“A dark cloud of vicious smoke chimes into the atmosphere through the smokestack, painting the deep blue sky with a dark grey colour like a blue canvas with a single black brush stroke through it”, this is how it started centuries ago. Now we can barely see the sky or hardly tell that behind the black smoke-filled atmosphere, there used to be a radiant light blue sky as thousands of smokestacks expel their waste into the open air.

Unfortunately, we are heading towards a future where more and more emissions are dumped into the atmosphere every year. But we can shape our future through our actions today. So, let us take a moment to understand more about global emissions and what we can do to reduce them.

Firstly, what is emission? Emission refers to the production and release of something into the open; in our context, emissions refer to the creation and release of greenhouse gases and other toxic chemicals and compounds into our ecosystem.

World Zero Emission Day is an internationally accepted day dedicated to raising awareness about the harmful effects of emissions on our environment. Every year more than 35 billion metric tonnes of carbon dioxide are released into the atmosphere. Just to put that number into perspective, it is more than 35,000,000,000,000 kilograms of carbon dioxide expelled into our atmosphere every year.

These unnaturally excessive emissions that we produce yearly cause a  drastic impact on our environment due to a phenomenon called the “greenhouse effect”. The atmosphere contains a layer of heat-trapping gases called “greenhouse gasses”. Gasses such as water vapour, methane, nitrous oxide and carbon dioxide fall under the category of greenhouse gases because they absorb some of the sunlight which is reflected from the earth’s surface. It is essential for life on earth that the correct balance of greenhouse gases is retained in our atmosphere as it helps sustain the earth’s natural temperature.

However, due to human activity, the earth’s atmosphere is now congested with greenhouse gases (especially CO2). It is extremely dangerous for life on earth as the excessive amounts of greenhouse gases in our atmosphere absorb more and more sunlight, gradually heating the earth and all life inhabiting it, like a slow cooker.

This extreme rise in global temperatures can cause frequent wildfires, floods, droughts and even more intense and frequent natural disasters like storms and hurricanes.

However, as mentioned earlier, the future is a reflection of the decisions we make today. Accordingly, we, the Environmental Service Avenue of the Rotaract Club of University of Sri Jayewardenepura, have initiated Growing Green 3.0 to reduce the carbon footprint by calculating the carbon footprint of the persons in Sri Lanka in order to initiate strategies to lessen the emission of greenhouse gases. Also, through our project, we intend to promote home gardening as well as zero-emission vehicles which will ultimately lead to reducing the impact of greenhouse gases and other emissions on the atmosphere.

What can YOU do to reduce the impact of your actions on the earth? Be mindful of your actions and change your lifestyle that reflects your desire to be sustainable. Whether that is through reconsidering your modes of transportation to reduce the carbon footprint, being mindful about purchasing high energy-consuming appliances, or deciding to recycle instead of throwing out; every small act counts in our battle against global warming.

So, this World Zero Emission Day, let us be mindful of our emissions and act to steer our future in the right direction by leading an eco-friendly life.

Written by: Rtr. Peruka Lakshika Fernando

Graphic Design by: Rtr. Vidushi Pathirana