Today, 5^th June, we celebrate the environment. On this day, you are reminded of the responsibility you have as an inhabitant of the planet. You have the power to become an agent to ensure a cleaner, greener and brighter environment for yourself and the future generations. Just as we are the most prominent advocates for environmental change, we are also prominent advocates in environmental destruction, mostly through our consumption behavior. Many research findings, year after year have found our consumption patterns excessive, unsustainable and detrimental to the environment. We have an extreme appetite for things, and just as our appetite grows, so does the production by manufacturing companies. Where we used to have very few ‘anti-bacterial’ soaps, now we have over 20 to choose from. Car models are being dumped in the market every now and then. As all this is being produced, the need to have these things grows in us and so does the competition amongst ourselves. The production of sub-standard products by companies to sate this undying need in consumers cannot go unmentioned. These cheaply made products often fail, and they soon become garbage. We can call this ‘excess’ in products advancement, but can this advancement be sustained by our natural systems?

A friend once asked me what this ‘nature’ we talk about is, but I hate to indulge you in the discovery of what nature is or is not. We might not know what our ‘natural system’ is really, but we do know pollution when we see it or smell it. Christopher Flavin, president of Worldwatch Institute speaks of a “devastating toll on the Earth's water supplies, natural resources, and ecosystems exacted by a plethora of disposable cameras, plastic garbage bags, and other cheaply made goods that lead to a "throw away" mentality.”

It is believed that the world’s richest 500 million people produce 50 percent of global carbon dioxide emissions compared to the 6 percent produced by the world’s poorest 3 billion. But an unsophisticated and way to look at it would be to take a walk in Nairobi City before the City Council workers sweep the streets and see the wrappers scattered all over. Better still, drive to Thika or Athi River and see the heaps of dumpsites on the side of the road. The more goods we produce, the more the garbage.  Have you visited any repair shops on Luthuli Avenue and seen the number of phones and computers dumped there? Do not get me wrong, these goods and services are very necessary for us to survive, and to increase our wellbeing. How else would we watch Game of Thrones without energy? How else would we tweet if we had no phones?

But we do have options to deal with this, options that require a transformation of our cultural patterns of consumerism to more sustainable frameworks. Our extreme desire for things can be culled. And it goes all the way from policy makers to the manufactures and then down to the consumer. If say public transport was made bearable, Nairobi would be saved from the burden and pollution by cars. Habits can be altered, with people opting to use public transport as opposed to private cars. If we trusted each other, carpooling would save us a lot of carbon emissions. Don’t even get me started on Mitumba clothes and the thrift markets that are cropping up on every roadside.

There is therefore need to broaden our thinking of pollution from just scattered garbage to how our consumer habits affect the planet. That is the challenge Pesatalk is throwing at you this World Environment Day. And in the spirit of saving the planet, have a look at what our friends at Vision Africa are doing, and see how you can help.