GREEN WORK

Our Hard work to GREen

Story of the Origin of Kanikonna Flower – Vishu Kani Konna

Kanikonna Flower, or Vishu Kani Konna, is the yellow flower that is used for Kani during the Vishu festival in Kerala. Origin of Vishu Kani Konna flower is associated with Sri Krishna – and it symbolically shows the power of devotion.

Once there was a boy who regularly worshipped at a Sri Krishna Temple near his home. The boy had only one wish that he wanted to see Gopalakrishna or the child form of Bhagavan Sri Krishna. He only prayed for the fulfillment of this wish.

Moved by his devotion, Sri Krishna appeared in the child form before the boy. The boy had tears rolling down his cheeks. He stood numb.

Sri Krishna asked the boy what he wanted. With tears in his eyes, the boy answered what more can I get other than seeing you. He had no other wish.

Sri Krishna was happy with the boy and gave him the ornament that was worn around his waist – Aranjanam.

The boy the golden chain carried it with him and showed to his friends. But none of them believed the story. They all said it was a fake chain.

Next day when the priest opened the temple, he found that the chain around the waist of the murti of Sri Krishna was missing.

News spread around and soon people reached the home of the boy accusing him of stealing the chain.

The mother of the boy could not tolerate people calling his child a thief. She beat him and threw the chain out into the garden. The chain got stuck on a tree and the tree suddenly bloomed with yellow flowers.

These yellow flowers are the Vishu Kani Konna.

Kanikonna is known as the Golden Shower Tree or Indian laburnum Cassia. It is the state flower of Kerala State in India. It is the national flower of Thailand.

World Environment Day 2016

World environment day 2016 would be celebrated by the people all across the world on 5th of June, at Sunday.

World Environment Day History

World Environment Day (also called as WED) has been started celebrating as an annual event on every 5th of June since 1973 in order to raise the global awareness about the importance of the healthy and green environment in the human lives, to solve the environmental issues by implementing some positive environmental actions as well as to make aware common public worldwide that everyone is responsible for saving his environment and not only somebody, government or organizations working for it.

World environment day was first established to be celebrated every year by running some effective campaigns by the United Nations General Assembly and United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) in the conference on Human Environment began from 5th to 16th of June at United Nations in 1972. It was first time celebrated in 1973 with the particular theme “Only one Earth”. Since 1974, the celebration campaign of the world environment day is hosted in different cities of the world.

It is a big annual celebration started by the United Nations General Assembly to engage millions of people from different countries across the globe as well as draw attention of political and health organizations to implement some effective actions.

Why World Environment Day is Celebrated

World environment day annual celebration campaign was started to address the huge environmental issues like wastage and losses of food, deforestation, increasing global warming and so many. Every year celebration is planned according to the particular theme and slogan of the year to bring effectiveness in the campaign all through the world.

It is celebrated to successfully get carbon neutrality, focusing on the forest management, reducing greenhouse effects, promoting bio-fuels production by planting on degraded lands, use of hydro-power to enhance electricity production, encourage common public to use solar water heaters, energy production through solar sources, developing new drainage systems, promoting coral reefs and mangroves restoration in order to get prevented from flooding and erosion including other ways of environmental preservation. Some of the objectives of the world environment day campaign are mentioned below:

It is celebrated to make aware the common public about the environmental issues.

Encourage common people from different society and communities to actively participate in the celebration as well as become an active agent in developing environmental safety measures.

Let them know that community people are very essential to inhibit negative changes towards the environmental issues.

Encourage people to make their nearby surroundings safe and clean to enjoy safer, cleaner and more prosperous future.

World Environment Day Activities

Variety of activities are planned to celebrate this great event in different countries to encourage more people towards the celebration. Various news channels take part very actively in the celebration to cover the news and distribute messages about the celebration among common public through their news publications to bring effective and positive changes towards the environment to solve all the environmental issues. Some of the national and international level activities include street rallies, tree plantation, garbage recycling, surrounding areas clean-up, parades and so many activities in order to draw people attention towards wide range of environmental issues as well as bring difference.

People of all age groups actively involve during the celebration to save their planet in original form as gifted by the nature. Especially modern day youths hugely take part in the celebration through many activities such as clean up campaigns, art exhibitions, motivating people for tree-planting, dance activities, recycling garbage, film festivals, community events, essays writing, poster competitions, social media campaigns and lot more. Many awareness campaigns are also run at schools, colleges and other educational institutions to motivate students towards their environmental safety. The celebration takes place at national and international level by organizing various activities in the public places to aware common public about the real causes of environment status degradation as well as let them know what steps should be taken to solve such environmental issues.

World Environment Day Theme and Slogan

Each year celebration of the World Environment Day is based on the particular theme decided by the United Nations to make the celebration more effective by encouraging mass people worldwide to hugely take part in addressing environmental issues on global scale. 

Year wise list of the themes and slogans of world environment day are mentioned below:

The theme of the year 2016 would be “Join the race to make the world a better place”.

The theme of the year 2015 was “One World, One Environment”.

The theme of the year 2014 was “small island developing states” or “SIDS” and “Raise your voice, not the sea level”.

The theme of the year 2013 was “Think. Eat. Save.” And slogan was “Reduce Your Foodprint”.

The theme of the year 2012 was “Green Economy: Does it include you?”.

The theme of the year 2011 was “Forests: Nature at your Service”.

The theme of the year 2010 was “Many Species. One Planet. One Future”.

The theme of the year 2009 was “Your Planet Needs You – Unite to Combat Climate Change”.

The theme and slogan of the year 2008 was “CO2, Kick the Habit – Towards a Low Carbon Economy”.

The theme of the year 2007 was “Melting Ice – a Hot Topic?”.

The theme of the year 2006 was “Deserts and Desertification” and slogan was “Don’t Desert Drylands!.”

The theme of the year 2005 was “Green Cities” and slogan was “Plan for the Planet!”.

The theme of the year 2004 was “Wanted! Seas and Oceans” and slogan was “Dead or Alive?”.

The theme of the year 2003 was “Water” and slogan was “Two Billion People are Dying for It!”.

The theme of the year 2002 was “Give Earth a Chance”.

The theme of the year 2001 was “Connect with the World Wide Web of Life”.

The theme of the year 2000 was “The Environment Millennium” and slogan was “Time to Act”.

The theme of the year 1999 was “Our Earth – Our Future” and slogan was “Just Save It!”.

The theme of the year 1998 was “For Life on Earth and slogan was “Save Our Seas”.

The theme of the year 1997 was “For Life on Earth”.

The theme of the year 1996 was “Our Earth, Our Habitat, Our Home”.

The theme of the year 1995 was “We the Peoples: United for the Global Environment”.

The theme of the year 1994 was “One Earth One Family”.

The theme of the year 1993 was “Poverty and the Environment and slogan was “Breaking the Vicious Circle”.

The theme of the year 1992 was “Only One Earth, Care and Share”.

The theme of the year 1991 was “Climate Change. Need for Global Partnership”.

The theme of the year 1990 was “Children and the Environment”.

The theme of the year 1989 was “Global Warming; Global Warning”.

The theme of the year 1988 was “When People Put the Environment First, Development Will Last”.

The theme of the year 1987 was “Environment and Shelter: More Than A Roof”.

The theme of the year 1986 was “A Tree for Peace”.

The theme of the year 1985 was “Youth: Population and the Environment”.

The theme of the year 1984 was “Desertification”.

The theme of the year 1983 was “Managing and Disposing Hazardous Waste: Acid Rain and Energy”.

The theme of the year 1982 was “Ten Years after Stockholm (Renewal of Environmental Concerns)”.

The theme of the year 1981 was “Ground Water; Toxic Chemicals in Human Food Chains”.

The theme of the year 1980 was “A New Challenge for the New Decade: Development without Destruction”.

The theme of the year 1979 was “Only One Future for Our Children and slogan was “Development without Destruction”.

The theme of the year 1978 was “Development without Destruction”.

The theme of the year 1977 was “Ozone Layer Environmental Concern; Lands Loss and Soil Degradation”.

The theme of the year 1976 was “Water: Vital Resource for Life”.

The theme of the year 1975 was “Human Settlements”.

The theme of the year 1974 was “Only one Earth during Expo ’74”.

The theme of the year 1973 was “Only one Earth”.

World Environment Day Quotes

Some of the famous quotes (written by the famous personalities) on world environment day are mentioned below:

“The environment is everything that isn’t me”. 

– Albert Einstein

“God has cared for these trees, saved them from drought, disease, avalanches, and a thousand tempests and floods. But he cannot save them from fools”. 

– John Muir

“Thank God men cannot fly, and lay waste the sky as well as the earth”. 

– Henry David Thoreau

“Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it’s the only thing that ever has”. 

– Margaret Mead

“We won’t have a society if we destroy the environment”. 

– Margaret Mead

“It is horrifying that we have to fight our own government to save the environment”. 

– Ansel Adams

“I think the environment should be put in the category of our national security. Defense of our resources is just as important as defense abroad. Otherwise what is there to defend”? 

– Robert Redford

“Take a course in good water and air; and in the eternal youth of Nature you may renew your own. Go quietly, alone; no harm will befall you”. 

– John Muir

“Birds are indicators of the environment. If they are in trouble, we know we’ll soon be in trouble”. 

– Roger Tory Peterson

“By polluting clear water with slime you will never find good drinking water”. 

– Aeschylus

“If we do not permit the earth to produce beauty and joy, it will in the end not produce food, either”. 

– Joseph Wood Krutch

“They claim this mother of ours, the Earth, for their own use, and fence their neighbors away from her, and deface her with their buildings and their refuse”. 

– Sitting Bull

“Conservation is a state of harmony between men and land”. 

– Aldo Leopold

“After all, sustainability means running the global environment – Earth Inc. – like a corporation: with depreciation, amortization and maintenance accounts. In other words, keeping the asset whole, rather than undermining your natural capital”. 

– Maurice Strong

“Harmony with land is like harmony with a friend; you cannot cherish his right hand and chop off his left”. 

– Aldo Leopold

“You will die but the carbon will not; its career does not end with you. It will return to the soil, and there a plant may take it up again in time, sending it once more on a cycle of plant and animal life”. 

-Jacob Bronowski

“People blame their environment. There is only one person to blame – and only one – themselves”. 

– Robert Collier

“I can find God in nature, in animals, in birds and the environment”. 

– Pat Buckley

“We must return to nature and nature’s god”. 

– Luther Burbank

“The only way forward, if we are going to improve the quality of the environment, is to get everybody involved”. 

– Richard Rogers

“Journey with me to a true commitment to our environment. Journey with me to the serenity of leaving to our children a planet in equilibrium”. 

– Paul Tsongas

“Environmental degradation, overpopulation, refugees, narcotics, terrorism, world crime movements, and organized crime are worldwide problems that don’t stop at a nation’s borders”. 

– Warren Christopher

“I think the government has to reposition environment on top of their national and international priorities”. 

– Brian Mulroney

“Environmental concern is now firmly embedded in public life: in education, medicine and law; in journalism, literature and art”. 

– Barry Commoner

“Earth Day 1970 was irrefutable evidence that the American people understood the environmental threat and wanted action to resolve it”. 

– Barry Commoner

“The government should set a goal for a clean environment but not mandate how that goal should be implemented”. 

– Dixie Lee Ray

“Why has it seemed that the only way to protect the environment is with heavy-handed government regulation”? 

– Gale Norton

“The most important environmental issue is one that is rarely mentioned, and that is the lack of a conservation ethic in our culture”. 

– Gaylord Nelson

“Earth provides enough to satisfy every man’s needs, but not every man’s greed”. 

– Mahatma Gandhi

“What we are doing to the forests of the world is but a mirror reflection of what we are doing to ourselves and to one another”. 

– Mahatma Gandhi