By Autumn Huggins
At Portland State University this class is committed to
bringing environmental issues into the awareness of our readers. We have
offered some wonderful information to help aid the average person in the fight
to restore and protect the environment. The truth of the matter is, if changes
are not made, the future of this planet is bleak.
There are so many ways we can make a difference in the
health of the environment and increase our potential to remain able to “live
off of the land” for countless generations to come. Simple, inconvenient
changes have been offered to you in hopes that you just may adopt these
suggestions and make a difference in whatever ways you are able to.
Yes, you can become more mindful of your own impact and make
simple changes in your home, shopping life, and commute, for example. These
changes are not burdensome and are representative of the minimum things we can
all do to take part in our role in keeping our home clean.
Though it has become a political issue which raises much
debate and resistance, cleaning up your mess is a basic principle most of us
learned as children. As well as, if you want your belongings to last, you cannot
trash them. We may not be in control of
the impact others are making, but we can certainly set an example and be
mindful of ourselves.
In America, many of us are fortunate to have the problem of
having too much waste to discard, or cars that are not “eco-friendly”, or too
many water bottles to dump. The fact that we can even choose to buy water, as
opposed to turning on our faucet for crystal clear water is incomprehensible to
some. It is a humbling thought to think that there are still people living
today without the basic privilege of running water in their homes, or even villages.
We hear the stories and our heart strings are pulled, but so
often we are able to continue without much thought because we feel like the
problems are too big to do anything about.
I was recently at an event in which a person stood up and as
her birthday wish, asked for people to donate to a particular charity which
puts 100% of the money collected toward bringing safe drinking water to
developing countries. The organization is called Charity: Water, found at www.charitywater.org
Apparently using your birthday wish for the charity is one
clever idea they came up with as a way to receive donations. As a result of
this woman’s birthday wish, many people will not only donate, but they will in
turn use their birthday wish and so on.
THIS is how one person can make a difference! A simple
gesture with a big impact!
Please also check out our class project website for more
ways to get involved and make a difference. Find us at: www.bestuseoftime.weebly.com
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