We Can All Help!

Regardless of where you live, what you do for a living, what your beliefs are or even what your hobbies are, everyone has an impact on the environment everday. Environmental issues are common to the entire world. Since these problems are so widespread and affect so many people, unfortunately it makes us, as individuals, feel less responsible. Since the problem is so pervasive it is difficult to think that your own individual actions can make a difference. This is exactly the problem, and this is where the public is wrong.

We tend to blame other countries or the government for all the environmental problems not being solved when in reality, it would be impossible for the government to make any significant change without the public doing anything. The government can only make so much headway on these issues without any public action. If we truly want the environment to be sustained and able to support future generations as it has our own, we can’t rely completely on the government while ignoring any role we could possibly play. We have just as much of a responsibility to the environment as any government does. If we expect the government to fight for environmental protection, we must be willing to fight as well.

Environmental issues surround us; we hear about them in the news, or see ads about them at the grocery store or on commuter buses. In fact, most of us have probably been exposed to them so often that we have become desensitized to the issues. We must start taking these ads to heart and finding ways that we can help solve the problems. Even if each of us picks two or three environmental issues that we feel strongly about and just work on those, we have still made a difference. We need to realize that every bit really does count in the long run.

Let’s not go overboard though. I’m not saying that we all need to stop driving or give up electricity; there are many small sacrifices that each person can make. These small contributions to the problems that matter most will quickly add up if the public works together. Just as the environmental problems surround us, the solutions are not difficult to find either.

To start, each person needs to identify problems that they think need to be solved. If you are unsure of how to go about finding relevant topics, I would highly recommend that you visit the EPA’s my environment site. This website offers plenty of environmental information for any zip code and is by far my favorite tool for learning about the issues closest to me.
Once you have identified an issue that you care about, it is time to see how you can help. Information in simple solutions can be found everywhere, even a simple google search can provide you with plenty of ways to help. Some of my favorite resources or guides on how each person can help are the website for Sustainable Environment for Quality of Life (SEQL), Wire and Twine’s “50 Ways to Help the Planet,” and, for global warming in particular, the CNN Time article titled “The Global Warming Survival Guide.” SEQL offers simple solutions by topic and gives plenty of options that can fit with any lifestyle. Wire and Twines site is similar to SEQL but offers a more basic layout. Finally the CNN Time article offers varied solutions to global warming depending on how commited you plan to be.

Getting involved with environmental issues isn’t difficult and it is becoming exceedingly important if we wish for future generations to have it as good as we do.


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