Step One: Accept the Problem

Congratulations! If you are reading this blog it means you’re here to start the journey of becoming more environmentally conscious! This journey is  a long and sometimes difficult one, but always a rewarding experience to help humanity and find yourself in the process. This journey of changing personal habits to help this one and only Earth is what I like to call the Green Shift. In this blog, we will cover how to make mental changes as well as lifestyle changes in order to reduce our impact on the Earth.

Fig. 1. Randy Olson National Geographic- Planet or Plastic?

The first step in the Green Shift is perhaps the most difficult one- accepting the problem. Most of us in the United States live in a culture where it is easy to ignore the devastating impact we have on the environment. Every week our trash is taken away to someplace where we don’t have to worry about it. Every day our water goes down the drain during the long, hot shower we take after a stressful day. Every time we go to the grocery store there is an abundance of food on the shelves, so we never have to ration. In our society, we never have to worry about where the trash is going, or how many gallons of water go down the drain, or where our food is coming from. However, by expanding our local mindset to a global perspective, we can see the severe issues that plague our planet. It is easy to ignore the problems and it is painful to accept them, but accepting is the first step to making improvements.

Fig. 2. John Cancalosi National Geographic- Planet or Plastic?

It can be difficult to widen our perspectives beyond our own community where we may not be able to see the effects of our daily habits. Some may not want to learn about the harsh realities, but those who do will be able to make a real difference.

The most important thing we can do to broaden our perspective is educate ourselves. National Geographic is a great source for learning how people around the world live. In one of their videos, See How Children Live in the World’s Most Polluted City , it is impossible to ignore the impact of pollution on people around the world. So many children live in life threatening conditions because of the carelessness of humans as a whole. In an article by the World Health Organization, it is estimated that each year 1.7 million children under 5 years old die each year due to unhealthy environments. In another frightening call to action by the World Health Organization, Dr. Maria Neira, Director of the Department of Public Health, states that “Urban air pollution continues to rise at an alarming rate, wreaking havoc on human health,”. When you start to research the terrible effects of humankind on the environment and in turn, on each other, it is clear that we need to make a change.

I want to personally thank you for taking the first step in the Green Shift to improve our planet and the lives of our brothers and sisters around the world. If we all work together, it is never too late to make a change.

2 thoughts on “Step One: Accept the Problem

  1. You have an awesome topic here, and a great emotional appeal. The bird and the child both stuck in plastic tug on the heartstrings to make your reader want to change their environmental impacts. Which leads to my main problem with this article: it promises a way to make the world better and then doesn’t deliver!!! You have got me excited for your next article though. I’m really interested to see what advice you’ll be offering.

  2. I admit that I am not as environmentally conscious as I should be, I oftentimes take long showers or waste precious food. I am taking a materials science class, where I am learning how waste is disposed of and the harmful impacts it is having on the environment. An interesting topic I am learning in this class is how recycling is important because it saves precious energy, because the product does not have to remade from scratch. I hope this blog teaches me the harms of my habits and teach me how to adopt better ones!

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