Disturbing Environmental News

     Earth is a point of supreme controversy. I post articles about it on my Twitter account all the time. Think about it, it really is. Some believe in climate change, some are bound by facts to believe in climate change, some deny it, some look at the facts as propaganda, you name it. Humans will disagree about anything just to prove each other right or wrong. There is no real winner here. Treating the planet better should be the main objective, not proving anything anymore. People that arent' interested in helping the environment won't. Period. Facts won't convince them. Screaming won't convince them, threats, you name it. Instead of focusing on who's right and who's wrong, why not just help the environment if you believe in helping it? Don't waste your time trying to prove others right, others wrong, no. Just...do. When an oil spill can do this:

     Why are we debating over who's at fault? Just clean the damn bird, worry about the politics later. The more action we take, the more answers we get, and eventually those responsible will be brought to justice. When climate change can do this:

     Why are we debating if it's true or not? Rally the people that do care, and get something done. One voice is pointless in a big crowd, but when you spread the word, and entire crowd and all start saying the same thing. When logging companies do this:

     Why are we wasting time blaming and crying outrage? PLANT and stop them. Complaining does nothing, doing does...well everything. I help the planet every day. Everyday. I recycle a lot more than I ever have, I am more mindful of the plastics that I use, I conserve fuel and I have a hybrid car, I use phosphate free soaps and green seal cleaning products, I shut off lights, I pick up litter, blah blah BLAH. Every one of you can do something. Simple, stupid little things that don't mean much if only one person is doing it, but imagine the power of 1,000 people following suit. 10,000. 1,000,000. 1,000,000,000? Doing the right thing can be scary, or even difficult, but once someone starts it becomes contagious. Why don't you try spreading the bug? Think about it.

Bird in Oil spill picture obtained from here.

Polar Bear picture obtained from here.

Deforestation picture obtained from here.

Easy Ways to Help a Hurtin' Environment

Well, I just learned something absolutely terrifying. If you...didn't read my title. We all know that global warming is a big problem. Not a backburner kinda thing, no way. Well, thanks to this article: New Shipping Lanes in the Arctic the already BAD problem in Antarctica is getting worse due to new trade routes opening up because of ice melting. And that's only the half of it (check out the link, it's an interesting article). Is it really that hard to be more environmentally conscious? Is it really? No.

Small steps are easy. Here at Budget, we started recycling all of our paper office waste, like envelopes, copy paper, scrap paper, everything. One change right there. I don't have to tell you. Working in an office? There's a LOT of paper, and we're trying to recycle all of it. It's a simple way to help conserve our forests. Say what you want about deforestation, we get paper from trees and we have to be more careful about it. Period.

 

If you have a dishwasher, another simple step you can take it simply turn off the faucet in-between placing a rinsed dish in the dishwasher and getting another dirty one ready. I do this, and you wouldn't believe how much water you can save. You wouldn't really think of it that way, would you? Maybe you're skeptical. Well, the next time you do dishes, listen to the white noise of the faucet. Every second is precious freshwater wasted. We need that stuff to LIVE. Why not conserve it? It really is not that hard. Take short showers. Turn off the water while brushing your teeth. Drink all the water you take from the faucet. If you MUST throw the water out, throw it outside where it can be used by plants. Simple things mean a lot if everyone is doing it.

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Another big pet peeve is littering. I mean, come on. Really? Are we really littering in this day and age? When I go to a park, I see beer cans floating in the lake. When I walk outside, I see fast food wrappers strewn on the side of the road. I've even had litter dumped on my driveway from careless passersby. Are you really that lazy? If you are, I have some tips for you, then. If you have a lot of junk in your car, pull alongside your dumpster or trashcan and walk a total of 3 feet to dump out your cartrash quickly. It's easy. You have an ashtray in your car, don't you? STOP throwing out cigarette butts. They can start fires, and they are LOADED with hazardous chemicals that go into the ground. Get an empty soda can with some water in the bottom of it. Place it in your car. BOOM! Instant ashtray. Cut it open when you're done, dump out the junk into a bin, and recycle the can. See? It's not hard, I swear.
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PHew! Back to the main point. The whole reason why I went on this tangent was simply to show you that it's easy to start being environmentally conscious. These small steps might lead to something more. Something like, gee, I don't know. Not pumping more ozone boosting bi-products into the Antarctic air because humans are ruthless opportunists? Think about it.

Recycling Paper bin picture obtained from this site.

Dishwasher picture obtained from this site.
Virgina's Anti-littering Poster obtained from this site.
Polar Bear picture obtained from this site.