National Pollution Control Day – It’s all in the Air!
National Pollution Control Day
National Pollution Control Day is observed on 2nd December each year, as it marks the anniversary of the infamous Bhopal Gas tragedy, where thousands of people died on account of the leakage of a poisonous gas. The purpose of observing this day is also to draw attention to the perils of air pollution. As per WHO estimates, air pollution kills over 7 million people each year.
Almost every day is being celebrated or marked as a special day, and the purpose is typically forgotten by the end of the day itself. National Pollution Control Day is no different – in fact, the lack of interest from marketers implies that the day does not even get the attention that some other inconsequential day would get, as there is insufficient commercial interest in promoting the National Pollution Control Day.
Did You Know? The Bhopal Gas Tragedy, that took place in 1984, is counted as one of the world’s biggest industrial disasters, as per the Wikipedia page.
The Perils of Air Pollution
The perils and challenges of air pollution have changed dramatically since the tragedy almost four decades ago. Unfortunately, the magnitude of the problem has also exacerbated significantly during this period. While we express concern and turn attention to the risks and consequences of air pollution, we do not seem to have put our money where our mouth is.
One day we raise our voices against the rising levels of air pollution, as we dedicate a day to spreading awareness about pollution. However, the very next day, when we see an article showing the number of people dying each year because of the rising pollution, we read the first few lines, and then scroll ahead. Since you have read so far, you are not the ones to scroll away from the problem! So, how can we together make a difference, if we do not change anything in our daily life? Some of us tried and shifted from polythene bags to cotton or recycled bags. But is that enough?
Related Read: Do you know the potential consequences of incurring the wrath of Mother Earth?
Who is responsible for pollution?
It is not wrong to say that almost every activity of our daily life contributes to pollution – even the innocuous grocery, that is packaged in plastic to the more obvious industrial waste. Not to forget the stubble burning, which turns Delhi and a large part of North India into a living hell every year.
And it’s not that people don’t know of the environmental impact of all these activities – Everybody does! But the sustainable methods and eco-friendly substitutes are either expensive or not easily available or worse, there is a lack of willingness to tread the right path.
There are several factors causing pollution; and transportation is one of the major contributors. With the increasing number of vehicles each household has, air pollution is hitting an all-time high. The burning of the fuel that vehicles produce is affecting the air quality at many levels. Research shows that millions of people in India breathe air whose level of pollutants are several times more than the prescribed limits.
Another major contributor of air pollution is the industrial waste. Be it the fumes released in the air or the chemicals and toxins going into our rivers, both are poisonous for all living beings. Gases trap heat from the sun in the earth’s atmosphere and that results in the rising global temperature. And this is only one kind that is air pollution. We haven’t yet touched upon the other types – water pollution, noise pollution, soil pollution, etc.
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The Dark Clouds of Pollution – A Silver Lining?
The dark clouds of pollution do paint a gloomy picture, but when things get too bad, they can only get better. And, since the most severely impacted set of stakeholders in the future of the planet is the next generation, they have taken these issues up on a war footing. The only silver lining to these dark clouds is that the youth is now concerned about the environment more than ever before in the history of mankind.
The Youth Environmentalists
All stakeholders associated with the youth, such as educational institutes, are trying to enhance the awareness about pollution by organizing competitions, debates, creative writing and poster making events, etc. The youth are doing their bit by writing poems and blogs, and even becoming environmental activists!
The younger generation is far more “woke” when it comes to the environment, and we have been seeing this on our platform too. As an example, check out ‘Wrath of Mother Earth‘ – A poem by Tanvee Maheshwari published on World Earth Day at From The Experts Mouth.
In addition, COP26, the most recent annual climate summit change of the United Nations, has once again invited the world’s attention to our planet. At the recently concluded COP26, we saw yet another example that captured the imagination of global audiences, with Vinisha Umashankar’s speech, alongside global leaders such as Joe Biden, Boris Johnson and Narendra Modi. Little wonder that she is being touted as the Greta Thunberg of India.
Thankfully, these are not isolated examples. The youth of today is far more concerned about the environment and saving the planet than any cohort in the planet’s history.
We saw several such examples in the submissions made to Soch 21, the article writing competition at Prabandhan ’21, the flagship management conclave of IIT Kanpur, in association with From The Experts Mouth.
Related Reads: You can read more about Soch ’21 or you can read more youth voices on our website.
From Rhetoric to Action
However, on this National Pollution Control Day, let us not stop at merely spreading awareness about the environmental issues, but also take some concrete steps to save the environment. We owe it to our future generations. This planet is nature’s gift to mankind and we are responsible to sustain it for our own survival.
It is critical to make efforts to sustain our planet where resources are getting depleted each day, so let us take at least one concrete action on this National Pollution Control Day. We know it is a long road, but every step counts and your first step is what can trigger a revolution, at least in your circle of influence. This time, let’s take concrete steps to control pollution. It is our duty to save our planet and we owe it to our future generations.
Here is What You Can Do To Save Mother Earth!
Watch this video, for some pointers on combating the menace of pollution and do leave your comments behind, about the concrete steps that you are taking to address the issue at your level. No effort is too small, as every drop contributes to the ocean! Let all these efforts not vanish into thin air, as we try and reclaim our right to breathing clean and fresh air!
It’s so important to keep pollution under control and our environment clean.