How Environmentally Conscious Are You?

Think.  I do a lot of that these days. I think about the world and how we take care of it. Are we going forward or backwards?

When I was a child in Pasadena, Newfoundland, you couldn’t buy a bottle of water. Pop and beer bottles were made of glass and groceries were brought home in brown paper bags or cardboard boxes. If you wanted a book you visited the library. There were no cell phones or computers to discard. People kept cars until they were worn out or it cost more to repair them than to purchase a new one. People were lucky to have one or two pairs of shoes and walk in closets were unnecessary. There were few fast food restaurants and people grew their own vegetables. Many families had a cow, pig or horse.  Children played outdoors and learned to get along.  While there were things that I would not want to go back to,it seems we were friendlier to the environment 50 years ago. 

How will the environment be for our grandchildren? At the rate that garbage is being thrown in our oceans,and rivers are being polluted by sewage and Mercury, how can we visualize a clean world? It seems our hands are tied to change the advancement of industry, of big business, of the movers and shakers in our modern world. I can understand how citizens feel lost to making a difference. 

In some cities of the world air quality is so bad that seniors and others cannot go outside. Children with asthma cannot go to school. The smog impedes visibility and alerts are announced so that people can stay inside if the air is really high in pollutants. 

In many towns water boil orders are on for months. Why has our water become dangerous for human consumption? We have only ourselves to blame. If we avoid taking responsibility how can we blame others? We need to attend town meetings, stand up for our rights and environment.  We can contact out government leaders. We can help organize clean-ups and rallies. We can involve our children and seniors.  So much to do and everyone involved would make an easier process. What are your thoughts? 

Feel free to share your experiences and how we can encourage actions to improve our environment.