A Rant...
So, our planet isn't doing so great, that’s no mystery, but what in particular is wrong with it and what can we do about it? Well, for starters, there are a few country-sized islands of trash floating in our oceans, a couple animals going extinct here and there, the atmosphere going all nuts, along with the climate, oh and let’s not forget about the fires and floods! Yeah, we’ve kind of messed this up, and we seem to be forgetting that this was a one chance deal, whoops…
Okay, before we all sink into our pits of doom and despair, let’s learn about what we can do to reverse these effects. To begin, avoid setting fires in the middle of a forest in British Columbia … I’m kidding. Something that’s more realistic than that may be trying to use fewer single-use products. Go up to your parents in the grocery store and tell them to lay off on the plastic water bottles - get your own refillable one. It saves money too, not just the environment!
What else can you do? Glad you asked. You can do the littlest of things and it will help our planet more than you think. For example, making sure that you turn off the light before you leave the room, avoiding wasting water when doing the dishes, showering or brushing your teeth. You can also do even bigger things that you can implement in your future life, like opting for an electric car, or solar panels on your house.
Also, some super cool new stores, products and concepts are sweeping the world. Like plastic that dissolves in water, bricks made out of old single-use packaging (glass bottles, styrofoam packing peanuts), cutlery you can eat or throw into your garden, toothbrushes that dissolve when you are done with them. Plus even bigger things like zero waste stores where you can stock up on everything and anything you might need, but with your own packaging, such as reusable shopping bags and tupperware.
We also have some incredible organisations and charities for the environment, like Team Trees from a few years ago, Team Seas going on right now, Earth Justice, and Friends of the Earth.
Now that you know a bit more about the situation of climate change and pollution, enjoy some quotations about the environment!
“Progress is measured by the speed at which we destroy the conditions that sustain life.”
George Monbiot
“We are the last generation with a real opportunity to save the world.”
Laurence Overmire
“There is something fundamentally wrong in treating the Earth as if it were a business in liquidation.”
Herman E. Daly
“Environment isn’t asking us to conserve her for her but for our future generations.”
Mohith Agadi
“We shall never understand the natural environment until we see it as a living organism. Today you can murder land for private profit. You can leave the corpse for all to see and nobody calls the cops.”
Paul Brooks
“When the last tree is cut and the last fish killed, the last river poisoned, then you will see that you can’t eat money.”
John May