If you think about it, environmental protection is becoming more and more necessary. Pollutants plague our oceans and much of our land. Tons of plastics are produced on a mass scale every minute. Even I can guarantee that if you took a look around right now, you could name more than 15 things that are either made of or include plastics. Every day we inch closer and closer to losing some of the adorable aquatic creatures we know and love. But there is an easy way to prevent the inevitable, and it's called sustainability.
What Makes Sustainability Necessary?
While there is no singular definition for the question above, there is certainly one place to start.
Pollution: a major problem in all places. Things like road salt and waste oil soaking into our beautiful planet are weakening and killing plants and animals. Pollution can be as simple as throwing trash out a car window, and as complicated as farm runoff and smokestack emissions.
No matter how simple, or complicated, all types of pollutants plague the world with the same result, danger. Events like climate change, deforestation, dehabitation of animals, rapid decay of plants, and unnatural deaths of animals (e.g. turtles suffocated in plastic soda can holders) all occur due to pollution. These events also pose dangerous situations for the future generations.
Why Does It Sound So Intimidating?
The word “sustainability” may sound daunting, but there is a synonym that may bring ease, “eco-friendliness”. Being Eco-friendly and being sustainable are the exact same thing. “Eco-friendly” is just a more popularized word. Well, what does it mean? The textbook definition of sustainability is, “avoidance of the depletion of natural resources in order to maintain an ecological balance for future generations”. As long and complicated as that may sound, it is really only as simple as what follows; being sustainable and eco - friendly, is doing what you can to help the earth around you. Technically, being “eco-friendly” is as simple as choosing not to use plastic bags when bagging groceries. You don’t have to have the most expensive materials to be eco-friendly, and you don’t have to change every aspect of your daily life to fulfill the purpose. Being fully sustainable is not a lifestyle that everyone can live, but it is surely an active choice that you can make to help the Earth.
What Are Some Changes I Can Make?
There are a multitude of changes you can make to help the environment. They are not major changes but mindful changes that may seem simple to you but can move mountains for the Earth. Eco-friendliness is living with an objective, a goal to not bring any damage to the environment. You can call yourself sustainable all you want, but it all comes down to your actions and changing for the greater good.
Switches you can make include:
(cliche) Reduce, Reuse, Recycle
Plant some trees! - Trees bring oxygen, and they also reduce carbon dioxide
Turn off your lights and conserve your electricity ( your parents will be happy with less expensive bills!)
Drive less (you can ride a bike, skateboard, rollerskate, and walk)
Buy from locally sourced businesses (try Provisions Waxhaw, if you’re in the Union County area)
Don’t litter - You can even pick up other trash you see.
Conserve your water - Turn the faucet off when brushing teeth and scrubbing your hands.
A Fun Activity!
Organize a cleanup day! Protect animal habitats by helping to clean up your community in local parks, beaches, and nature preserves.
You Will need:
Garbage bags
Gloves
A community, friends, family, anyone, you can find!
A big box
Directions:
Gather your community together into one location that needs some serious trash cleanup.
Hand out a pair of gloves and a trash bag to every person, and get to cleaning.
Pick up whatever trash you can without injuring yourself using the gloves, and place it in the trash bag. Anything like food wrappers, soda cans, discarded plastic bags, would go in a trash bag. Anything slightly larger would go in the box (Milk cartons, 12 pack soda boxes, etc.)
Once the place is clean, end your day knowing you are doing your part to save our planet.
