By Crusader (22, F, USA)
Where on Earth to begin? Well, sure, Earth’s a good start! Okay, as citizens of Earth (one planet, irreplaceable, with sustenance and respect for all, says a bumper sticker at Northern Sun! http://www.northernsun.com) it is our duty to preserve this planet for future generations and to not be so gluttonous and arrogant as to assume we can use it up just because we’re Americans. Got me? Okay, enough lecture.
This is the easy part...if people would only do it! Stop right and quit using that pencil made from old growth forests; put down that Styrofoam cup from the fast-food joint and imagine this: your child, shivering under a mountain of blankets, lungs thick with smog-induced lung cancer, epidermis tainted with skin cancer, digging into trash dumps for old bits of plastic that might suffice for any use — eating utensils, containers, anything. Repeat after me: oil is running out. Of course, other countries call it what it really is, petroleum, so let’s go there: petrol is running out. It’s not far, either.
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"I'm worried about global warming. Does anyone know some good ways to conserve energy?" says elphabelle21 |  |
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Okay, with that out of my system, here’s what we all need to be doing every day:
Recycle. In some areas, it is SO easy, since they actually have recycling days. Recycle your cans, bottles, aluminum, glass, newspapers, papers, plastics...all of it. ALL of it. Don’t have a recycling program? Start one.
Buy recycled products. Cutting down trees and using up even more resources just makes it worse. You can get almost anything that’s either recycled or partially recycled. Go to school? Be sure to use recycled pencils and paper. Don’t want to buy new clothes? Excellent! Recycle your old ones at resale shops, and while you’re at it, buy your stuff there, too.
Enough with the Styrofoam already! Personally, I think it should be illegal. Just quit buying it. And the paper plates, cups, napkins, and utensils have to go, too. Ever heard of washing dishes with a rag?
Wash your laundry on cold water (and if you don’t have a laundry machine, buy as eco-friendly one as you can), quit using the air conditioning at ridiculous times (OPEN A WINDOW), and turn down the temp on your hot water heater (better yet, quit using so much of it and take quick showers — and don’t let the water run when you’re brushing those teeth). Feeling extra eco-minded? Turn the water on, get wet and turn it off, scrub yourself, turn it back on, and rinse! You use SO much less water, wake up quicker, and it’s better on your bill.
Quit buying junk you don’t need. Buy in bulk when you can if it saves packaging (as it often does). You don’t need expensive double-packaged cereals, I promise you. If you need a pic of the guy on the box, download it.
Speaking of downloading, turn off those computers when you’re not using them! Turn off the TV, radio, and other appliances while you’re at it.
Get your home energy-efficient. Use solar-powered ANYTHING when you can. Insulate against holes that cause cold and hot air to be released (or allowed inside).
Research the issues and vote for people who are going to pass environmentally sound laws. If they don’t care about your air and your water and your ozone layer, they don’t care about YOU or your future. Don’t give them a job. You wouldn’t hire a faulty repairman to fix a washer again after he was the one who helped screw it up in the first place, would you? So don’t hire politicians who make bad laws about what you and your loved ones will breathe, eat, and be impacted by for years and years to come.
This country has elected people that make environmental laws optional to big business! This country’s largest industry, its military, is also its biggest polluter! This country emits more emissions than the top ten other pollutant-emitting countries COMBINED and it still won’t adhere to the KYOTO PROTOCOL. (Look at that, I’m so mad I just broke a fingernail typing.) This is wrong, people. You can’t sit aside and vote for people on their looks or lies or the lies of the corporate media. You must do the research. You must do the work. “You must be the change you wish to see in the world” (Gandhi).
Support comprehensive sex-ed, talk it up to your family members, use contraceptives and family planning, and if you do decide to have children, try to be as eco-friendly as you can. Diapers are one of the biggest fillers of landfill wastes. Don’t buy a bunch of new stuff if you can help it as many resale shops have things much more cheaply and easier on the Earth. Also, don’t do those ridiculous throw-away bibs and throw-away changing pads and other outrageous inventions they’re making to make our lives more “convenient.” On that same note, why not teach your children to be eco-friendly? Explain why you won’t buy certain products. Adopt a highway together and explain how important it is to keep Earth clean and to recycle. Have your child help sort recyclables or even start a compost bin!
Use fluorescent lighting, which lasts YEARS and use a fourth of the energy! Ride your bike or walk if you can. If it’s available, take public transportation. When filling your car up, do so at night (and those of you who try to “top it off” around to make it an even amount, a bit of advice: I used to work at a gas station — I know, it’s unbelievable — and when you do that, much of the gas goes into the pump handle instead of your car! One of my duties was to empty the pumps each hour and actually pour them back into the tank! So you might want to save money and gas and just get your change.). Don’t drive when you don’t need to, and combine all of your errands into one trip. Don’t drive with your AC on; just open those windows for that fresh breeze (for now, anyway; I can’t guarantee it will be fresh, or even clean, for a whole lot longer; and depending where you live, it may already be awful.).
Write to the elected officials you already have and demand that they take positive action against climate change. Be firm. Be resiliant. Don’t let them off. Make them do their jobs and hold them accountable for our future. Learn all you can about what more you can do, what’s currently going on, and be as educated as you can so you can spread the word about preserving human life by preserving our home.
I’m sure that I’m forgetting some things, but that just serves to prove the point further: there are unlimited steps you can take, easily, on a daily basis to improve your health and the health of those around you, as well as to preserve human life for those who will follow. If you won’t do it for yourselves, would you please do it for your children? How about theirs? Today’s actions will have direct impact upon what happens tomorrow. Have you done something to help make sure that tomorrow comes today?
• Take Care of the Environment
• Connect to Congress
• Yellowpages
