Evergenes - Making History

My best friend is an environmentalist and she mentioned that it was ‘Earth day’ yesterday. I was completely oblivious to what she was talking about, so I decided to find out.

Briefly, Earth day was founded by Senator Gaylord of Wisconsin and organised by Denis Hayes in 1970. Earth day is based on the premise that all people have a moral right to a healthy and sustainable environment. The Earth day network has over 17,000 partners and organisations in 174 countries. Over 1 billion people participate in Earth day activities.

April 22nd 1970, is the date when Earth day was born and millions of people protested against the deterioration of the environment. People began to realise that those fighting against oil spillages, polluting factories and power plants, raw sewage, pesticides, toxic dumps, loss of wilderness and wildlife extinction, all shared common values –safe guarding the environment.

It has become alarmingly apparent in the past few decades, the extent of the damage we humans have inflicted upon the world we live in. Many people are blissfully ignorant to this. Our planet can simply not withstand this abuse for much longer and it is our children who are going to suffer the consequences. Global warming is melting our ice caps at a faster rate than predicted. A couple of degrees increase in temperature will have drastic effects. Rises in sea levels will result in an economic and humanitarian disaster. Many cities like London, New York and Bangkok will end up below sea level. Coastal populations will be wiped out and water supplies contaminated.

We should all feel it is our duty to help save this planet for our future generations. If we all act rapidly to reduce emissions we can still prevent the worst effects of climate change. We need to switch to renewable energy resources to try to avoid rises in sea levels. Even basic tasks can help the environment such as picking up litter, recycling more at home and even planting a tree.

This is our planet. It is our responsibility to look after it. I want my children to grow up and see the world as we know it. Not a world that has been continually destroyed by humans. According to the latest edition of the Red List Of Threatened Species, compiled by the World Conservation Union, a total of 5,453 animal species are in danger of being wiped out forever, and 5,714 plant species. 41 of them are found in the United Kingdom.

We all need to act now to preserve this world for our next generation. There is no point preserving our life history with Evergenes if there is no world left to enjoy it in.

I was extremely upset and shocked the other night after I watched Panorama – Britain’s Homecare Scandal. It was incredibly disturbing to watch how appallingly many elderly people are treated.

I am 32 years of age and the thought of growing old does not often cross my mind. However, after watching Panorama, I now dread the thought. Ageing is inevitable; we are all going to grow old at some point. However, why should growing old mean that many of us become neglected, vulnerable and almost invisible? I personally could not bear the thought of my parents or grandparents suffering like that.

The government want the elderly to be able to stay in the comfort of their own homes. Unfortunately, the appropriate care and attention is not always provided. This is not due to the carers themselves but the companies from the independent sector chosen by the government. With contracts being given to the cheapest bidders, it is therefore no surprise that substandard care is often administered. Carers are not given the appropriate training, are overworked, underpaid and poorly managed. The people that suffer are the elderly.

Not everything in this world should be motivated by money. The government should not be giving contracts to the lowest bidders, but to the companies that provide the best quality care. We should not forget that these people were once like us once, and helped to shape the world that we live in today and often take for granted.

In many cultures, grandparents often live with the family. I think that this is a wonderful tradition, but understand that this is not always practical. We have to remember that the elderly were once like us, young, active, fought for our country, bought us up and continue to help us for as long as they are able. My two boys adore both sets of grandparents and I don’t know what I would do without them helping to baby sit. I have been uploading photos of my parents and creating scrapbooks of their lives so that in the future my children will be able to easily look up their family history on Evergenes and they can in turn sit down with their children and tell them all about their great grandparents.

I wish I knew more about my grandparent’s lives, where they grew up, what they enjoyed to do etc. However this is not possible for me as my grandparents lived in India. I hope that people will also see the benefit of Evergenes and upload their family history online for all to enjoy in the future. It is completely free after all!