In business, an investment involves putting an asset, like money, to good use today to earn profit or increase its value over time. It’s not just money. Time and effort are also assets. In this year’s Earth Day celebration, this business principle is being applied to our one and only natural asset, Earth, and its finite resources. We only have one livable planet. We should invest in it to ensure the survival of the future generation.
Tomorrow, April 22, the world will celebrate the 53rd Earth Day. The theme for this year’s celebration is “Invest in our planet”. The theme is focused on engaging governments, institutions, businesses, and ordinary citizens to do their part in protecting Mother Nature. Everyone must be accountable. Investing in a green economy is the only path to a healthy, prosperous, and equitable future.
Governments and businesses are urged to do their part in creating an economy that restores the health of our planet and its inhabitants. Ordinary citizens on the other hand can make a difference in the things they do at home or at work. Simple ‘investments’ like planting trees, recycling, composting, conserving water, reducing usage of electricity, using bikes or taking public transportation, repairing water leaks, using LED bulbs, using the sun to dry clothes, reducing meat consumption, avoiding single-use plastic and many more simple acts will go a long way in sustaining life on Earth.
Did you know that an action as simple as unsubscribing from unwanted e-mail can help prevent global warming? Spam emails, unread emails, and unwanted emails all contribute to carbon emissions. These digital transactions are transmitted through the internet and it gets stored in data centers which use electricity and in turn emits greenhouse gases.
As individuals, we can also help by using our rights as consumers and as voters. Manufacturers and retailers will always follow market demands. Let’s create that demand by buying environmentally friendly products. As voters, let us elect leaders from national to the barangay level who have good track-records, not just platforms, on environmental protection and management.