what you can do to help the environment

I'm going to do my best to stop this from sounding like a high school science report – I promise. However, I think "help the environment" has to be defined. When I say this, I'm talking about the ways in which we all can take steps to reduce the human impact on our surroundings. I am suggesting that there are inefficiencies in society that we can work to reduce and prevent. In addition to that, I would like to make the point that we are stewards of the world which we've been given, and it is our responsibility to do our best to prevent the proverbial global meltdown imagery conjured up every so often from becoming reality.

One of the easiest ways to reduce our impact on the Earth is to reduce waste. A great way to do this is to recycle glass, paper and cardboard, aluminum, and plastics. Take the time to prevent these materials from ending up in landfills. Some home office and business supply stores accept Styrofoam and packing materials that they can reuse or recycle. Recycling is one of the easiest things you can do to reduce waste, and needs to become a societal norm to reduce logging for paper, mining for aluminum, etc. Even if your garbage collector does not offer recycling for all the "core" recyclable items, it's likely that there is a collection agent for your town, city, or county.

Beyond the "core" recyclables, I think it's important to go a little out of our way to recycle. For example, go ahead and pay to recycle computer parts after you have upgraded or replaced them. It seems expensive, but you should consider it part of the purchase price. They're easy to donate to Goodwill, as long as they're in working condition. If the old parts don't work at all, there's still no reason to send them to a landfill. The materials that make computer products are definitely recyclable, and should be treated as such. Use your favorite search engine to find a computer recycling facility near you.

It's important to consider whether you can recycle packaging of the products that you buy. A great example is a milk carton. It's very easy to recycle a plastic carton, but somewhat harder to find a recycling center for the paper-based cartons. Most of the groceries that we consume on a daily basis are bought in recyclable containers, and should therefore be recycled.

Consider reducing harm in addition to reducing waste. The chemicals used to create the foods you eat every day are a great example of this point. Buying organic groceries, which are grown without the use of pesticides or fertilization, assist in reducing the amount of harmful chemicals entering our farm topsoil. Without taking on too many issues at once, it is also worth noting that it is important to consider the source of your groceries, as large scale farms can not only effect the environment, but the workers that help grow the produce.

Aside from recycling, many organizations are taking great strides to set aside land and resources crucial to the Rocky Mountain States, which I am especially concerned for. I'll mention a few here (mostly non-profit) that are working hard to ensure our environment is protected and preserved.

Consider donating finances, land, or spare time to help these organizations, and organizations like them, to protect and preserve our environment.

Without going much further into detail on any of these, or other environmentally friendly practices, the point I would like to bring to the surface is that protecting the environment really starts with the individual. In order to truly ensure our natural resources aren't abused, we have to care for them and be willing to sacrifice our own money and / or time. The willingness to buy more expensive yet sustainable groceries or to take the time to recycle an old computer (and the box that it came in) has to originate within ourselves.