It Is Urgent That We Heed the Warnings

It is urgent that we address the dangers of global warming.

Scientists from around the world are giving a second warning of what can happen if we do not take steps to reduce global warming. The time for each of us to do our part is now!

Let's pitch in and do what we can to heal the damage we've caused the earth. It is the only planet that we know of that will sustain us. 

I've listed things in previous posts that we can do. Find the ones you can do and enlist your family in friends in joining us in saving the earth. 

Participate in a community cleanup. Organize your neighbors to have a Spring Cleaning day to pick up litter. Make it a party! 

Talk to your favorite ice cream store about offering non-plastic spoons and straws. The more people ask for them the more likely they are to look into doing it.

Recycle what you can. In our city we have recycling picked up by the city. This leaves us no excuse for not recycling. And a few times a year they hold hazardous waste days for such things as oil-based paints, thinners, chemical waste, batteries, etc. If your community doesn't do this, request it of your city council.

Buy food and clothes that are made without pesticides. Pesticides kill bees, which are eco friendly, and are harmful for humans who consume the products made from foods and clothing.

Consider buying items secondhand to avoid the plastic packaging of new items. If you buy items that are shipped to you, ask the merchants to use paper packing instead of plastic wrap.

Recycle junk mail and sign up for online alerts rather than mailed. If you use a shredder, be sure to recycle the shedded paper.

Reduce paper use by printing on both sides, buy recycled paper.

Visit parks, bird sanctuaries, and nature pereserves. The more visitors they have the more likely they are to receive funding to stay open.

Use less. The more stuff we demand the more disrupted the environment by manufacturing. Visit the library instead of buying a DVD, share games and replaced electronics with friends. Encourage the schools to reuse books and school supplies. 

The minerals contained in cell phones and computers can be reused, so always recycle your electronics to keep toxic chemicals from polluting the land near landfils. Businesses like Best Buy will recyle your electronics at no charge. Check out where you can take them in your community.

Have a fundraiser to protect wildlife and their habitats. There are several organizations that work to protect the earth. Explore the possiblities. Support one that appeals to you.

Conserve water by taking shorter showers, turning off the faucet while you brush your teeth, fix leaky pipes, limit lawn watering. Most lawns can go longer than you think without watering.

Plant trees. They consume carbon dioxide and replace it with oxygen, cleaning the air we breathe. Encourage your community to plant trees. Support Arbor Day activities.

Plant flowers and shrubs that don't need much fertilizer to grow. Fertilizers can dump nutrients into the water system which can create wildlife-killing algae blooms in the oceans and lakes. We've seen invasive algie blooms in the lakes that make them harmful.

These are but a few of the ways we can help safe the earth and make the world better, more balanced and healthy.

What are ways that you work to take care of Mother Earth?