Tomorrow, step outside your home into the streets. That part of your street which forms a busy commercial hub. I haven't been to your streets but I know there are gutters littering its corner. Unkempt gutters. Unkempt gutters which reeks of unpleasant smell. And surprisingly, people live around them, selling consumables like roasted maize, fried potatoes, rice and stew. Customers sit around these gutters to feast on their meals, so indifferent to the eyesore behind or before them. This makes you wonder if the bad smelling gutters are a sort of appetizer, aroma, or deodorant for these carefree customers. But you can't wonder for long because it's not your business.

At schools, class teachers will ask pupils to pick dirt around the school premises, citing that the school environment must be clean. After collection of dirt, it's heaped up at a corner, smeared with kerosene and lighted. A fire will come alive, crackling and sparkling. It will burn the dirt to ash, releasing carbon oxides into the atmosphere. If the dirt comprises polymeric products, the atmosphere suffers further pollution.The teacher will smile at the students, commending them for their efforts in keeping the environment clean. A student will begin to wonder why people on his streets don't incinerate wastes like it's being done in school. He'll conclude it's illiteracy.

Now, the gist. The gist is: literates and illiterates alike pollutes the environment. Accidentally sometimes, intentionally other times. Every day our environment is subjected to unbearable strain—carbon emissions, land degradation, air, water pollution—significantly reducing its resilience.

We have failed greatly in our environment protection responsibility. We have unconsciously ushered in climate change and global warming which has been dealing us vicious blows.

Epileptic and unpredictable rainfalls and fiery hotness are a few among the impacts of climate change on the environment. Therefore, climate and environment awareness is key to environmental sustainability. It's a collective responsibility to research and brainstorm eco-friendly ways to dispose of waste and protect the environment.

Clean up your street gutters. Try as much as possible to reduce burning of wastes. Protect the environment.