Dr Doreen Tan

Lately, I have been thinking a lot about this "patient" and my concern overwhelms me. This patient is so ill that its symptoms are raging and seemingly out of control. This patient is not human however. The patient I refer to is our sick Mother Earth. We hear of recent disasters like the devastating Japan tsunami and suddenly we are reminded of just how ill the earth is. Dirty air, global warming, polluted waters, and toxic wastes are just a few of the maladies of our very sick earth. In the same analogy, if I were approached as a doctor to resolve this condition, I would be in a quandary as to what to do.

Indeed, it takes all of us to do our bit to heal our sick earth. We cannot go on thinking 'that is not of great concern as long as it does not affect me.' It is in fact affecting us directly. A sick earth makes people fall ill to a number of degenerative diseases. A sick earth cannot produce enough food or water for our survival.  We have to act with urgency today, wherever we are,  to help save this blue planet, the only one that is known to sustain life.

Today, Good Friday is Earth Day. On April 22, 1970, over 40 years ago today, Gaylord Nelson, a United States Senator, founded the first Earth Day in an attempt to bring about a better understanding of the effects we have on our planet, and calling us to take action to make positive environmental changes in our community. This year's Earth Day is themed "A Billion Acts of Green". It is a people-powered campaign to generate a billion acts of environmental service and advocacy before the 2012 Earth Summit in Rio. The Earth Day Network site has recorded more than a hundred million acts to date. You may head on to this site for more.

What is your Act of Green? It can be something as simple as planting a tree, taking shorter showers or having a car-free day. It means a lot because little individual acts matter. For my part, I have always believed that the battle to save the earth is not lost. However, I also believe it cannot be won by the actions of authorities alone. I believe in making personal sacrifices and lifestyle changes. No matter who we are, we can aspire to live simply and to act nobly. We can live a life of balance – healthy food choices, caring for nature, avoiding wastage and careless consumption. This has to be our act of green, now and for the rest of our lives. After all, solving environmental ills is really all about restoring "the harmony" between man and Mother Earth.