The 765.3 square kms island country, has recorded the hottest January and hottest June in Bahrain over a century in 2019. As the Summer Sun continues to burn without mercy, many have escaped the Kingdom to cooler countries for vacations and short stays.
Ever considered, what has caused the island to burn so harshly that bubbles not only the blue ocean around but even our blood? Apart from the universal issue of global warming, the island suffers the principal environmental issues such as scarcity of fresh water, desertification and pollution.
The Government has stepped in with best initiatives to conserve the Bahrain environment. The plastic ban, rooftop solar panels and initiatives to reduce carbon footprints are on the rise.
Bahrain This Week joins with our environmental awareness initiative. We invite our readers to be part of the initiative that will have a beneficial impact, not only regionally, but at the global level.
How can we do that?
When eco-friendly habits such as recycling, going organic, driving hybrids, biking, and conserving water are becoming mainstream, a conscious consideration of our lifestyle choices, and daily chores can also bring an effective impact to the environment.
Make your meal: Frozen and processed food items usually contain additives, plastic coverage and chemicals that harm the environment. Apart from a great beneficial impact on your health, cooking using fresh ingredients have long lasting impacts on the environment.
It may not be so easy to go vegetarian in our culture, however reducing meat consumption is a great way to reduce carbon emissions. As per our below analysis, meat lovers can consort to chicken as they have less carbon emissions that other meat products.
A small step daily, and you will be reducing the bulk of environmental waste on monthly basis.
Smoking Kills: Bahrain being an island country, is renowned for seafood and many of our activities are centered on the blue sea surrounding us. As the latest ban on plastic became a great assistance to conserve the marine life, we still need to take a vigilant step to reduce another rampant marine debris – Cigarette butts.
Much has been talked about the health hazards of smoking and passive smoking. However, not many realize that the cigarette butts are the most dangerous parts as they collect the toxins and solid particles in their cellulose acetate and two layers of wrapping that are non-biodegradable.
One cigarette butt in approximately two gallons of water is lethal to water fleas, therefore, imagine what billions of cigarette butts washed across our sea on every year can do! Full of toxins, the littered cigarette butts can leach into waterways resulting in poisoned marine life and can poison humanity human through fish or animals that ingest them.
There are no alternatives, cigarettes are harmful in all ways to the earth and if you are a smoker, don’t reduce your smoking, but quit!
To all animal lovers… Animal lovers treat their pets as their family, however, some simple precautions can prevent some serious environmental harm. It is ideal to understand if your pet is unsustainably sourced from wildlife and their estimated lifespan.
The major human-wildlife conflicts occurs due to the source of animals and their longevity beyond their owner’s expectations. Many pets are abandoned into the streets as their owners leave the island or go for a vacation, thus threatening the environment as invasive species.
You might have seen many street dogs and stray cats on our roads in summer, and many animal lovers stop over to feed them. But when people feed the strays, it diminishes that animal’s natural ability to find food and desensitizes them to human, causing a source of potentially dangerous human-wildlife conflict.
The best way to avoid the above is being a responsible pet lover. If you are leaving your pet behind, contact a wildlife sanctuary, a zoo or adoption rather than releasing them out. Do not feed strays as the Government is adept in rehabilitating them with accurate measures.
We, at Bahrain This Week have committed to take at least one of the above steps to conserve our eco-system. We would like to know what our dear readers will do for a Green Bahrain. Write to us at: [email protected] OR visit our Instagram Account/ Facebook Account. The best solutions will be featured in next week.