How to help achieve a cleaner environment
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If we will be tasked with naming one person we personally know who doesn’t really appreciate nature’s beauty or care about keeping a cleaner environment, we probably can’t name one in a jiffy. Most people, if given the choice, will opt to live in a clean and beautiful place. Yet, littering the environment is still a common practice.
Thankfully, it’s not that difficult to work for a cleaner environment. We can do it ourselves and we need only to remember the five (5) “Rs”: Reduce, Reuse, Recycle, Repair, and Refuse.
Reduce
We need top reduce our consumption of everything that will have a negative impact on the environment. These are not limited only to our daily use of electricity (energy) and water but can even be applied to stuff we regularly buy like those bags of chips. Going for the small bags will not only save us calories but also means there’s a lesser chance of stale chips going to the garbage bin.
Reuse
There’s no such thing as computer recycling, an old PC is best reused. Load ‘em up with a GNU/Linux distro and give them a second life. This also applies to all the things we have that can be reused. Garage sales and flea markets are great for finding interesting and perfectly usable stuff.
Recycle
To help the environment by recycling is a common refrain. Segregate non-biodegradable wastes into paper, plastic, metal, and glass right at home. Having a bin for each category makes the task easier. It takes more energy to produce a pound of steel from ore than from odds and ends of metal.
Repair
This is a personal favorite. We have an electric fan that has been with us for nearly 15 years. It’s been repaired a dozen times already and still refuses to let go. Before throwing away that broken alarm clock, faded pair of jeans, or an old bicycle, see if it can be repaired and given a new lease on life. It’s fun going retro and an old pair of Levi’s with colorful patches strategically placed over holes is more than a fashion statement.
Refuse
Finally, we can always refuse to buy stuff or patronize services that aren’t cool enough to start caring for nature. As consumers, we can demand for better goods and services, including ecologically-friendly ones. We can start with our favorite fast food joint that still uses styrofoam boxes.
That’s it, only 5 but a big help already. By doing our personal 5, we all contribute to a cleaner, healthier, and more beautiful environment.
Other posts you’ll want to read:
- How to prevent global warming.
- Miss Canada is Miss Earth 2007
- Celebrate World Environment Day on June 5.
- From Welovenature to TreasureNature
- Wanted: bamboo knitting needles.
Mark H
Armen Shirvanian
Arun Basil Lal
Sandi
Martha A. Cheves
February 28th, 2008 at 3:32 pm
This is great - expanding the 3 R’s to FIVE!!!
February 28th, 2008 at 6:07 pm
Thanks, the original 3 Rs (Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle) was missing something. The most important we could use in our daily lives, and the most realistic, is to simply refuse. Large corporations listen when consumers hit ‘em where it hurt most, their pockets.