The Earth Needs YOU!

By, Janelle Medina 05/16/21

Growing up in Colorado I have been blessed to be apart of a community that experiences the beauty that comes with all 4 seasonal changes each calendar year. It would be no surprise to step outside on a hot sunny day, then within minutes it could be raining or snowing and bitter cold. There have been many episodes where you could whiteness these weather changes in just one single day. Natives of Colorado like myself are wise to include a water bottle, a warm jacket, a blanket, an umbrella, and a snow scraper in our cars “for emergency” kit. But, Whether it is because of global warming or the fuel emissions cause and effects or Mother Earths own choosing, these past few years have not been the same in my own personal opinion. Because of this…

I personally have begun to implement my, “Go GREEN for EARTH” efforts in my daily lifestyle which consist of actively recycling plastic goods, twice a month I make it a point to schedule appointments to my local hazard waste center to ensure that I avoid trashing away materials that would harm our planet. I choose to purchase my groceries and utilize my recyclable grocery bags vs. using store plastic for my items. I buy my clothing second hand, I wash my clothes in cold water. I always do my best to donate clothes to my local churches, families in need, donate any extra unused dry dog food to the local pet pantry, and collect all used home batteries- along with rechargeable batteries to dispose of properly. Home Depot locations will accept battery drop off’s for all rechargeable batteries, and I utilize the Big Green Box mail-in battery box after I have accumulated used one-use batteries from different households along with my own households’. I also make it an errand of mine to take any recyclable goods such as milk cartons /cardboard boxes/ any cables to my local Universal Green Recycling center as well. In all of my light fixtures, I have LED light bulbs.

After doing a little bit of research online, I have recreated my current plan of action to include some of the suggestions to reduce my carbon footprint; I received while browsing online.

As suggested from various websites, I will be making efforts to reduce my Carbon Footprint by contacting my local burial grounds to inquire about the process of planting a few trees on their property. I have been leaning on this movement since the passing of my daughter Zariah. She passed away three days after the birth of my identical twin daughters were born. This has been a gesture that my heart has longed to fulfill so here is my conformation to do so.

Secondly, I will be making it a point to work towards eating more grains, veggies, beans, and fruits and minimizing my diet from consuming to much red meat. From what I had read on the website page is that every day that red meat and dairy is not consumed our carbon footprint is reduced by 8lbs.

I have also learned that It was recommended, as individuals we should follow the guidelines given by the “The Deep Decarbonization Pathways Project determined that in order to hold the global temperature rise to 2˚C or less, everyone on earth will need to average an annual carbon footprint of 1.87 tons by 2050. Currently, the average U.S. per capita carbon footprint is 18.3 tons. By comparison, China’s per capita carbon emissions are 8.2 tons. We all have a ways to go to get to 1.87 tons..” { RENEE CHO |12/ 27/2018} a link was provided that we all could get an estimation on our individual carbon footprint rate and calculate any savings we can possibly acquire while taking action to put forth in our own efforts. www.Carbonfootprint.com for our rating scale numbers and https://www3.epa.gov/carbon-footprint-calculator/ for our beneficial action.

I personally feel that it is our overall duty to take care of our planet. It is easy to overlook such factoring issues in our everyday lives. However, at some point, we all must stop being ignorant to the fact that we are losing our chances to survive because of the neglect we have on caring for The Earth. I know that by doing nothing we should consider ourselves endangered. The more we gain knowledge and awareness, and a sense of responsibility to work towards saving the planet we would be doing the BETTER GOOD for the future generations to come.

Resources

E&T Editorial Staff 10/15/2020) https://eandt.theiet.org/content/articles/2020/10/covid-19-pandemic-caused-largest-co2-drop-in-history/

State of the Planet RENEE CHO |DECEMBER 27, 2018

https://news.climate.columbia.edu/2018/12/27/35-ways-reduce-carbon-footprint/#:~:text=The%2035%20Easiest%20Ways%20to%20Reduce%20Your%20Carbon,of%20U.S.%20...%206%20Get%20politically%20active.%20