Five Things We Can Do to Save the Planet
December 31, 2008 by
Filed under
Blog, Front Page, Iowa, My 5, Slideshow
For many of us, when one year ends and another begins, it’s a time for both reflection and anticipation. As we look back on the year gone by, those of us who care about the environment can’t help but be concerned about the mess we have created.
We know that change has to happen if the planet is to recover while we humans still inhabit it. For, recover it will. As the late comedian George Carlin reminded us in a monologue, the planet doesn’t need us humans to take care of it; the planet will take care of itself. The question is, will we be here to see it?
If we want our legacy to the future to be a healthy planet populated with children of our species, we must improve what we’re doing now. None of us can change the world alone, but collectively, our actions will make a difference. We can’t wait around for someone else to pick up the standard and carry it to the future for us. It’s our turn, mine and yours. And we have to start now.
Blue Planet Green Living has been looking to the future for the past few weeks, asking each of our interviewees the same question that we’ve asked of ourselves:
Julia Wasson, Publisher, Blue Planet Green Living
What are the five most important things we can do to save the planet?
Today, it’s my turn to tell you “My 5.” Tomorrow, Joe will share his. On both days, we’ll post some of the “My 5″ responses that we’ve collected from others: thought leaders who are the subjects of our articles, Blue Planet Green Living staff members, family and friends. We asked people at the tailgate we attended before the Bears/Packers game. We’ll share those with you, too, in the coming weeks. And each new person we interview will share their “My 5″ as well.
Here are My 5:
1. Get informed. Find out whatever you can about the state of the planet and what you can do to heal your part of it.
2. Examine your values, beliefs and attitudes about the planet and the sanctity of life, then act accordingly.
3. Elect lawmakers who understand the urgency of our environmental problems and who have the courage to pass laws that will truly make a difference.
4. Make the changes you know you should make. Even the little ones (like changing your light bulbs to CFLs) matter. The big changes (like switching to an electric car) matter even more.
5. Respect the entire planet, not just your own “backyard.” If something’s too bad for your back yard — a coal plant, a toxic waste dump, a landfill — it’s too bad for anyone else’s. Work to find a solution that doesn’t pollute this world we share.
So, now it’s your turn. Send us an email or a short (2 minutes or less) video in which you share your “My 5.” They won’t be the same as mine or Joe’s or anyone else’s, most likely, though there may be some overlap. That’s okay. We all see the world in our own, unique ways, and we all have our own priorities. Let’s learn from each other, and make 2009 a far better year for the environment than the year we’re leaving behind.
Oh, and send us a photo of yourself to include with your “My 5.” We’d like to get to know you. After all, we’re fellow travelers on this beautiful Blue Planet we call “home.”
Publisher, Blue Planet Green Living (Home Page)
Iowa City, Iowa, USA
julia@blueplanetgreenliving.com
I LOVE visiting you all at BPGL every day. I have to say that your site has made a difference in my life. I’m changing my world, and that’s changing the whole world!
Happy New Year Julia and Joe! You are helping to make this big beautiful blue planet greener all the time! Keep up the good work!
Thank you! We love having loyal readers like you, S. Keep making your own part of the world greener. As Joe said in his My 5, if we each do one thing, we can make a huge difference. (And just imagine if we each do more than one thing. Wow!)
Great thinking, all the “My 5″ can be describe in hole picture of our life to save this planet, especially from global warming. For the future may be we should follow your “My 5″ concept and ideas. May be some of us has already done that “My 5″ at least 1 subject. But the difficult things in our effort is “Commitment”, without this word may be we can not achieve the going concern.
I care about tree. In my yard there are still 2 big Oakwood, in my office we try to make a virtual connectivity, so my employee doesn’t need to go to office, they just connect internet to their house and work as usual, so we save gasoline, and of course we make no pollution coz we don’t go to office.
I usually use my bicycle to go to office or anywhere. Minimizing the car has many possitive things:
1. Minimize cost
2. Minimize Pollution
3. Good for your health
Things to think:
1. We should remember about our next generation
2. Don’t be greedy, and think twice about the capitalism
3. Keep learning and studyiing
Others, back to Julia’s “My 5″ + Commitment
Thanks
Jimmy
Thank you, Jimmy, for taking the time to give your thoughtful response.I agree that commitment is critically important. Without it, all our resolutions and promises are no more than lip-service to providing a solution. And lip-service accomplishes nothing.
Each of your suggestions makes excellent sense. Thank you for sharing your ideas with us. It’s great to hear about the changes you and your company are making in Indonesia. We’re on this planet together, and, as you pointed out, we have a responsibility to leave it a better place for the next generation.
Great article!
Thanks, Jason! Glad you liked it.
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So beautiful article!