Remember that plastic toy I played with as a child? The bright bows that have decorated the special gifts you have received? That Christmas when the family perked up and bought an artificial tree instead of a natural one? The fashionable clothes that made you feel the vanity of adolescence? The piles of diapers and bottles of the family's babies? The first car, the first branded shoes or the special smell of the purchases made with your first salary?
Far from ruining those memories, the reality is that the plastic of the toy, the bows, the artificial Christmas tree, every piece of synthetic material clothing, diapers, parts of shoes are still somewhere. In an ideal world, they were recycled or reused or at least handled in a responsible way, but unfortunately that doesn't happen with most waste.
Mountains of plastics, polyethylene, metals, chemicals and other petroleum products are thrown into the environment every day without any treatment. At first they seemed harmless, but now we are seeing the dire effects of each of humanity's irresponsibilities.
Although it sounds apocalyptic and the images come to mind whether they are smoking factories, tractors razing plastic seas that seem distant, the consequences are lived here in our lives, inside our house and are increasing.
Floods, droughts, temperature increases, new viruses are the result of ecosystems broken by the irresponsible actions of humanity. This translates into shortages, difficulty of access to basic goods and a whole list of unmet needs.
International Earth Day, April 22, more than a celebration or tribute to the planet on which we live is a call to awakening: to think of the Earth as a single house that we cannot leave and in which the acts of each inhabitant have consequences.
All is not lost, there is still much to save and take care of. The Coronavirus pandemic showed us how in as little as a month when humanity stopped, nature passed and resumed the places that previously belonged to it.
Let's take action. Let's make New Year's resolutions on this Earth Day by resuming school lessons or looking for new ways. We start with small things and then we add more. Recycling, buying local and eating organic are drops of water for a thirsty and endangered planet. Here are three recommendations that with little effort can contribute a lot.
Reduce meat consumption: the livestock industry generates 18% of the greenhouse gases on the planet, reducing meat consumption will also improve your health. No radical change is necessary, the Monday without meat movement (link to https://www.lunessincarne.net/por-el-planeta/) has a complete proposal to be part of the change without radically modifying our lifestyle.
Dress with awareness: the fast fashion industry is another driver of climate change and pollution. Producing low-cost garments at an accelerated rate results in an exaggerated amount of waste, modern forms of slavery, exaggerated consumption of water and finally mountains of garment waste that will never be used or were used only once. The next time, choose certified brands, natural fibers or that you can use for longer. If you want more information you can enter this link https://www.tierramadre.org/moda-sostenible/que-es-slow-fashion/
Local purchasing: The consumption of locally produced food reduces the carbon footprint of moving, packaging and food waste. Visit farmer's fairs and markets where the products are fresher, have a better price and more families will benefit from your purchase.
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Remember the earth is one and we can not stand idly by watching how it ends, we have to do something and that's it!