Environment & Peace
Updated: May 30, 2022
How are the two connected and intertwined.
When I was strategizing and conceptualizing the theme for the 2022 peace doves, I was thinking of what was going on around me, my community, and the world. I realized that much of the conflict that exist today has to do with the environment. The lack of resources and limited supplies. All that we use, in some shape or form is derived from the environment. Clearly, it makes sense that in order to have peace, one element that we cannot ignore is how we treat our planet, our world, our home.
What we are doing to the forests of the world is but a mirror reflection of what we are doing to ourselves and to one another. ― Chris Maser
You may still be scratching your head as to how the two are connected. Let's travel to Tianjin. Fields and fields of rice (roughly 4.6 metric tons per acre) are harvested each year. Due to high level of sea rising, this has impacted the production of rice. Since Tianjin has a lower elevation than the neighboring cities, like Beijing, the rising waters have impacted the area in a negative way. Why is the sea water rising? you may ask yourself. There are two major reasons as to why that happens. One, the thermal expansion caused by warming of the ocean and two, increase melting of land based ice, such as glaciers. Now you are wondering, "Azy, how are the glaciers melting?" That is a great question. It is a complicated answer, but the super short answer is industrial revolution. The carbon dioxide and gas emissions from factories (major ones) raise the temperature.
If all mankind were to disappear, the world would regenerate back to the rich state of equilibrium that existed ten thousand years ago. If insects were to vanish, the environment would collapse into chaos. E. O. Wilson
We have factories that give out carbon dioxide and gas, which increases the temperature. The high temperatures are melting the glaciers, and as a result the sea level is rising. This impacted Tianjin. Let's go back to the beginning of our story with the rice. When Tianjin is flooded with water, they cannot harvest rice. If rice is not harvested, then that leads to lack of resources. Individuals struggle to find rice to be able to feed their family. Okay, so now you are thinking "come on Azy, there are other places that harvest rice, and other foods we can eat." But this is just one small story of how environment can impact our society and our ability to have peace. When there is doubt about food security, chaos happens. To avoid any chaos we must, no we need, to do better with taking care of our environment. Our plant. Our home.
Here is some ideas of how you can help the environment:
Use fabric bags to put your produce in, instead of using plastic bags. This is a great way to reduce the plastic waste.
Instead of using paper towels, buy a small basket and put in 12 hand towels. After each use, put them in the washer and reuse them again, and again.
If you like using zip loc bags, try to wash them and reuse them. Especially if it stored things that are not greasy, or smelly. :)
Do not throw away your magazines, rip out the cool pages and make them into gift wraps. Get creative!
In your toilet tank, place a half gallon milk carton filled with water. This will help with not using too much water when flushing the toilet.
6. Plant flowers that will attract pollinators. They will be back! (that was a really sad joke, referencing the terminator). Pollinators are very important for the environment, particularly bees.
7. When leaving the room, turn the lights off, or any devise that you are not using.
8. Learn how to be creative with the leftovers. Wasting food is a huge problem, and that is an easy fix. Just turn your leftovers to a new meal. I know personally, when I eat at a restaurant, I always order from the kids meal. It is the right portion for me, and then I do not have to worry about taking it home in a take out container.
Thank you for taking the time to read this blog. I hope that you will join me, not just to spread peace but to also work on making the environment healthier for us and the generations to come.
The only way forward, if we are going to improve the quality of the environment, is to get everybody involved. – Richard Rogers
