Doing Something Is Better Than Doing Nothing At All

"There are many ways for us to help our earth. One could recycle paper or plastic. Turning off the water while brushing one's teeth is one way to reduce water waste. One way of reusing clothes is to give them to the Salvation Army or Goodwill. Many people do these things, but I'm going explain how chickens, a clothes-line, and cold water can also help our earth in the fight against polution. Chickens are a big help in reducing waste. They eat just about any table scrapes we accumulate at our house. They lay eggs that we collect and save in the fridge for breakfast. This, in turn, eliminates the need for us to buy eggs at the store, causing less egg cartons to be thrown into the garbage. Chickens eat bugs too. This does nothing for the problem of polution but it is nice. Another way we combat excess energy is by using a clothes-line. By hanging our clothes outside we use less energy on the dryer. Our clothes dry a little slower but the scarfice is worth it. Hanging our clothes gives them that nice fresh smell as well. The third way my family cuts down on waste is by using cold water. Using cold water to wash our clothes in helps cut back on the energy needed to heat it up. Cold water cleans clothes just as good as warm or hot water does. It is just another way we try to help the earth, no matter how small it is."

"I've always wanted to help save the world, but I've often been confused on how to do that. Then I realized that we can all help save the planet simply by recycling, and limiting the amount of "junk" we throw away. That's when I began to reuse the same water bottle, instead of buying a new one everyday. I set up a recycling bin at our house. Whenever I throw away cardboard, I now take it to the cardboard recycling center. I have also set up posters in my school, advertising and encouraging people to recycle. But recycling isn't the only thing I've done. I've also tried to limit the amount of plastic products I buy. This might seem like such a pointless way to save the world, but it gives me a piece of mind. Another thing I've tried to do is to give away my unused tools, toys, and merchandise to families in need. That way I feel good about helping the family, as well as feel good about helping the planet. I believe that if we all can do small things like this, then we can continue to live in a clean, safe world."

"I have made several steps in my family and community to recycle and reuse things. For one of my National Honor Society projects last year, students brought in pop tabs that I collected and brought to the Ronald McDonald House Charity. My family collects empty pop cans and brings them in to our local recycling center, and we also reuse water bottles. I know many people who throw away a water bottle after one use, wasting the plastic and having no regard for the environment. I encourage those people as well as my family members to reuse not only water bottles, but many other things multiple times, to get our ""money's worth"" and to preserve the environment and to help create a healther planet. As far as reducing, I am a very big advocate for that. From carpooling to movies, to reducing driving as much as possible, I try to influence friends and family as much as I can. I definitely have the attitude that one person can make a difference, and I hope others take on the same attitude that I have. If my reducing, reusing, and recycling, can instill that mentality in even one other person, then I feel like I am absolutely doing my job to help preserve this planet and our environment."

"My earliest memories related to reducing, reusing, and recycling begin from age 5. I can remember vividly being taught by my mother how not to waste water or the paper that we used. Perhaps this behavior was motivated in my parents by the fact that we did not have a lot of money at the time, but these little drops of instruction have stayed with me into my adult life. With the environmental consciousness that I have gained, I try very hard to keep my resource use and/or carbon imprint to a minimum. If I need to print something out for my personal use (i.e., I do not need to give it to another), I will use pages I receive from flyers or junk mail that are printed only on one side. When I am done with with them, I stick them into recycling. Although I own a car, I only drive it when I want to take a long road trip or if I have a shopping trip to do that requires more than two bags. When going to an event, I always try to find out if others are going near my area and if they want to carpool. Normally, I ride my bicycle everywhere; it is faster than walking or taking the bus, I get exercise, and it reduces pollution. When I go to the grocery store, I use a large backpack to transport my groceries. If I am at the farmer's market, I bring a reusable canvas bag. For those times that I forget my own bag, I use the paper bags they give me at the store for my recycling items and if I am given plastic bags instead of paper (which is not optimal, but this does sometimes happen), I use them for my non-recyclable garbage. Something else that has always stuck in my mind is when the best time of the day is to do laundry. I always try to do my laundry in the morning or at night. Also, I do not use the dryer; I hang-dry my clothes. Not only does this save energy, but this increases the life of the fabric. A large fan of minimizing waste, I also carry this principle into my fashion sense. My girlfriends and I have clothing trades, and I always donate my clothes to charities or used clothing stores. If an article of clothing is beyond charity, I will rip them up and either create new clothing inventions or I use them as household rags. At informal meal events, I bring my own eating utensils and plates. When washing my dishes, I clean the dishes first with the water off, putting them into a pile until the last one is washed; only then do I turn the water on for the rinse. When I have the opportunity, I also compost. Unfortunately in my current residence we don't have composting capabilities; I am hoping to rally the other residents behind me to change this. Unlike previous residents of the planet who believed that our resources were unlimited, we know now that this is not true. With this knowledge, we must be more conscious of our future generations and what we are leaving them. If we have the abilities to recycle and reuse now, let us do that—if not for us, then for our children's children."