Dharamshala: On the occasion of Earth Day, Tibetan spiritual leader Dalai Lama in a statement said that problems like global warming and depletion of ozone layer cannot be tackled by single nations and individual organisations alone and no solution can be found unless people work together, adding that mother Earth is teaching us all a lesson in universal responsibility.
The Dalai Lama said, “On Earth Day 2021, I appeal to my brothers and sisters throughout the world to look at both the challenges and the opportunities before us on this one blue planet that we share.”
“I often joke that the moon and stars look beautiful, but if any of us tried to live on them, we would be miserable. This planet of ours is a delightful habitat. Its life is our life, its future our future. Indeed, the earth acts like a mother to us all. Like children, we are dependent on her. In the face of such global problems as the effect of global heating and depletion of the ozone layer, individual organizations and single nations are helpless. Unless we all work together, no solution can be found. Our mother earth is teaching us a lesson in universal responsibility,” he added.
The spiritual leader highlighted that in many parts of the world, the welfare of people, especially of mothers and children, is at extreme risk because of the critical lack of adequate water, sanitation and hygienic conditions.
“Take the issue of water as an example. Today, more than ever, the welfare of citizens in many parts of the world, especially of mothers and children, is at extreme risk because of the critical lack of adequate water, sanitation and hygienic conditions. It is concerning that the absence of these essential health services throughout the world impacts nearly two billion people. And yet it is soluble. I am grateful that the Secretary-General of the United Nations, Antonio Guterres, has issued an urgent global call to action,” he said.
Stating that interdependence is a fundamental law of nature, the Dalai lama said we must develop a greater sense of the oneness of all humanity.
“Interdependence is a fundamental law of nature. Ignorance of interdependence has wounded not just our natural environment, but our human society as well. Therefore, we human beings must develop a greater sense of the oneness of all humanity. Each of us must learn to work not only for his or her self, family or nation, but for the benefit of all mankind. In this connection, I am glad that President Joe Biden will be hosting a Leaders’ Climate Summit on Earth Day this year, bringing together world leaders to discuss an issue that impacts all of us,” said the spiritual leader.
He further said that if the planet is to be sustained, environmental education and personal responsibility must grow and keep growing, ading that taking care of the environment should be an essential part of everyone’s daily lives.
“In my own case, my environmental awakening occurred only after I came into exile and encountered a world very different from the one I had known in Tibet. Only then did I realize how pure the Tibetan environment was and how modern material development has contributed to the degradation of life across the planet,” said the Dalai Lama.
On this Earth Day let us all commit ourselves to doing our part to help make a positive difference to the environment of our only common home, this beautiful earth, he added.
Every year on April 22, Earth Day marks the anniversary of the birth of the modern environmental movement since 1970. Earth Day is widely recognised as the largest secular observance in the world, marked by more than a billion people every year as a day of action to change human behavior and create global, national and local policy changes.
The fight for a clean environment continues with increasing urgency, as the ravages of climate change become more and more apparent every day.
As the awareness of our climate crisis grows, so does civil society mobilisation, which is reaching a fever pitch across the globe today.