Lets go Green to make our Planet Clean

Arpan K
5 min readJun 7, 2019

We are born to help the world, not to destroy it. Then why are we destroying the environment? An important question we all need to think about in order to create a beautiful and clean environment for our future ahead.

An estimated, 7 million trees are cut down each year due to deforestation.In Australia more than 20 percent of koalas have disappeared due to loss of habitat and Australia has lost “25% rainforest, 45% of open forest, 32% woodland forest and 30% of mallee forest in 200 years” (Wildness Society). But, why are we doing this? Trees are essential to us and the planet. They provide us with oxygen, a home for animals such as koalas, store carbon dioxide, remove dust particles, it’s the most effective living organism in transporting light into energy, and they also keep the planet cool from global warming. So, why are we cutting down trees when they are vital for us to breathe and keep the planet pollution free.

But, what is the local community and council doing for this important issue?

The City of Canterbury Bankstown is taking a leap to become more green and sustainable, they recently introduced five Hyundai IONIQ electric vehicles.

Mayor Khal Asfour said “More than 10,000 residents told us in surveys, they want Canterbury-Bankstown to be greener and cleaner by 2028, with more environmentally-friendly initiatives that help protect our natural environment”

And furthermore, he added ​ “The uptake of low emission and energy efficient vehicles can help build a more resilient city, with many additional benefits, including better air quality, less health issues and a higher level of amenity”

This movement is a great way to introduce electric vehicles to the area and also create a greener environment. As the electric cars will help create a cleaner planet by eliminating harmful air pollution, help reduce greenhouse gas emission, and they are built with eco-friendly materials.

Another program the council introduced was the “Native Plant Giveaway”. This was designed for local schools to increase and create biodiversity in the local area. The council each year supplies local schools with native plants just before National Tree Day. I believe this is a great and fun way to teach the kids the importance of nature and why biodiversity is important to create a cleaner planet.

Furthermore, the community of Canterbury Bankstown is reducing the amount of waste, recycling more and also keeping their neighbourhood clean.

But is this enough? Every small step counts. So, there are many other simple ways all individuals around the world can do to play a part in going green to keep the planet clean. Some ways are:

· Composting at home to reduce landfill space, and also reducing water with composting soil as it holds moisture

· Using long lasting energy efficient light bulbs to reduce greenhouse gas emission

· D.I.Y projects with recycled objects such as tin cans used for a spoon holder or glass jars used as candle holders or soap dispenser. This can be a fun and creative way to teach the kids about how recycling is important to keep the planet clean

· Using renewable energy sources such as solar or wind provide many benefits to not only the planet but the individuals wallet as well. They don’t produce greenhouse gas emission and help reduce air pollution.

Airlines are also taking the leap such as The Qantas airlines. It introduced its first landfill free flight. It aims to reduce waste products and keep the environment clean. Their mission is to eliminate hundreds of single use plastic from the airline by the end of 2021. For example, replacing millions of plastic cups and cutlery with green alternatives which can be recycled.

This is a great idea, which will keep the environment clean and green. However, not all airlines have considered this idea. Therefore, airline rubbish will still cause huge landfills. This is seen in the image below with the normal flight rubbish and the greener option rubbish.

Nine News: The larger white bags in the background show the waste left behind on one of the airline’s normal Sydney to Adelaide flights — all of which would go straight to landfill. (Facebook/Qantas)

The whole world needs to be involved, as this is not a small issue. An estimated 9 out of 10 people breathe polluted airand according to World Health Organization they said seven million deaths were caused annually due to poor air quality. In Australia an estimated 75 percent of air pollution is created from motor vehicle emissions. These statistics are astonishing to see. Let’s all work together and go green to keep the planet clean.

Plant a tree with your friends or families and choose the greener option, as this big change will first start from you.

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