Let’s make the world cleaner and greener

What would you do if you are tired and need a break? Where would you prefer to go on a holiday — somewhere where there is greenery with clean forests, blue oceans and rivers with abundance of oxygen and fresh air?

Let me help you in getting the greenery within the space you live in, to start with. All of us can carve out spaces for plants, whether a garden space or terrace or balcony or even a window sill… . You can start with indoor plants in your living room — they not only release tremendous oxygen but also add to the aesthetics and warmth of the place.

Planting trees around where you live can help cool your homes during summer and in winters act like windbreaks. Planting trees and shrubs improves the overall microclimate making it a better place for us to inhabit. All of us must actively participate in reducing our carbon footprint, and we can do our bit by planting saplings wherever we can.

Trees absorb odour, reduce noise pollution and act as buffers by reducing the heat reflected from solid, man-made surfaces such as roads, bridges and pathways. Tall trees with a large canopy cover a huge area, absorb the heat and reduce the surrounding temperature.

Recently RI has added environmental protection as a new area of focus and topmost priority is being given to various cleanliness drives and NGOs engaged in environmental activities.

Cleanliness campaigns such as cleaning the Mount Everest base camp, oceans, forts, canals, public parks and temples must be conducted to preserve our environment.

Mangroves give stability to the coastline. They help in preventing floods and reduce soil erosion. They can grow in soils low in oxygen too.

Let us all come together in large numbers and on various platforms to change our earth for the better. Let’s help in reducing global warming and promote a better, cleaner and greener environment. The world’s climate needs to change and we need to breathe cleaner and fresher air… and it can all start with the first step of planting a tree.

Monsoon is coming soon, so let’s get ready to change the future for this generation and the next, so that all of us can live in the midst of beautiful nature.

Mahesh Kotbagi
RI Director, 2021–23