The Coronavirus Has Not Only Led To Many Deaths, The Fight Against It Is Also Devastating Our Environment.
We are filling up landfills with masks and discharging chemical waste into the sea. No one really knows when this battle will end; it seems we will be living like this for quite a while. Protecting our environment should now be at the top of the global agenda.
Everyone can contribute to this effort by taking some small simple steps; being environmentally friendly does not necessarily mean that we all have to be extreme environmentalists.
While it is unlikely that we can cut down our consumption of masks and detergents, we can definitely work harder to practice recycling, in the hope of reducing our impact on the environment. We don’t have to be as attentive as the well-reputed Japanese. Even if each one of us does some basic sorting of our rubbish – recycling cans, plastic, paper and glass – it can already make a big difference.
Devastating, Saving electricity also matters. It is summer, and most white-collar workers have been working from home. The air conditioner has become a daily necessity. Many of us would consider it unrealistic not to turn on the air-conditioner in such scorching weather.
But can we use it smartly? Maintaining a fairly comfortable temperature of 25 to 26 degrees Celsius and turning on an electronic fan if necessary can help us save money while conserving electricity.Shopping more at wet markets can be an effective way to protect our environment, too. I am just shocked every time I go to the supermarkets and see how vegetables are packed in layers of cling film. Try not to shop online too often or choose your online shops smartly. Online shops also tend to use a terrible amount of packaging.
This is a hard time for us as well as our environment. As we spend more time at home now, why don’t we try to be more environmentally friendly?
This news was originally published at scmp.com