A Woman’s View: ecological awareness

Go Green!  You may see the signs, you may hear the concepts and you may even be doing your part to help.  But just how big is the real issue and how does it affect us?  Take the quiz offered on My Footprint and see how you and your family rate in terms of being ecologically conscience.

I have always thought of myself as an earth-friendly person, but upon my taking the ecological footprint quiz, I was shocked to learn the results.  I answered my questions honestly and tried to not go with the average or below average choices, but rather to choose the honest responses that suite my lifestyle.  I was appalled to learn that if everyone on earth lived as I do, it would take 4.31 earths in order for our civilization to survive.  My footprints in global acres by consumption results were high, even though they were less than the national average.  While I do my part in recycling and attempt to be energy efficient, there are still careless wastes that all of us produce and discard without concern.

We can all do our part in helping to make the economy and Earth a safe clean place that will hopefully be preserved for generations to come.  I think that the current state of the economy may help alleviate the fast decay of the earth’s resources.  When people find themselves on a strict budget in order to save money, they inevitably start to look for ways in which they can eliminate any unnecessary waste in all aspects of their daily lives.

“I think more people need to be aware of this fast growing problem and stop to take the time to do their part and help out the earth,” Aleisha said.  “People are many times just way to lazy to be bothered, and that’s bad.”

True, many people feel that their small contributions to recycling and pollution will hardly be significant, but the fact is that every little bit helps.

Business have begun to make an effort in the way their products are used and distributed — like cosmetic companies have done with hairspray.  Perhaps if people had the knowledge many years before real damage had been done to the earth, the planet would be in a better state than it is currently.  Many women in the NEast are doing their part to try to better the current situation with the ongoing desecration of the earth.

“I have started a collection at my work for cans, bottles and really any kind of plastic,” Ivy said.  “Since my company didn’t want to recycle because it wasn’t cost efficient, I am taking them myself to the recycling center.”

Recycling non-biodegradable products, like plastic and Styrofoam can help to lessen the amount of waste our planet produces that is very harmful to the health and wellbeing of each individual.  While paper products are biodegradable and pose less of a pollution threat, they should still be recycled and used sparingly in order to help preserve the woodland nature.

Global warming has already begun to affect our climate and the wildlife with such a significant change that it is unlikely the damage can be undone.  Oil spills and pollution from power plants have only added to the deterioration of our environment.  While many good causes have been produced from these companies, one can’t help wonder just how much damage they are inflicting on our lives.

“I think it is a disgrace how much our planet has been polluted,” said Terri.  “Since Philly is a large city, we need to take action.  We can’t let our kids grow up in this. Too many large corporations overlook their parts in keeping earth clean, so we need to.”

Many feel that the way the earth has been abused is a travesty, much of which is blamed on large corporations. However, people need to be aware of their own impact or footprints that they leave behind.  We need to accept that some changes we have made are irreversible, that the earth desperately needs our help and that nature is being destroyed by our careless greed.

The future of our Earth rests in the hands of people today and we need to make a strong change and inform all people of the severity of the earth’s pollution to really make a strong impact.  I urge you to take the quiz at My Footprint to see just how much of an impact you have on this earth.  Please let us know if you have any ideas or suggestions of how people can help preserve our planet from pollution and slow decay.

A Woman’s View is a column about women’s issues written by Donna Ward. The column appears every other Thursday on NEastPhilly.com. See others here. Read other NEastPhilly columns here.