The recent events I've been reading about in the news like the water shortages in different parts of the U.S. and the California wildfires have motivated me to write about the following topic. I hope you read all the way through even if it doesn't interest you.
I've been interested in environmentalism since I was a little girl when I got this book called 50 Simple Things Kids Can Do to Save the Earth. There were little things that I learned to do and I incorporated them into my life and have become habitual for me like recycling, shutting off lights in unoccupied rooms, and not letting the water run while I brush my teeth. As I got older I still had an interest in environmental conservation but I was concerned with other things and didn't focus much on that. In recent years, environmental concerns have become much more popular especially with the release of Al Gore's documentary, An Inconvenient Truth. I have also noticed many television specials that discuss global warming and other environmental issues. Still with all the attention that this topic has received, I have serious doubts that it has made much of an impact on how people live their lives. Some people don't even believe in global warming, other people live such busy lives that it's hard to find the time to make changes they feel might inconvenience them or might be too pricey. Even if you don't believe that global warming is a problem, there are other reasons why I think you should be concerned. For one, the human population is growing fast. The problem with that is with such a large human population is that there won't be enough natural resources to go around. Things we often take for granted like clean drinking water will be scarce. By making certain changes to your life that may benefit the environment, you may also be supporting your personal health and saving money. Buying locally grown food is preferable because it takes less energy to transport it and it is also fresher which means it has retained more nutrients than food that has been shipped over a longer distance. I was at Trader Joe's the other day and I noticed that they were selling bags of organic apples from New Zealand. Now I live in New York, what is the sense in importing apples from the other side of the world when I can get the same fruit but grown in a local orchard?
So, I just want to encourage everyone who reads this and let you know that you can make small changes in your life without disrupting your current lifestyle such as changing to compact fluorescent bulbs, taking shorter showers and installing a low flow showerhead, shopping at farmers' markets, turning off and unplugging appliances that are not being used, using a reusable canvas bag when you go shopping for just a few times, consider buying items secondhand, etc. There is lots of information on the internet and many books that include other things you can do. Even just doing a few things differently makes a difference, but of course the more you do, the better off we'll all be.
