It is nearly impossible these days to open the newspaper, turn on the TV, or listen to the radio without seeing a headline or hearing someone commentary on global warming. Clearly, a lot of the evidence we see in the media today makes a strong point to its existence. Polar ice shelves appear to be receding, ocean levels seem to be rising, and deadly hurricanes, typhoons, and tornadoes are constantly in the news. At the same time, there is abundant evidence that we are merely experiencing a natural warming trend. In the last two years there have been multiple regional records set for coldest temperatures on record and amount of snow precipitation.
Here in Mendon, Utah, it is near the end of July and there are still several small snow packs visible atop the gorgeous Wellsville Mountains. In my mind, the jury is still out on the possibility that global temperatures are rising due to human industrialization. However, I do strongly believe we as human-beings have an obligation to act responsibly with the earth's natural resources. And I believe there are many easy ways each of us can do our part.
Recycle. Recycling takes effort. It is without question much easier to just throw whatever we no longer want or need into our garbage can and let the county or city magically make it disappear. Recycling usually involves storing and then hauling the recyclable items to locations that accept whatever it is we wish to recycle. Some are fortunate enough to have recycling programs that are offered at their curbside. In our place of business we have different boxes or bins for paper, cardboard, aluminum, and plastic. Once the pile becomes too large to handle, either I or someone else will bag the items and haul them to our homes or to other collection sites. It does involve effort. Since we are throwing it out anyways, we might as well put it into the hands of other industries that have a need for these materials. We can either do something now or we can wait several hundreds of years for aluminum, glass, and plastic to break-down. Other items that we should consider recycling are printer cartridges, glass, used car oil, and "green" waste.
Conserve electricity. This is a major issue around our home with four boys under the age of eleven running. I believe we all understand that electricity is generated by burning coal, natural gas, or by splitting atoms. More and more electricity is becoming available through renewable resources such as hydro-plants, wind farms, and solar plants. So it goes without saying that the more electricity we use the more of our precious natural resources will be spent in its generation and the more pollutants will be released into our atmosphere. Compact fluorescent light bulbs (CFL) use less than a fourth of the electricity needed to power a traditional light bulb. Using Energy Star appliances will also reduce our energy consumption. Purchasing a programmable thermostat makes it easy to heat or cool our homes when we truly need it not when we are usually at work, sleeping, or on vacation. Just think of all the electronic gadgets that you own now that were not even available when you were growing up. These are all plugged in 24/7 and sucking electricity. There are many creative ways we can use less and at the same time lower our bills.
Do not litter. Let's face it - litter is ugly. I spent two years serving my church as a missionary in northern Germany. Each week we would strive for at least four hours of community service. I spent six months in Bielefeld and we did not always have abundant opportunities to serve in this particular city so we would spend most of our service hours picking up trash around the park, our apartment complex, or the subway station. I would consider Germany and Europe in general as much cleaner than most of the United States; however, we still gathered tons and tons of trash. It beautified our surroundings and we felt good doing it. If each of us threw all of our own trash in the garbage - there would be no litter. This sounds like common sense, but if each of us would only concentrate on ourselves we would see a huge improvement in the natural beauty of our surroundings.
These points are not new. We have all heard them before, but hopefully they will cause you to pause and reflect what you can change in your own world. I don't know if the polar bear will be extinct in 40 years, or if Miami will be covered in 50 feet of ocean water someday; but I believe there are many things we can do today to respect and live in harmony with this earth we call home.
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