Prof. Dr. Ahmad Saeed Bhatti Prof. Dr. Shahid Mahboob Rana The Earth day - April 22 - was founded by Gaylord Nelson, a US Senator and naturalist in 1970. Some 20 million people celebrated the event in an attempt to evoke popular political support for environment in US and elsewhere. In the US, some legislation such as clean air act, clean water act, and the Endangered Species Act of 1973 followed the holding of the eventful first earth day. The environmental laws remained dormant for some time, but were re-enforced in 1990s and the acts like clean air act passed in 1970, were strengthened giving authority to the Environmental Protection Agency. The Earth Day thus assumed a great significance as a date line to assess the impact of laws and the public interest on environmental issues. In Western countries water and air were cleaner and the forests were expanding. In Pakistan, also the legisl-ations on environment ensued in 1990s and were, in part, enforced. Of the total water available in Pakistan, less than four percent is available for industry and civil population, while 96 per cent is used for agriculture. Of the portable water, however, the per person quantity of water has fallen from 5000 cubic meter in 1947 to 1000 cubic meter today. Some latest reports estimate that across the world there are about 12,000 cubic kilometers of waste water, an amount which is more than that equivalent of worlds 10 largest river basins at any given moment. It, therefore, appears that if the population growth continues to grow at the present pace i.e. 260,000 people per day the world might end up having 18,000 cubic kilometers of waste water by 2050. At present, 48 percent of the earths population lives in towns and cities, which by 2030 will be 60 percent. The problem with the urbanization is that it concentrates waste unless it is contained and good waste management is accomplished, says the World Water Report 2008. Another menace that needs to be tackled is air pollution. Air pollution is age old. Whenever, something burns, pollutants enter the air. Two thousand years ago, Seneca, a Roman philosopher and writer, complained about the foul air in Rome. In 1273, Englands King Edward I (1272-1307) decreed that burning of sea coal, a particularly dirty kind of coal was illegal. During the 16th century, one man was even hanged for disobeying the medieval Clean Air Act. Although the environmental law of the 19th century - both common law and legislation - were focused on the sanitary living conditions of a rapidly urbanizing society facing various crises, it was in the twentieth century that the air laws were enacted with the aim to protect the environment in the sense of green movement. An unusual example of environmental awareness and responsibility was afforded in the studies by the Higher Education Institute at UCLA (USA), in which concern for green living was marked by the new entrants for career preference. Of all the freshmen interviewed, nearly 37 percent voted for environment. At the New York Institute of Technology (NYIT), student enthusiasm, social awareness, and plan to develop a green print initiative have been undertaken to determine the university carbon footprint, to research alternative energy sources, and to coerce people into energy saving initiative through car pooling, measuring university buildings for BTU fuels, water saving devices, etc., on university campus and in the community. While some institutions in Pakistan for instance provincial Forest Research Institutes, Nuclear Institute for Agriculture and Biology (NIAB) Faisalabad, GC University, Department of Environmental Sciences, University of Agriculture and Institute of Soil and Environmental Science are engaged in research and development efforts to educate people on environmental issues, and the use of degraded lands and brackish water, the need to introduce and promote tree culture among people vis--vis climate change and global warming has not been realized in real earnest. However, GC University Faisalabad has recently led the academia and introduced a campaign called One-student one-tree to emphasise the need of the hour. On March, 30, the Vice Chancellor GCUF planted a palm tree at the university campus to inaugurate the One-student one- tree campaign under the program. Earlier, all students of the department of environmental sciences each planted a tree sapling with their name plates making it a part of their practical and academic pursuit for the period of their study at the university. GC University Faisalabad is the first university in the country to launch this novel and ingenious program. It plans now to expand this program to its new campus and the adjoining city areas. If followed by the other institutions and universities, the campaign would be expected to contribute somewhat in thwarting the ill effects of climate change in the country. In Pakistan, the national Forestry Sector Master Plan projects an increase of the present 4.8 percent to 9.8 percent of the total land to be covered by forests and trees by 2017. In a country where more than 60 percent land holding is degraded, remedial measures such as intervention of fallow periods, agro forestry (farm forestry), forestation, planting of grasses, renegotiation, raising city parks and roadside trees are urgently needed to help diminish soil erosion. While most university departments of soils have been redesigned following the introduction of courses and syllabi on environment, in addition to the seminars and conferences and lectures have lately been held at national levels in the country on the subject of soil care, green chemistry, sustainable environment etc., under the Higher Education Commission, it points to the great public concern and curricular needs of environmental education. It would also be worthwhile if education on environment is also made compulsory at primary and secondary school level in both urban and rural areas. It is time people realized the importance of living green. And time is not that far off for any human rights activist to be after someones blood for adding to climate change and for violation of fundamental rights. The writers are professors at GCUF.