Combating Climate Change for International Day of Peace

Did you know? Since 1981, September 21st has been recognized as International Day of Peace, and in fact, Hawai‘i became the first state to recognize this special day in 2007!

International Day of Peace is a holiday that is sanctioned by the United Nations. The theme this year is “Climate Action for Peace” due to the critical role climate change will play in ensuring peace and security for citizens around the world.

Everyone should do their part to make a difference, but how do you know where to start? This article will give you some ideas about changes you can make today, which can make an impact tomorrow and further down the road!

The Convenience of Modern Plumbing Technology

One of the benefits of living in Hawai‘i or most of the other states is the fact that our plumbing is so good. In other countries, there aren’t modern plumbing systems. Some will have plumbing but all toilet paper must be thrown in the trash instead of flushed with human waste.

Although some of our brothers and sisters on the islands here use catchment instead of country water, we still have it pretty good in terms of easy access to water. It’s easy for us to flush the toilet, do the dishes, and bathe when we want. We don’t have to walk to a river to wash our clothes or other inconveniences.

Droughts and Floods and Heat, Oh My!

Many places are already experiencing the devastating effects of climate change. Many of the heat waves and droughts being experienced around the world the past few years are due to man-caused climate change. Other disasters we can expect in the future aside from droughts and heatwaves are storms and floods.

As the United Nations explained regarding their theme for the International Day of Peace this year, “Natural disasters displace three times as many people as conflicts, forcing millions to leave their homes and seek safety elsewhere.”

Doing our Kokua for World Peace and Sustainability

Peace begins with us. If we all kokua we can start a small group of people making a positive change on the earth, and hopefully influence others to do the same. Although we can’t see every person on earth physically, social media makes it easy to connect to hundreds or thousands of people.

Take for example the #trashtag movement, where people on Instagram pick up trash in natural places and post before and after pics. Regardless of whether these people are picking up trash for altruistic or selfish reasons, #trashtag proves that it’s possible for us to help motivate others to change in little ways.

If we help set a good example, we can inspire others to help take care of our water supply and reduce their carbon footprint. We shouldn’t take our plumbing for granted and should remember that around the world many people aren’t fortunate to have on-demand access to clean water. Although we’re blessed now, if natural disasters caused by climate change continue to occur, our water supply and plumbing systems could be damaged.

This year, we can all choose to join the International Day of Peace. Increase your global reach by sharing the ways you will help combat climate change in this year’s hashtags established by the United Nations, #PeaceDay and #ClimateAction. Change starts with each and every one of us. Mahalo for your kokua.