EVERY day is Earth Day. That’s how it should be, but it sadly isn’t. April 22 has been celebrated as Earth Day around the world since 1970, and events take place worldwide to draw attention towards, and demonstrate support for, environmental protection.

But why just one day? The environment needs protection every day, not just once a year and this year’s theme ‘It’s our turn to lead’, aptly demonstrates the need for us to take matters in our own hands and lead in the efforts to save our dear planet Earth from further environmental deterioration.

We, as individuals, and governments, global leaders and businesses need to pledge ‘Acts of Green’ that are environment-friendly. And these acts of green require less effort but more commitment to really work and bear fruit. We need to bring about meaningful change — in the way we do everyday things, how we use natural resources, what we use to make and produce things, the effect those things have on the environment, how we dispose things and so much more. We all know that many of our actions and those of the authorities cause damage to the environment but we continue to plunder and plague the Earth due to the greed for profits or the need to not give up our comforts. For instance, we all know that the emission from automobile contains harmful gases that are bad not just for our lungs but also for the atmosphere.

But how many of us are willing to walk even to nearby places rather than use the car or take a public transport so that at least there will be one car less (yours of course) on the road. The authorities, for their part, have neglected the need for mass transit in urban areas in order to reduce the number of cars on the roads. Let us take the lead this year and pledge our lifelong commitment to care for the only home we have — Earth — and celebrate every day as Earth Day.