Are you really Being Green?

Are you really Being Green? This question was one to ponder and reflect on after the lectures we had participated in, at GreenGen 2017 conducted by the University of Colombo.

We heard many opinions from different speakers about how we could play our part in saving the environment starting with the keynote speaker, Mr. Sarath Kotagama who had a very practical view on the world. His speech, both meaningful and inspiring, mentioned embracing naturalism. Professor Kotagama's ideas emphasized on a change in attitude where he quoted Einstein, ‘Problems cannot be solved within the mindset that created them’ and stressed on the need to do our bit for the Environment.

An interesting lecture about Green Inititaives for Health by Dr. Dhanushka Dassanayake, specializing in Immunology, spoke of how being exposed to impacts of climate change and urbanization is the hidden culprit behind most allergies. Gaining insight through a doctor's point of view, certainly gave us a sneak peak of the interesting truth behind common health issues and the environment.

One very interactive lecture was given by Mr. Chinthaka, who started a business revolving around waste management. He spoke on prominent topics, specifically on waste treatment, recycling and disposal, giving an example of a German university that was carbon free. He mainly spoke about circular economy and problem solving. He divided us into groups and told us to think of solutions to environmental problems that must be solved, we had to think of factors like: Is it Waste less? Is there an economical benefit? Will people implement it?

Ms. Achala Samaradivakara, owner of Good Market Sri Lanka, was another inspirational Eco-Friendly Social entrepreneur who told us her story. She has become the owner of one of the most sustainable businesses however, she grew up in the rural area of Sri Lanka, which gave her the encouragement to become the success she is today. She proves that with the right values and the right attitude we can change our environment in a sustainable manner to make it a better place.

Dr. Pilapitiya, a leading force in conservation and environmentalism, spoke on the many internal problems that Sri Lanka faced regarding environment protection. Sri Lanka has some of South Asia’s most sound environmental policies however due to issues such as politics and the need to develop fast, Sri Lanka has ranked low on sustainable development and environment protection. He powerfully spoke about the future and how policies made in mind for the long term are even more contradictory in nature. The Mannar Offshore Wind Plant which is directly in the flight path of migratory birds, Wasgamuwa National Park affected by 15km of irrigation pipeline, Muthrajawela Marshland being contaminated by all of Colombo Garbage and finally the most detrimental: the Uma Oya Hydropower Project which is a disaster waiting to happen are some of the examples he used to gain insight into these issues.  One would only need to read the news to know that houses in the nearby Bandarawela are already showing cracks and the Uva District itself is very prone to landslides.

As a group we gained a lot of insight on the environmental problems that we are facing and the way we should be going about solving those problems. Putting your waste in the allocated bin once doesn’t mean you are being green. We realized that it is an invitation to live within the planet’s limits, as there is no Plan B as there is no Planet B!

-Lakitha Fernando, Umar Ziham, Chanya Gajanaike, Ana Nazim and Lokesha Pieris