Protecting Our Nature Starts with You
Since we can free write for this weekâs blog post, I would like to remind us all about the 3 simple things we can do to protect our nature. I thought of this because of the significance of Earth day celebrated every year on April 22nd coming up in a couple of months. Earth day is celebrated to raise awareness and act towards the protection of the environment and conservation of our natural resources.
Every year on April 22, communities all around the world gather together and put all their efforts to collect garbage, plant saplings, encourage people to go for recycling, sign petitions, and discuss issues to save this planet from depleting resources. As a result of these significant events, various policy agreements and acts are approved such as Clear Air Act, Clean Water Act, Endangered Species Act, and many others.
Originally posted by Sharon McCutcheon on Unsplash
Here are a few of the things you can do:
Follow the three âRâsâ- Reduce, reuse, and recycle.
By minimizing the amount of waste, we throw away, we are conserving natural resources, landfill space, and energy. To reduce waste, the best way is to minimize the amount of waste you produce. To cut down on the number of things you throw away, consider avoiding disposable goods and buy more durable things that would last long and save landfill space. As a student, I like my notes printed. By printing my notes double-sided, or signing up for electronic mail, Iâm one step closer to protecting our mother nature. When reusing products, one of the easiest ways to do this is by reusing grocery bags or bringing your own bags to the store. The final R is for recycling. It is important to consider buying products made from recycled materials. Look for the recycling symbol when buying products as it would mean the product is made of recycled material, or it can be recycled. According to the environmental protection agency, recycling 1 ton of paper saves 17 mature trees, 7,000 gallons of water, 3 cubic yards of landfill space, 2 barrels of oil, and 4,100 kilowatt-hours of electricity.
Originally posted by Noah Buscher on Unsplash
Trees help save energy, clean the air, and fight climate change. Trees are very beneficial to us as they remove carbon dioxide from the air and release oxygen into the atmosphere, provide shade, and attract birds and wildlife. When I was in elementary school, on earth day, each student is given a sapling and a journal. We were required to observe the sapling and jot down what we did every day. This way, we were all taught to take a positive step toward keeping our planet healthy.
 Originally posted by Karl Bewick on Unsplash
On Earth Day 2012, more than 100,000 people rode bikes in China to reduce CO2 emissions and save fuel. By driving less or encouraging people to carpool or use public transit helps to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Recent researches have concluded that the lockdown from the Covid-19 pandemic resulted in a decrease in global air pollution. The research suggests that the main reason for this change is the reduction in transportation.
If each one of us is able to make a change in our lives, we would be able to make our mother nature a better place to live in for our next generation.
Can you guys think of a time when you did something simple to protect our environment? Feel free to comment any ideas you have towards the protection of the environment and conservation of our natural resources. Thanks for reading!
3RsâReduce, Reuse & Recycle. (n.d.). SustainableSA.Com. Retrieved February 12, 2021, from https://www.sustainablesanantonio.com/practices-technology/reduce-reuse-recycle/
Venter, Z. S., Aunan, K., Chowdhury, S., & Lelieveld, J. (2020). COVID-19 lockdowns cause global air pollution declines. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 117(32), 18984â18990. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2006853117
What is Earth Day: Facts and Significance. (2013, May 27). Conserve Energy Future. https://www.conserve-energy-future.com/earth-day-facts-and-significance.php