AS we begin a new year, we can put the festive season behind us. It’s time to make projections for the year ahead, considering how we think we fared in 2022.
The management and staff of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) wish all our readers a prosperous 2023. The agency hopes that the last 12 months you spent with us were rewarding and reinforced your passion for nature and environmental protection.

It is usual for people to make resolutions going into the new year about things they would like to accomplish. Unfortunately, most new year resolutions fall by the wayside because of complacency and the tendency to fall back into our old habits. Habits are not easy to change; it is important to be persistent and committed to our goals for the new year.

As we make our resolutions and opt to keep them, let us examine our actions towards the environment and include some resolutions to enhance the quality of the environment and your life.
With a better understanding of our role in life for protecting and managing our environment, it should be our desire to be better stewards of the environment.
Here are some little but significant actions you can take to help the environment in 2023. We can call them our “Green Resolutions.”

We can think about our choices:
Choose alternatives to plastic;
Switching to a reusable alternative over plastic will slow the rate of plastics entering our landfills, oceans and waterways; prevent wildlife such as our turtles from ingesting harmful toxic chemicals from which plastics are manufactured; and most importantly, change our ‘throwaway culture.’ Choosing alternatives which include cloth, paper, bamboo, etcetera over plastics will shift the use to reusable alternatives such as tote bags, paper cups /mugs, metal, paper or even glass straws.

Choose reusables over disposables
It is good practice to find new re-uses for everything without becoming a hoarder before we commit to throwing them out. Reducing and recycling are already at the top of our minds daily, but it is evident that many of us are quick to throw things out which can be re-used in more ways than one. We can significantly reduce the amount of waste we generate. This can also help us save money, or create a new source of income for crafty hands!

Choose to plant a tree
Some spaces have it. Some don’t. Whether you plant a flower, herb or tree, this one act of greenness can change the future; another small yet ever-so-significant resolution we can so easily commit to. If we each planted one tree in 2023, the world would indeed be greener and a better place in which to live. Trees and plants will store carbon dioxide throughout their lives, helping to slow the buildup of heat-trapping gases in our atmosphere that have been rapidly warming our planet.

Choose to conserve water;
As children, we were often lectured about conserving water. It is not until we are forced to live and function without water that we realise how much water we use and how much we need water. Even as water becomes scarce, humans still abuse this natural element of our earth. Take steps to use water sustainably, including fixing leaky pipes, harvesting and using rainwater, and avoiding food waste.

Being aware of the millions of people forced to go without clean water daily helps us value what many of us have taken for granted for years. With the Sustainable Development Goal Six being about “clean water and sanitation for all” impels us to make an effort to be conscious and aware of how much water we need, want and use in 2023. This can make an impact so profound that it will benefit us for years and centuries to come.

There are of course, many other earth-friendly habits we can incorporate into our daily lives going forward.
Happy New Year! Best wishes to all our readers for a productive and rewarding 2023, as we work together for a clean and healthy Guyana.