we've all heard that the earth is dying in like 12 or so years (ranges, depending on your source) & everyone jokes about it but no one does anything about it. there are many little things that we can all do in order to HELP decrease the waste that we produce or lessen our carbon footprint. personally, i bought some metal/silicone straws, i try to use less plastic when possible, i try to recycle as much as i can, not waste as much water, & try to eat less meat
i'm not an "environmentalist" or a "vegan" (though props to them) but i'm trying to do at least SOMETHING. but i get laughed at for bringing out my bendy silicone straws when i go out to eat w my friends & every word i say about eating less meat goes in one ear & out the other. when i'm at church collecting the daily papers that kids leave around so that i can bring them home to recycle, people think i'm being "extra." the one time i brought home boxes from work to recycle bc my workplace doesn't recycle (even though they use so many boxes), my dad made negative comments
people say that one straw, one piece of plastic doesn't matter but to the one turtle that dies from it, to the one bird that eats it, it does. people who think that one person or one act makes no difference are the problem. people like to say that straws are barely any plastic & we use more plastic w other products but if you add up every straw you've ever used in your life, that's a lot. if you think about every sheet of paper that you never recycled, it's a lot. & that's just for YOU. so multiply that by all the people in the world who think it doesn't matter & it turns out to be a lot of waste
my sister's school district got rid of recycle bins. maybe it costs too much but WHY? how can they make recycling costs a problem more important than sustainability? & then some people say it's too much work to take the extra step to do these things. it really bothers me that people can think doing one little thing to try to help the environment is a burden, like we haven't been a burden to the earth for so many years?
we say "save the turtles" as a rallying method so that we can get people to CARE. people care about the cute turtles but not about the earth. it's about saving the turtles but it's also about saving all the other animals on this earth that die from everything that us humans do. it's about all of the animals' stomachs full of plastic, chemicals, cigarettes, etc. it's about the air that we breathe being polluted & our kids inhaling it. it's about the fact that companies make millions off of the things that are bad for us & we support them & we keep letting them & we don't regulate them enough
this is just a little rant that i've had growing in me bc i am surrounded by people who don't care, who waste & don't think about the repercussions, the consequences, & the effect it'll have on the earth. we depend on the earth, not the other way around. the earth was doing fine w/o us on it & it was better off that way. we love ignoring environmental problems & we go on twitter talking about cancelling toxic people, as if that'll make the world a better place. but WE'RE the ones that are toxic, for the earth
i don't care very much if i die in the next 12 years but i do care about the earth & about other people & about the children that have to grow up w these problems that WE created. & maybe you don't think you would make a difference, but DO IT ANYWAY bc at least then, you could say you tried
we all need to try. we all need to stop thinking of this as a burden & start being accountable for our actions & what we did to the earth. i don't believe that ONE post is going to do anything or change anything. but i hope it does. & that's the key. hoping that we all start getting some sense & try to lessen the damage before it's way too late
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