March holds a significant meaning for us as South Africans. We celebrate one of the most important holidays on our calendar, Human Rights Day however, March is also filled with loads of environmental observance days.
We are currently coming to the end of National Water Week, an auspicious time considering all the water issues we are currently hearing about or personally experiencing. Shining a light on these issues reminds us how dependent we are on water and what a valuable resource it is for us, and we literally depend on it for our survival.
Yet, despite efforts, not enough is done to highlight the dire situation we are currently facing, most of which could have been avoided had there been more awareness and pressure from citizens.
The inception of Earth Hour, which we observed on Monday, was to highlight our dependence on fossil fuels and how much of an impact we can make by just switching off our appliances and homes for only one hour. Load shedding sort of took the niche out of it for South Africans, and it lost its impact, but the message stayed the same regardless of whether we put the lights off or if Eskom did.
Saturday was International Day of Zero Waste. Highlighting how we are starting to drown in our waste, especially plastic, and that we urgently need to step up as a society to address unnecessary waste and reduce dependence on single-use waste options.
These days of observances are not there for environmentalists to have a topic to write about. These days are there to bring awareness to the most fragile of issues in our society. Reminding us that we are part of nature, we intrinsically affect it, and it affects us. These days are for the sake of the future of our children.
I was struck by an interview where the interviewer asked an elderly gentleman what he thought of his country (Canada). The gentleman broke down and said, “I am sorry…, we created an impossible situation for your generation, our president has just made enough debt that neither you nor your children will be able to pay it off.”
This is why we do what we do, our choices today affect our children’s choices in the future, and we are currently working through the repercussions of our forefathers. What future are we leaving our children?
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