Vivianna Shekhar
Every year on Earth Day, social media is flooded with environmental awareness and for a week, it seems as if everyone cares. After the excitement wears off, we go back to our lives. Awareness about environmental issues such as plastic pollution, climate change, ocean and atmospheric contamination etc is greater now that it ever was before, yet despite all the awareness, very little change is actually happening. The question remains: if awareness alone could help save the planet, wouldn’t all the problems disappear?
Earth Day has a different theme every year, this year it’s “Our Power, Our planet.”, focusing on transitioning to renewable energy use. But the word “power” has another meaning, it refers to the power we have as people who are responsible for our planet. But what exactly is this power and how are we using it?
Awareness clearly isn’t an issue, climate change is a relevant phenomenon, schools teach about environmental issues, social media amplifies all the information, and newslines repeat it. We have a very firm understanding of the fact that our planet is in trouble. And yet, not enough is changing. There’s a strange gap between knowing and doing. We understand the consequences of their actions, but that understanding doesn’t always translate into change. Convenience still wins. Fast fashion is still popular. Single-use plastic is still everywhere. It’s not that we don’t care, it’s that simply caring doesn’t seem to be enough.
Awareness informs us, but it doesn’t push us far enough. It doesn’t force discomfort, and it doesn’t demand sacrifice. In some ways, awareness has even become a kind of comfort because it has become a substitute for responsibility.. It’s easy to post about sustainability, to share an infographic, to participate in conversations that signal concern. These things aren’t useless but they can create an illusion of action. They make it feel like something meaningful has been done, even when nothing has actually changed. That’s where the idea of “power” starts to feel a bit redundant. If our power is limited to small, individual actions, then it starts to feel insignificant compared to the scale of the problem.
This isn’t incorrect, of course. Individual choices do matter, but they exist within much larger systems. Corporations produce the majority of global emissions. Industries shape consumption patterns. Governments set policies that either protect the environment or allow its continued exploitation. When responsibility is framed as purely individual, it quietly shifts attention away from those larger forces. Therefore, it isn’t that we lack power in any way, we are just hesitant to take it forward. Power isn’t just in quiet, personal choices. It’s not limited to what we do in isolation. Real power is collective, visible, and sometimes uncomfortable. It’s in questioning where products come from, in recognizing when “eco-friendly” claims can be misleading, in supporting policies that prioritize sustainability over convenience.
“Our Power, Our Planet” doesn’t have to be an empty phrase. But for it to mean anything, “power” has to go beyond awareness. It has to include accountability for everyone. not just for individuals, but for the systems that shape our choices.That doesn’t mean individual actions are meaningless. They still matter. They build habits, influence others, and reflect values.But they are just the beginning, not the end. Because real change doesn’t come from awareness alone. It comes from what we’re willing to do with it.
What we need now, is consistency, pressure and action; even if it’s inconvenient or imperfect. Thus, our “power” will always be there. We just have to take it.
(Vivianna Shekhar is a Class 12 student at Strawberry Fields High School, Chandigarh. She is the founder of the Binthewaste campaign, a grassroots initiative dedicated to eradicating single-use plastics in local markets through community mobilization and the distribution of sustainable alternatives. Her work in environmental advocacy has been recognized across regional media platforms for its practical approach to urban sustainability.)