn’t
On April 22, the world is going to any reason for having a half-hour long shower everyday.
celebrate Earth Day in honour of As stated by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), a
the environmental movement daily nice shower of ten minutes or more can consume up
that began in the 1970s. While to 50 to 70 gallons of water. But according to water.org, a
issues like pollution and climate change
typical family in an African country uses only 10% of that
require intervention on a policy level, there for an entire day; this includes drinking water, cooking
remains the need for greater environmental and everything else. So why not just go back to the basics
awareness on a micro level in Bangladesh. and use a bucket to ration your shower water, or just draw
There are dozens of ways you can promote yourself a small bath? We also have a terrible habit of
a healthy ecosystem and spread awareness, keeping the tap running while doing the dishes, when really
not just tomorrow but all year long. Here are we just need a fraction of that in a bucket/washbasin to
a few suggestions.
soak our dirty dishes in and rinse.
rewarding experiences.
Life style | Earth day 17
Give back to Mother Earth
One of the best and easiest ways to
celebrate Earth Day is by planting a tree
anywhere you like. You can also have
plants inside a corner of your own house
and if you’re really feeling adventurous,
why not try to grow some of your own,
fresh food and ensure you bypass the
pesticides? You can grow low maintenance
vegetables like tomatoes, ladies-fingers,
eggplants, chilies, curry leaves, tulsi and
aloe vera. Even if it is only a little flower,
you’ll find that making something grow
from a seed or sapling can be a surprisingly
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good idea, but just think of how much of your
Give up the comfy cars
In this hot weather, this may not sound like a
carbon footprint you can reduce by using
alternatives. You don’t have to do it daily –
just consider it as a day off for your car now
and then. If you’re going to make a short trip,
why not give yourself some much-needed
exercise and walk, and then the cool shower
you step into once you get home will feel
twice as good? Both you and the planet will
be the healthier for it. You can also give your
favourite bicycle a run, carpool with someone
from work, or just use a rickshaw and watch
the city go by during your daily commute.
Re-use the garbage for compost
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Among many other benefits, the most
important reasons of composting can be the
reduction of garbage volume, less usage of
chemical fertilisers, and improvement of soil
drainage and aeration, which is the key factor
of plant growth. Many of you will have plants,
flower pots and maybe even mini kitchen
gardens in your balconies and roofs, and
you can save yourself the hassle of going out
and getting compost by just using the waste
from your home. Fruit and vegetable scraps,
eggshells, leaves, grass, garden plants, flowers,
newspapers, cardboards, wood chips etc. can
all be turned into compost.
Create 5an energy efficient home
On Earth Day, we all should try to make this
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world a little more livable, and consuming
less gas and electricity is one of our biggest
concerns in saving the environment. If you’re
willing to make a one-off investment that will
benefit you in the long-run, why not set up a
solar panel at your house? Or at least practice
cooking less food, and using less lights, fans
and air conditioners whenever possible. Use
your other home appliances less as well,
and now that energy efficient lighting is so
affordable and easily available, there really is
no excuse to not use it.
Photo: Bigstock
Switch off the gadgets and enjoy nature
The world is becoming bigger inside the small
screens of our mobile phones and gadgets.
We feel connected to the multiple devices
occupying our attention, but are becoming
more and more distant from the real world out
there. Put down the gadgets and look outside
your window. Go to your roof or hunt out an
open space in this overcrowded city and look
at the sky, and enjoy the wind, the storms
and the sun. Let’s connect with Mother Earth
before connecting with its creations around us,
whether they are on screens or by our sides. •
WEEKEND TRIBUNE | FRIDAY, APRIL 21, 2017