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The following points highlight the seven main steps to be taken to motivate people to save environment.
1. Development of awareness among people to show pro-environmental behaviour by throwing light on the adverse effects of anti-environmental behaviour and necessity of environment protection posters, banners, electronic and paper media like TV and newspapers.
This can be achieved by government and non-government bodies, voluntary organisations and citizens who are well aware of the dangerous effects of environment pollution on human society. Environment protection weeks should be observed.
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2. Organised activity by the above bodies would help tremendously in monitoring and controlling environmental pollution. The non-government bodies should be given the power to take strict action against those who damage the environment and help in its pollution.
Various powerful and influential industrialists and organisations even government agencies like municipalities, corporations, transport service sector, power houses cause great damage to our environment. They ignore the protests made individually by the residents and common public.
In such situations group activitism (i.e., protest of the groups in an organised way) acts as a very powerful and effective technique in reducing environment pollution. Those who otherwise do not listen to individually are scared when people protest in groups.
3. Education regarding environment protection and knowledge about the adverse effects of polluted environment can be provided if children are taught about this in the schools. Today many of the schools and colleges in the world have included environmental science in their curriculum to achieve this end.
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4. Legal Action. It is often found that when enemies of environment do not listen to protests of general public, or individuals, or N.G.O.s, P.I.Ls are filed by voluntary organisations or even concerned citizens to stop anti-environmental activities.
When the honourable courts order to stop environment pollution, it works. The Hon’ble Supreme Court of India and other courts have thankfully taken many positive actions to enforce environment friendly behaviour.
5. Plain living and economical use of resources. In this technological age due to the use of various electrical gadgets, lot of energy is consumed. If this continues, the natural resources of the earth would be finished within years. If earth’s resources are used economically, efficiently and as per the need, the environmental problems of the world can be solved peacefully.
Hence, the needs of the life should be reduced through plain living. Instead of always depending upon A.Cs, gas, refrigerators, washing machines, dish-washers etc. we should use them sparingly. Everyone should be aware of the resource deficit so that people can restrict the use of electrical gadgets. In the earlier period our environment was not so polluted as it is today due to simple living habits.
6. Concrete actions to be encouraged. People should be encouraged through books, papers and television to reduce the use of energy and resources by using energy efficient devices.
For example, instead of each member of the family using a car just like in USA or even one family using the car, use of car and air pollution can be reduced by car pooling method or by using other means of transport like cycle, scooter or public transport system.
Even by using recycled products, air pollution can be reduced. For these behavioural changes people are to be motivated. Various programmes should be undertaken to motivate people to make reduced reservice consumption. This technique works better than personal approaches.
7. Certain behavioural norms are to be enforced. Specific and clear cut environmental regulations are to be enforced by government bodies and public sector organisations to keep people and industries away from contributing to environmental pollution.
The rules and norms framed should be strictly followed without any relaxation for anybody so that people and industrialists will not dare to show anti-environment behaviour.
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Now-a-days in many states including Delhi, it is compulsory for the vehicle owners to get their vehicle checked at regular intervals to determine the pollution level and display the pollution check certificate. This has improved the situation to some extent.
On the whole, for the development of pro-environmental behaviour all the above discussed points are to be enforced either individually or combinedly. Motivation and desire to save the environment must be spontaneous and come from within.
Every citizen of the society must realise that not only environment influences us, we also influence the environment through our action and behaviour. Hence, our behaviour towards the environment should be friendly and positive.
We will always keep in mind that our environment is just like our mother and instead of polluting air, water, instead of consuming resources carelessly we should try to keep the environment clean and free from pollution to save the world from disastrous consequences.
Nature is like God. In our Hindu mythology, air, water, fire and other components of the environment etc. are considered as gods and Goddesses and even today, We worship them. Should we not learn from this how helpful is our environment to us? Should we not therefore change our anti-attitude and anti-behaviour towards our environment where we live, and breathe.