Planet Earth and its nature belongs to us and we belong to it. It thus becomes our responsibility to ensure its safety and keep in mind the fact that our Earth is as well a living organism with its own metabolic needs and other vital processes which need to be duly respected. There comes our ultimate responsibility, as the inhabitants of this Earth, to preserve and protect it. However, we need to keep in mind, as Margaret Thatcher rightly said,” No generation has a freehold on this Earth. All we have is a life tenancy with full repairing lease.” Hence, there’s an immediate necessity for us to protect and conserve Earth’s natural resources for the future generations and ensure a safe, green future on this planet.
‘We have not inherited this nature from our forefathers; we have borrowed it from our children.’ Thus, this becomes our responsibility to protect this planet for our children. The youth of today is to be the future of tomorrow, and this planet is going to be their sole home, they will need to utilize these natural resources for their want fulfilment, and for this to happen, we presently need to use the resources judiciously and smartly. Teens today, will build the future of tomorrow, and it all depends on what they’ve experienced and seen their elders do or what they’ve learnt from them. It, therefore, becomes vital for today’s generation to ensure that they work and act wisely, to set an example for the generations to come.
The deeds of today, our actions and decisions of the present times, shall strongly influence the future this Planet shall see, because the coming generations shall look up to us for inspiration, follow our steps and thus, will shape the future. Today, the perceptions are still changing and growing more sustainable in nature, which means that people are adopting sustainable means of living, in order to contribute their bit towards environmental preservation, and this shall influence the teenagers.
Sustainable Living refers to a way of living which involves the usage of natural resources to fulfil the present needs, with an appropriate consideration for the needs of the future generations. This way, deals with the varying aspects of life, such as food, clothing, home appliances, gardening, gifting, etc. And these, sustainable means of living, if adopted by the entire human race, will contribute towards a clean and green future Planet Earth.
When such ways are innovated and devised, they tend to influence the opinions of a varying set of people, the way they look at the environment. It enables teens to realize, that it isn’t necessary for them to participate in debates, huge committee discussions or hold rallies, in order to bring an impact. What’s most necessary is their will to contribute towards environmental conservation and the ways they use to fulfil this. Such sustainable ways of living, bring strong impacts on their mindsets and thus, persuade them to adopt such measures to ensure a safe future for themselves.
But today’s generation, is least inclined towards the print media and is majorly stuck in by the digital media, which would mean the internet, social networking sites. When such messages of incorporating sustainability into everyday life, are spread through social networking sites by the social influencers, through podcasts, through short films, ads in the television, they tend to have a much stronger and deeper impact on the thought process of teenagers, as they’re being taught a valuable lesson, relating to the environment around us, and that too, in a way they would love to have it presented. What more could be required for influencing their young growing minds, and bringing in them the spark of responsibility?
Teens of today shall be the face of this planet in coming future, and thus, is a need for them to understand their duties towards the planet, and be wise responsible inhabitants of it. Strong and deep imprints need to be created on teenage mindsets relating to sustainability, as a way of living. And this has to be done in a way that pleases them, that is, through social media campaigns, podcasts, films, etc. Such kinds of imprints are being created even today on teenage mindsets through some of such activities being performed by the society. However, more of such measures and means need to be taken up to create sustainable imprints on teenage mindsets, which shall lead to a sustained survival, growth and development on this planet Earth!!