Employability Skills II: Reducing environmental impact

Hello students, welcome to Kwickprep. Every time you switch on a fan, ride a bike or throw away a wrapper, you leave a mark on the earth. How big is your mark? Today we will learn what environmental impact is, and practical ways to reduce it at home, at school and at work.

First, the meaning. Environmental impact is any change that human actions cause to the natural world. Many impacts are harmful, like pollution, waste and cutting forests. Some impacts are helpful, like planting trees or cleaning a river.

A useful idea here is the carbon footprint. A carbon footprint is the total amount of greenhouse gases caused by a person, a family, a company or an activity. Greenhouse gases are gases like carbon dioxide that trap heat and warm the earth. Our footprint comes from electricity, travel, food and the things we buy. A smaller footprint means less harm to the climate.

Let us look at the main harmful impacts. Air pollution comes from vehicles, factories and burning waste, and causes breathing problems. Water pollution comes from sewage and chemicals, and makes water unsafe to drink. Land pollution comes from plastic and electronic waste, and spoils the soil. Deforestation, which means cutting down forests, destroys the homes of animals. Climate change comes mainly from burning coal, oil and gas, and brings heatwaves and floods.

Reducing impact begins at home. Use LED bulbs, and switch off devices at the plug when not in use. Bathe with a bucket instead of a long shower, to save water. Separate wet and dry waste, and turn kitchen waste into compost. And avoid single use plastic items like carry bags and plastic cutlery.

Travel is a big part of our footprint. For short trips, walk or cycle. For longer trips, use buses, the metro or trains, which carry many people at once. Share rides, and switch off the engine at long red lights. When families buy a vehicle, electric or CNG vehicles usually cause less air pollution in cities.

Offices and schools can reduce impact too. Print only when it is really needed, and use both sides of the paper. Share notes and reports digitally, by email or cloud storage. Give old computers and phones to proper e-waste collection centres, never to the dustbin. And set air conditioners at twenty four degrees or higher, which saves a lot of electricity.

Businesses have a large impact, so their choices matter. Many factories now put solar panels on their roofs. Companies can reduce packaging, and use material that can be recycled. Factories must treat waste water before releasing it into rivers. And every business must follow environmental laws, which protect air, water and forests.

Here are some easy swaps, so pause and think which one you can do today. Instead of buying plastic bottles, carry a steel bottle, and plastic waste goes down. Instead of taking a car for one kilometre, walk or cycle, and air pollution goes down. Instead of printing every note, keep digital notes where you can, and fewer trees are cut. Instead of an old bulb, use an LED bulb, and electricity use drops sharply.

India has a people's movement for this idea. Mission LiFE was announced by India in twenty twenty one and launched in twenty twenty two. LiFE stands for Lifestyle for Environment. It asks us to practise mindful use of resources, instead of mindless use and waste. When millions of people make small changes, the total impact becomes very large.

Let us revise what we learned today. Environmental impact is the change our actions cause to nature. A carbon footprint is the total greenhouse gases we cause. At home, save power and water, segregate waste and avoid single use plastic. For travel, walk, cycle or use public transport. And remember Mission LiFE, which asks for mindful use, not mindless use.