Take a Stand | Opinions

It's Not Easy Being Green

      We hear about it everyday in PSA announcements, on most consumer products and even billboards; the urgency that is placed on us to save our planet. The band Coldplay said it best, “We live in a beautiful world,” but the truth is it will only be as beautiful as we make it.
      The truth is the number of people who recycle is increasing every year. However, according to the Sustainability Club at the University of Dayton, an organization designed to help educate others how they can help improve their environment, “Americans throw away enough aluminum every three months to rebuild our entire commercial air fleet.” There are many simple ways we can avoid the destruction of our environment and although at times they may seem inconvenient, their effect could be substantial.
      One way to help is to get involved with a local organization whose main focus is to help make our world a better place to live. From “The River Returns” to “Clean It Up, Green It Up” there are many different aspects of the environment that benefit from these groups. If someone is not too keen on community involvement, there are also individual ways to decrease their personal effect on the environment. We know it is ‘not easy being green,’ but the truth is the environment cannot fix itself. If we want our great grandchildren to hear the crash of ocean waves against a sandy shore, we as a global community need to take a proactive approach to save our world.

Ways to Improve
Carpool -- to school and to hangout with friends.
Recycle -- (If your family does not have a recycling system set up at home you can always collect items and drop them off at disposal units in back of your local supermarket.)
Lower the Thermostat -- to 68 in the winter and 78 in the summer.
Turn off the Lights -- when leaving a room.
Shower -- try not to take many baths, and make your showers shorter.

ORGANIZATIONS

“The River Returns” helping to preserve the St. Johns River from pollution and other factors.

“Clean It Up, Green It Up” the mission is to help improve the quality of life for people in Jacksonville by enacting and acting upon environmental improvement initiatives

JEA’s “Communitree” A program that is granting 30 to 300 gallons of trees each year for the next three years to JEA’s tree service criteria on website)