THESE DAYS, THE terms “environmentally friendly,” “green,” and “eco-friendly initiatives” get thrown around a lot. Whether you learned about it through Al Gore’s documentary An Inconvenient Truth or Andrew Stanton’s Wall-E, almost everyone is aware that climate change is harming our planet. Still, the situation isn’t getting much better—but why?
I think our own laziness got us into this mess, and it’s the reason why we’re unlikely to get out of it. For example, most advanced technology was invented because we wanted to make our lives easier. Don’t want to walk? Here’s a car. Hate doing research at the library? Here’s your own computer with Google on it.
Many people also make excuses for not helping our planet out. If I planted a tree every time I heard “Recycling doesn’t make a difference” or “It’s too late anyway” I would have planted a dozen forests by now.
Consumers, corporations, and politicians alike need to realize we have to preserve our planet for as long as we can—even though it may be hard to reverse the gruesome effects of climate change. Empty promises to do better next time will not make our planet better. It’s time to get off our asses and do something to help Mother Earth.
Get a reusable water bottle and stop buying bottled drinks. Take the bus wherever you can. The U-Pass is in your pocket for a reason. Turn off all your lights when you don’t need them and replace your light bulbs with energy efficient ones. When it’s warm outside, don’t use the dryer for your laundry—let the good old sun do the job for free. And, you know what? While you’re at it, plant a freakin’ tree!
Saying you don’t have time to be environmentally friendly is like a doctor saying he won’t perform a life-saving surgery because he doesn’t feel like it. For the moment, our tiny planet is the only home we have. If we get evicted, we will have nowhere to go. Let’s stop neglecting it.
—Jane Lytvynenko
(613) 562-5260
