I may not be really great about reducing waste and saving water and having an efficient, eco-friendly car. I’m just a college student trying to get through these 4 years and then maybe graduate school, to get a job where I can afford to buy an eco-friendly car and buy those food items that are more expensive than everything else but are better for the environment.
I don’t do that yet, but I want to, and I’m trying. And that at least counts for something.
The environment is in trouble, we all know it. And if you don't, I'm sorry. I feel like those who say ‘it’s not so bad’, or ‘the world is always changing’, or ‘there is nothing we can do’ are more wrong than the rest of us can imagine. I’m sorry if you are one of those people. I’m sure you are a great person – but you need to open your eyes and realize that there IS a problem and it needs to be addressed and fixed.
If you still have doubt, here are some examples:
1. Water temperatures are rising.
2. The ice caps are melting.
3. The water levels are increasing.
4. The population of fish in the sea that we catch is dwindling quickly.
5. Deforestation is occurring across the globe to make way for either more farmland or housing developments.
6. The ozone has a hole in it (yes, it has been getting a little better, but there is still a hole).
7. The climate of the ENTIRE world is changing.
8. The Sahara desert is growing.
9. Animal species are declining around the world (on land, in the sea, and in the air).
10. We are putting so many pollutants into the atmosphere that in some places around the world it is so bad that EVERYONE is advised to just not go outside… at all, even/especially to drive.
11. Coral reefs around the world are dying (they are still alive, just not doing as well as they were).
However, please don’t let these things discourage us from trying to save the environment because we still can. We just have to act, and the sooner the better.
So I am advising with this next president is don’t let him throw the environment aside as he tries to make offshore drilling a big thing. Don’t say nothing when he is fracking everywhere there could be natural gas (and don’t get me started on all the problems of fracking). However, you don’t have to be an activist or a protestor who moves out to wherever the rally is. All you have to do is just be conscious, be aware and don’t just turn a blind eye. If there are small changes you can make, or something you can say, do it, say it. After all, we do only have one earth and I don’t see us all moving to a new planet anytime soon, so let’s take care of the one we do have.
