"If the earth could say one thing, what do you think it would say?"
"Ouch."
The little curly haired girl who gave me this profound answer was eating watermelon off of a plastic plate.
This plastic plate will eventually be discarded into a landfill.
Here, it will contribute to the 17,000 tons of solid waste that is accumulated by humans each day (estimate from New York City landfills alone). Unfortunately, due to the structure of landfills, this plastic plate will not be able to decompose; lacking the air, water and bacteria to break it down. To put this into perspective, archeologists digging in landfills have found newspapers from the 1950s that are still readable.
"Why do you think it would say 'ouch'?"
"Because we don't take care of it."
The Miracle That We Are
Life on other planets has not been discovered, and we have been looking for over half a century. The fact that we exist could be a mere, unable-to-be-replicated fluke.
Who can we thank for this luxury we call life? Our planet.
Yet, we take Earth for granted by throwing trash out of the car window; emitting toxins into the atmosphere as if the future doesn't matter; buying into consumerism and making more, wanting more; producing more styrofoam, more aluminum, more plastic...
We don't take care of our home.
It's Time To Pay Attention
This destruction that we cause seems unavoidable, doesn't it? Take a moment to imagine all of the things you have accumulated and thrown away.
The childhood toys, the coffee cups, the papers with mistakes on them that you had to fix and reprint. Think about your carbon footprint - all of the miles you have driven. All of the lights you have left on, increasing the demand for more non-renewable resources, disposing the appliances that burn out quickly due to being used too much, contributing to light pollution and heat pollution. When I think about those things, I feel pretty darn disgusting.
Maybe earth would be better off if we weren't on it.
Don't worry. I'm not suggesting that we annihilate all humans. I am simply suggesting that it's time we all pay more attention. Pay attention to our impact.
The brilliance of the 3Rs campaign is simple:
Reduce your consumption: Stop and think about whether or not you really need this thing. Do you need to make your students print out all of their papers? Allow them to email them. Do you need to buy this plastic bottle of water? Invest in a glass water bottle to reduce your consumption of plastic.
Reuse your items: Reuse everything you can possibly reuse! Decorate the outside of that empty Ravioli can and use it as a groovy pencil holder. Take your old post-it notes out of the old textbook and use them again. They'll stick, I promise.
Recycle: When it is not possible to reuse something anymore, let it go.
The waste hierarchy is real, with landfill disposal being the least desirable option. You have the power. No act is too small. Pay attention.
Luckily, there are some places in the world that are not only paying attention but making huge strides for the environment and the reduction of waste.
Making Moves
At the end of December 2015, San Francisco became the first city to ban the sale of plastic bottles. You can read about that here.
France has become the first nation to ban supermarkets from wasting food. What?That's one of the most incredible accomplishments I have ever heard of. You can read about this amazement here.
Mayor Rahm Emanuel of Chicago has vowed, "I want Chicago to be the greenest city in the world, and I am committed to fostering opportunities for Chicagoans to make sustainability a part of their lives and their experience in the city."
If these examples don't inspire you to be more green in your life, maybe some bribery will:
Stores and shops are contributing to the encouragement of being green, rewarding their costumers with discounts for reusing.
A 2011 study shared that 1.5 million pounds of paper were kept out of landfills, thanks to Starbucks encouraging their costumers to bring their own tumblers for a discount.
Signs like this one also entice us to be less wasteful:
What You Can Do
You don't have to pass a law or start a petition in order to make a difference (although, feel free). As cliche as it sounds, change starts with you. Individually, we have the power to make a difference, even if it seems like a tiny impact.
If you don't know how to take care of the environment in a certain way, it's better to ask than to throw it away. Don't be ashamed of not knowing. Everyone has to ask sometimes. Be a brave soul and ask the world, like this:
I guarantee you will get an answer and the earth you walk on will be that much healthier because of it.
Therefore, let's start paying attention. Let's stop throwing away our responsibility. Stop denying that the impact we have on our planet is earthshaking, and start making a difference.
Let's help each other reach the day when the conversation will change to:
"If the earth could say one thing, what do you think it would say?"
"Thank you."
