Small Steps, Big Impact

It is interesting how we can draw parallels between slightly related or unrelated things. This week’s Indian United contest topic asks us what we can do to save our environment, and upon reading the topic, my mind instantly reverted to Moana, a cartoon I watched a long time ago. In the cartoon, Tefiti is a goddess who blesses humans with resources, providing them with basically all that they need to survive. However, as humans are known to be greedy, they stole the heart of Tefiti, which gives her the power to produce resources for them. Their action was as a result of their desire for power. As soon as Tefiti’s heart was stolen, things started to go south for humans. The resources that were once green and shiny, started drying up, causing dangers to humans and their offsprings.

Parallels can be drawn between this cartoon and our environment. In this case, Tefiti is our environment. A soft-hearted one at that, who provides numerous resources for us every day. However, we humans are greedy and insatiable. We keep stealing from our environment, causing dangers, without thinking of the harmful consequences. Things have started to go south and if humans are not careful, in a short time, their actions will lead to the complete destruction of the planet. We live in a world where humans keep causing harm to the environment. Despite this, the environment still keeps blessing us with resources. Humans think the resources are unlimited, but if we take a closer look, we will notice that things keep getting worse with each passing day.

There are little things we can do to save our environment. The first step is to know that the change starts with you. There are so many non-governmental organizations whose main goal is to save the environment. However, the big question is: what if there are no non-governmental organizations in your vicinity? Would you wait till eternity before one magically shows up or would you make a move by yourself? The change starts with you. All hands have to be on deck. Every little action you take towards saving the planet, counts.

One of the things we can do to save our environment is by planting trees. The first time I heard the term “deforestation” was during my days in elementary school. However, I didn’t think it was a big deal until I got to high school and learnt more about it in one of my subjects, agricultural science. According to the English dictionary, deforestation is the action of clearing a wide area of trees. Of course, there are many benefits attached to deforestation such as providing timber, but the pitfalls start showing when it gets excessive. Trees provide us with oxygen, and shade, and also regulate wind. Humans are constantly damaging the environment by cutting down trees and clearing forests to provide timber and other purposes.

Most of the furniture in many houses (mine is no exception) is made of timber. The action of cutting down trees to provide furniture and other things is not entirely bad, however, it becomes bad when it gets excessive. There’s a law in many countries that prevents people from cutting down trees. The least you can do to save the environment is plant new trees to replace the ones you cut down. I’m a big fan of an Instagram user (somehow, I don’t remember his username) who travels to different places, planting trees along the way. That guy is saving the planet one tree at a time.

Moving on, another way we can save our environment is by reducing the amount of waste and chemicals in the ocean. It is sad to see that humans enjoy dumping refuse and chemicals in the ocean. These actions cause danger to the animals, which in turn causes danger to humans and the planet at large. There are so many non-governmental organizations cleaning the oceans and hosting programs, to educate people of the dangers of polluting the ocean. Ryan is an eco-friendly person I got to know a long time ago on Facebook. He is a boy who cleans the planet and makes use of plastic every day. We can dare to be like Ryan by not dumping refuse in the ocean and also helping remove them from the ocean.

Summarily, the planet is slowly dying and it is all up to us to save it. The change begins with you. Take big or small steps.

All images in this post are mine.