The Amazon rainforest fire. The ever fluctuating ozone layer hole. Global warming. These are all issues that directly affect each and every one of us by impacting the weather, the atmosphere and eventually our future. Thankfully there are steps that can be taken to help solve these issues such as being aware of the waste being produced, turning off lights when they aren’t in use and of course the 3 R’s: Reduce, Reuse and Recycle.
With only a short period of time left for humanity and the well-being of the Earth, one could only imagine that everyone would be making an effort to implement lifestyle changes that could either eliminate or at least slow the process. There are so many outlets and resources present to help solve this issue that a plausible excuse is basically non-existent for anyone to not be willing to help the environment. This statement leads to the question of ‘Why don’t people change their lifestyle to save their lives?’ The reason might be because they don’t have knowledge of the issues at hand, they don’t care, or they simply don’t know how to help the Earth.
As mentioned before, the three R’s can be used to solve issues regarding the environment, the weather and the future of all humanity. According to earthsfriends.com, “There are many good reasons for adding recycling to your routine, ranging from a personal level to a global advantage. Apart from the environmental and emotional benefits, there is an economic impact via employment generated. When you put your waste in different bins for paper, plastics, glass and so on, the contents of each are further segregated and taken to recycling plants. The manpower involved in the logistics and processing of your waste is considerable and thus, you are helping to provide jobs and aid in the welfare of their families.”
This shows that there is even an incentive to recycling that many are aware of. By recycling, not only are you helping the Earth but you’re also putting dinner on the table for someone, paying for soccer lessons for others and creating a never ending cycle of revenue. The financial addition to recycling only causes me to wonder why people don’t get involved. According to Brian Iacoviello, an Assistant Psychiatry Professor at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai in New York City, “Recycling is a behavior, much like exercising or eating healthily, people often engage in this behavior less than they should.”(huffpost.com) This means that people look at recycling as a chore but is it really a chore if it could eventually save your life? With 250 million tons of trash in the landfill in the United States it is imperative that we come together and make a change. There will soon be limited drinking water, no place to dispose of waste and the ever fluctuating ozone layer hole will become worse. Today there are so many steps that people can take in order to stop this issue. They could use recyclable products, limit their trash production and, of course, recycle.
The Earth is home to 7.7 billion people and the number is constantly rising. It is up to us to save our planet in hopes that we can also save our lives and the lives of those to come after us by recycling.