NOLWAZI MNGADI
Reduce, re-use and recycle: unless you’ve been living in a cave, you know about the green movement that’s been sweeping the globe in the last decade. All over the world, there have been campaigns by various people, governments and organisations to encourage people to “go green”, which means to live a more environmentally-friendly lifestyle. Being “green” can be a cheaper and healthier way to live. As students, we may not feel that there are many ways in which we can reduce our carbon footprint. It may not feel like you’re making much of a difference by recycling, but in 1999, 64 million tonnes of waste material was prevented from going to landfills by recycling and composting in the United States alone.
There are now areas around campus, particularly in the Piazza, where recycling bins have been placed to encourage students to dispose of their waste in an environmentally friendly way. This program is also being incorporated into the residences.
There are many sources available to people where they can get “green tips”, for example, television (MTV’s Switch), radio stations (the weekly green tip on Talk Radio 702) and the internet. One of the best ways to live a greener life is by using public transport, which reduces carbon dioxide emissions. The implementing of the Gautrain route between Johannesburg and Pretoria is a way in which the government hopes to encourage Gauteng residents to rely less on cars and thereby reduce the amount of pollution in the province. Living green has also been endorsed by many celebrities and public figures, who hope that, by speaking out about the dangers of greenhouse gases and deforestation, they will enlighten the youth. Every day 137 plant, animal and insect species are lost to deforestation. That adds up to approximately 50 000 species a year.
People like Leonardo DiCaprio, Al Gore (who made the documentary The Inconvenient Truth about global warming) and Orlando Bloom have spoken out about environmental issues. The Leonardo DiCaprio Foundation works with organisations such as Global Green USA and the International Fund for Animal Welfare, raising awareness about the impact that we as human beings have on the planet.
The green movement is aimed at making people aware that the way we live and treat the environment will have an impact on the future of our planet and how future generations will live. One of the major players in this movement is Greenpeace International. Greenpeace encourages people to participate in its many programmes, and the organisation’s catchy marketing campaigns are mostly targeted towards the youth.
Another interesting organisation is Sea Shepherd. The Sea Shepherd Conservation Society (SSCS) is a non-profit, marine conservation organisation based in Friday Harbor, Washington in the United States. This group has a radical way of conserving marine life. Their operations have included scuttling and disabling whaling vessels at harbours, intervening in Canadian seal hunts, ramming other vessels, trying to temporarily blind or disorient whalers with a laser device, throwing bottles of foul-smelling butyric acid onto vessels at sea, boarding whaling vessels at sea, and seizing and destroying of drift nets at sea.
The organisation was founded in 1977 under the name Earth Force Society by Paul Watson, a former member of Greenpeace. Watson formed the organisation after a disagreement with Greenpeace. Watson said that the organisation lacks a more aggressive intervention and while they were negotiating with governments, whales and other marine life are dying. Sea Shepherd has received support for its tactics against fishing, whaling, and seal hunting from media personalities, while critics have called the direct action violent. Some governments and organisations have even referred to them as terrorists. Sea Shepherd says that their aggressive actions are necessary because the international community is unwilling or unable to stop whaling and fishing practices.
In 2008, Animal Planet began filming a weekly series called Whale Wars based on the group’s encounters with the Japanese whaling fleet in the Southern Ocean. Naturally, this has brought the group much publicity.
But you don’t have to be a stereotypical tree-hugging hippie to be aware of, and try to alleviate, the bad effects that humans can have on our planet. The 2004 Nobel Peace Prize winner Dr Wangari Maathai, founder of the Green Belt Movement, said, “Peace on Earth depends on our ability to secure our living environment.” It’s important for all of us to make a difference, no matter how big or small. Ensuring that future generations have the same quality of life that we have is something that we should all strive for.
Illustration: Gustav Reyneke
