Earth Day in focus

Marking the anniversary of the launch of environmental movement in 1970 in the United States, Earth Day has come to be vigorously celebrated on April 22 across the world, including Pakistan. The idea sparked by US Senator Gaylord Nelson, who proposed the first environmental protest when Americans had even not an inkling of environmental hazards, on April 22, 1970 some 20 million of them jammed streets, parks, and auditoriums to demonstrate for a healthy, sustainable environment.
Small wonder, small groups agitating against oil spills, polluting factories and power plants, raw sewage, toxic dumps, and other environmental threats, realised that they had common urges and aspirations. That was how the first Earth Day paved the way for setting up of the United States Environmental Protection Agency, and enactment of the Clean Air, Clean Water, and Endangered Species laws.
It is, however, just another matter that like almost all the nominated days, its celebration continued as a mere formality, in Pakistan, with little evidence of mass awareness of what it means or how to add efforts to make it purposeful. However, it will be recalled that Earth Day, last year, was viewed as the biggest until then, motivating millions behind a Call for Climate, the global warming action theme.
With powerful events across the continents it aptly came to be regarded as an unforgettable Earth Day, people urging governments for action on climate change, to put an end to emission of environment polluting gases generated by excessive use of fossil fuel or oil and gas for lighting and transportation on a massive scale.
Significantly, Earth Day 1990 provided a fillip to recycling efforts world-wide, setting the pace for the 1992 United Nations Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro. With the passage of years thereafter, Earth Day 2000 depicted a harmonious blend of energy of the first Earth Day with the activism of Earth Day 1990, sending loud and clear message that people of the world do aspire for prompt action on clean energy.
Unfortunately, in Pakistan, creation of that approach still leaves a great deal to be desired. To begin with, it will need an all-out war against illiteracy, as an essential pre-requisite for full-fledged Education Reform, preferably on the pattern of Turkey. This will open up the minds of children and adults, young and old, men and women to gain an objective comprehension of all that affects the society they live in as also making them capable of participating in healthy activities and rejecting the unhealthy trends.
This, to say the least, can best be ensured by making a beginning from creation of awareness by inclusion of environment studies in the school curricula as part of the government's efforts to motivate the youth to become involved in a national effort to address environmental concerns.
A hint of this was recently dropped by federal minister for environment the other day. Now that a truly representative parliament, with a strong urge to banish apathy to education stands firmly established, a positive beginning in that direction can be made on the Earth Day.