“Invest in our Planet” – This year’s theme of World Earth Day is apt according to our
mother Earth’s conditions, it’s high time that we invest in our planet and make it a better
home for our future generation— Remember, there is no planet B. Today, as much as we
are planning to become a sustainable ecosystem, we are somehow lagging far behind.
This year’s theme tries to focus on measures that are eco-friendly, with a sharp emphasis
on reducing carbon footprints and promoting green initiatives and at the same time,
conserving the energy that we have by using it in a sustainable way.
The promotion of sustainable development and the raising of awareness about ecological
issues are crucial goals that can be effectively achieved through environmental education.
With the advent of digital technology, access to information has been revolutionized, and
digital libraries have emerged as a key resource in supporting this education. By
providing convenient access to a vast repository of resources, including scientific
publications, research papers, and multimedia content, these libraries encourage
engagement and critical thinking, making them an invaluable tool for promoting
environmental education.
Digital Libraries are a significant effort towards making this planet a sustainable one. In
digital libraries, we have a diverse range of books and information that too with
minimum damage to the environment, more specifically trees which are the primary
source of making a piece of paper. According to a report by UNESCO, Digital libraries
have been credited with enhancing education for sustainable development (ESD).
Though the revolutionising technologies are creating a lot of innovations in education
sector, at the same time there are reports which show the dark side of using the
technology. Interestingly, the buzzing word ChatGPT – the latest application of AI and
NLP is not only turning pages for a lot of job opportunity, it is adding a different chapter
to the resources we have for our future generation. The University of California Riverside
and the University of Texas Arlington have released a paper titled “Making AI Less
Thirsty”; that examines the environmental impact of AI training. The study highlights the
substantial amount of electricity and water required to cool data centers. The researchers
specifically focused on companies like OpenAI and Google, and their data processing
centers. The findings reveal that Microsoft, which is partnered with OpenAI, consumed a
staggering 185,000 gallons of water during the training of GPT-3 alone.
In today’s world where sustainability is a major goal, it is crucial to invest wisely in
every step. We have One Earth and We are going to have only one in future as well. We
need to think and use practices which conserve energy, and reduce carbon footprints just
like the use of digital libraries and have to stop using resources which are hazardous and
causing an alarming situation for mother earth. Let’s pledge to act wisely and conserve
our Planet Earth on this ‘ World Earth Day’.
