The carbon footprint of our planet is increasing by the hour and the consequent global warming is causing irreparable damage to the environment. Our energy hungry society guzzles on tonnes of fossil fuel every second, belching out carbon intensive smoke into the surroundings, inexorably choking the very life out of our ecosystems. This drive towards self-destruction is quite ironical given the fact nature offers us such varied sources of natural energy which are clean, renewable , abundant and as yet untapped.

14^th February was Global Divestment Day and it sought to draw global attention to this very fact and urges the denizens of our planet to move to a sustainable future. Green Hope UAE, believes that sustainable consumption is a key way of moving to a green future and so we organised a recycling campaign to show solidarity with the Global Divestment Day. Our members , some as young as 7 years old, spent over 4 weeks collecting newspapers , plastic bottles , toners , cardboard and plastics . It totaled up to a whopping 1280 kilograms of materials which we handed over to a local plant for recycling. These materials, which otherwise would have degenerated in trash cans, will now be recycled and reused, thus saving essential resources.

We conducted this activity on 14^th Feb which was also Valentine?s Day and we felt that it was a great way to show our love for Mother Nature through recycling. The global population has crossed 7 billion and our planet's finite resources are under tremendous strain. As responsible members of civil society, we, the youth, must take responsibility for the future of our planet and set an example by making better use of our resources. We should imbibe the principles of sustainable consumption in our daily lives and recycling should be a regular part of our routine.

Global Divestment Day should not be a one day event our call is to practice it daily so that future generations can enjoy the same pristine resources that we were blessed with. Young people have a great responsibility to ensure that we influence change that is positive and helps to implement a life of dignity for all. Our activity was featured in GULF TODAY and this enabled us to reach out with our message to a larger section of civil society.