save the earth! just for the sake of it?

Sometimes, i feel that the market makes use of the environment issue as influence to the products that they sell. We see “I’m not a plastic bag” bags sold, while t-shirts have “save the earth” printed on them. Ikea, for instance, sell furniture that are environmentally friendly. Perhaps, ikea does make a stand in being green and saving the environment, but i feel that stores such as the ones found in far east plaza for example, sell these products just for the sake of selling. Buyers, on the other hand, purchase them just for the sake of purchasing, the attention you get, or the perceived opinion by people that you are actually “being green”. I feel that in singapore, singaporeans seem to be aware of the environmental issues that are happening globally, but little is done, or only some is done only because others are doing it so they do not want to be left out. Just like a trend, the initiatives die down eventually. Many of the people do not seem to understand the gravity of the situation. How ugly the environmental problem has evolved, or why the situation will not be solved even if individuals act accordingly.

Nevertheless, initiatives were done by organizations from both the public and private sectors. CapitaLand, for example, corporates environmental protection and helps the unfortunate children in a “Green for Hope” project which encourages the children to recycle and in turn will help them with the money earned from the heaps of recycled materials that are exchanged with. By inculcating in children good environmental habits is probably the first step to a greener future. After all, these children will grow up with the following set of values and hopefully continue to practise the same environmental habits that have been taught, spreading it to people they interact with. Although there have been efforts taken by the government to promote the “green lifestyle” among citizens, it is a pity that citizens have to be constantly reminded to go green, reuse, reduce and recycle. Very few takes the initiative to do the said tasks. You have three huge colour coordinated bins for paper, glass and plastic bottles, drink cans at the roadsides which possibly becomes a constant reminder to all to recycle. More often than not, monetary benefits will also heighten the efforts of saving of the earth while the idea of saving money in billing processes just by saving electricity, i’m sure, have caused parents to constantly remind their children to switch off the lights after use. Funny how the mind works for some. Singaporeans seem to lack the initiative probably because the the destruction is not as visual unlike the destruction which is heavily visual in other countries. Sure, the media do bring it up, and the environmental damages have been screened in all forms of media, but gradually, the people just cease to care. Although there is the minority who do take a stand in going green, but just them constantly pitching in to save the earth is not enough. Perhaps the extreme weather conditions that have been happening lately do serve as reminder to us all that the environment is screwed up, people seem to not care about it as much as those in other countries who really do want to make a difference and save the earth. A minority, or individuals themselves cannot make a difference in the efforts to save earth, but a community or a society as a whole can. Awareness is therefore key, and ongoing interaction, i feel, is the best way to promote good environmental habits.

Advertisement