Recently, the world, including some of us here, celebrated the Earth Hour and the Earth Day. It is the name given to two different annual events that are intended to raise awareness about a wide range of environmental issues and problems, and to inspire people to take personal action to address them. The first Earth Day celebration took place on March 21, 1970, the vernal equinox that year. It was the brainchild of John McConnell, a newspaper publisher and influential community activist. McConnell suggested an annual observance to remind the people of Earth of their shared responsibility as environmental stewards. He chose the vernal equinox—the first day of spring in the northern hemisphere and the first day of autumn in the southern hemisphere. A time of equilibrium when people could put aside their differences and recognize their common need to preserve Earth's resources. On April 22, 1970, yet another Earth Day was celebrated. Earth Hour is a worldwide event organized by the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) and held on the last Saturday of March annually, encouraging households and businesses to turn off their non-essential lights for one hour to raise awareness about the need to take action on climate change. The event, conceived by WWF and Leo Burnett, first took place in 2007, when 2.2 million residents of Sydney participated by turning off all non-essential lights. Following Sydney's lead, many other cities around the world adopted the event in 2008. For opportunists, Earth Day and Earth Hour are rituals done to grab some news space, but, for a conscientious few, a sincere but meager desire to make a difference. But would this cosmetic and casual attitude alone change things? What is required is an inherent, holistic and integral change individually and globally. At home and abroad. I believe, observing Earth Hour and Earth Day (though great initiatives and brilliant awareness raising events) once a year is not enough. Empathy, love and protection of the environment we live in are things that should be on our hearts and minds every moment. For us Muslims, protecting the environment is a duty mandated by Allah. In Islam, the relationship between mankind and the environment is part of social existence, an existence based on the fact that everything on earth worships the same God. The Qur'an contains many verses that can be referred to for guidance in this respect. The following verse 21 of the second surah of the Qur'an, is an example: (O people! Worship your Lord, Who hath created you and those before you, so that you may ward off (evil). Who hath appointed the earth a resting-place for you, and the sky a canopy; and causeth water to pour down from the sky, thereby producing fruits as food for you. And do not set up rivals to Allah when ye know (better).) (Al-Baqarah 2: 21-22). The word lakum (for you) in the phrase “created for you” contains the message that the earth is not for one generation but for every generation, past, present and future and that would include humans as well as other creatures on this earth. Islam urges its followers to have great concern for everything created by Allah, for it is part and parcel of “submission to Allah”. By submitting to Allah, human beings have to accept that they act as the “agents” of Allah on earth. Islam, as a way of life, expects human beings to conserve the environment for several reasons. One among the many reasons why Islam seeks to protect and preserve the environment is that Islam, as a way of life, is established on the concept of good (khayr). We are expected to protect the environment since no other creature is able to perform this task. Allah has “entrusted” mankind with the responsibility of looking after the earth. Allah says: (Lo! We offered the trust unto the heavens and the earth and the hills, but they shrank from bearing it and were afraid of it and man assumed it Lo! he is a tyrant and fool.) (Al-Ahzab 33: 72). Ignorance and indifference are two main drivers for the degradation and disintegration of our planet Earth and the consequential environmental deterioration. Emission of dangerous gasses, excessive and extravagant use of finite fuels, deforestation, destruction of natural habitat, wastage of water, improper disposal of garbage and population explosion are causing havoc the world over. Driving along the streets and highways of Riyadh or any city in Saudi Arabia in the night jars one to the reality. All the lights and air cons in the plush offices and commercial buildings are switched on throughout the night. This translates to hundreds of thousands of units being wasted and millions of dollars down the drain in a year. We also see vehicles humming and running even when not needed, guzzling precious fuels and emitting the killer carbon gasses. Extravagance in consumption of energy is placing huge burden on the governments and warming the planet at an alarming rate. In Saudi Arabia alone, the annual spending on electricity is expected to reach SR15 billion during the next five years, Dr. Abdullah Al-Shahri, Governor of Electricity & Co-Generation Regulatory Authority, said recently. Estimating the annual growth in electricity demand at 7 percent, he said demand was caused due to wastage of power that has resulted in an excess annual expenditure of SR7.5 billion. Another painful factor adding to our environmental woes is the manageable but completely ignored trash disposal culture or the lack of it. Tons of trash that can be recycled, converted to manure or put to lot of other good use is literally thrown in neglect. Proper disposal and distribution of trash can significantly help in environmental and bio-sustainability. A simple, sensible, scientific method should be adopted to dispose and use the garbage to enrich our environment and lives. An encouraging sight in Riyadh is the presence of paper, clothes and books disposal boxes but unfortunately few take note of these and fewer still use them. Last but certainly not the least, the huge wastage of water by most of us is almost criminal. Water is a life giving and life sustaining resource which should be prudently used and preserved. This most precious yet fast diminishing commodity only hastens the disaster in the making if not checked NOW. An authentic Hadith of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) urges us to use water very carefully even if we are in front of a gushing river. But alas, it falls on deaf years. Elsewhere in the world, we see over-run and under-maintained vehicles and factories emitting clouds of cancerous carbon gasses, trees being felled, concrete jungles sprawling, natural habitat being destroyed. My intention to write this piece is not to sound vitriolic or scare you. Pardon me if it does so - though it IS scary. It hurts to see the complete apathy and ignorance of a majority of us which gravely depletes the finite resources and seriously undermines the future of the mankind. Let's wake up. Let's heed the requests and advise of the authorities of this great country. Saudi Arabia is a signatory and supporter of the Environmental Treaties and many related initiatives. Let's prove to be responsible residents. Let's begin by educating ourselves and changing our attitudes right from our homes and our lives. To borrow a phrase from someone, “resources and environment we misuse today is only a borrowing from our grandchildren.” Let's build our character and habits in such a way that we leave behind a rich legacy and a resources rich planet. Let not the Earth Hour or Earth Day be just a formal observance. Let not the efforts of Rachel Carson, Senator Nelson or John McConnel and their likes go waste. Let not our children cry and curse ... —The writer – an aviation and hospitality expert– is Director of Sales at an international hotel chain. __
