The World Without Us

The place we call our home is slowly disintegrating. Our modern day lifestyle is eating away at the planet, but without us, humans, even animal couldn’t survive normally. The book, The World Without Us, makes it clear that Earth does in fact need humans to function, but the way they are now living is not helpful to maintain a healthy atmosphere. Going green has become more popular over the last few years, but not quite enough to make an outstanding difference. In the documentary, An Inconvenient Truth, Al Gore talks about the radical climate change and what’s in state for the world if we continue to proceed with our normal lifestyle. All over the planet, people are starting to take initiatives to ‘Go Green’. If more people jump on the ‘green’ bandwagon, then there might be hope to clean up the Earth.

The author of The World Without Us, Alan Weisman, emphasized humanities impact on the Earth. His book points out many needed facts of a species playing games with its own destiny. Weisman painted an image of what the world would be like the day when humans are inexistent. But without us, the world as we know it would cease to exist. We maintain the flow in the food chain, keep the cycle of life on track, and are necessary to help with the reproduction of vegetables, fruit, plants, and animals. We are the key to the web of life. But with our modernized lifestyles, our planet will not be our home for very much longer. The Earth cannot keep up with the pollution and global climate change that is fast approaching. Environmentalists have recognized the uprising problem, but without the contribution of humanity as a whole, much progress cannot be made. If the world needs humans to function, and we need Earth to actually be alive; then why not give it the treatment it deserves. It’s put up with our crap for centuries; don’t you think it’s about time to be a little nicer to it?

Al Gore makes note of the Global Climate Change Crisis in his documentary, An Inconvenient Truth. He said in the movie, “... it's our only home. And that is what is at stake, our ability to live on planet Earth, to have a future as a civilization. I believe this is a moral issue, it is your time to seize this issue, it is our time to rise again to secure our future.”

Recently, the New York Times published an article about the Intergovernmental panel on Climate Change. The I.P.C.C. is trying to make environmental friendly lifestyles more popular, and to push the government to promote such activities. The Chicago Tribune also has its impact on promoting environmental health. For the 4^th of July issue in 2010, the paper put out an article over how to make the holiday fun and virtually harmless to the environment. With all the help from newspapers, the government, and Go Green activist, it is still the people who put in the most help.

As said in Jack Johnson’s song “The 3 R’s”, we’ve got to learn to reduce, reuse, and recycle. Sounds easy, right?

My solution to you is to try these simple steps. Instead of throwing away a soda can, recycle it. It’s not that much harder. Call your local waste collector and ask for a Rosie. They will bring one to your home free of charge. And get this; they pick up your recyclables at the same time they pick up the trash! So there’s no need for a trip across town to turn in your aluminum cans. So what’s the wait? They make it easy for you, almost like… they want you to recycle! Ok, so now that you have no excuse not to recycle, how about planting a garden or some flowers? It’s a nice family bonding time, and it makes your yard look nice. And who doesn’t like a friendly, inviting yard? Next time you’re in the mood for some carrots or strawberries, why go to the grocery store and buy some when you could pick them out of your own garden? Now I know what you might be thinking, what about in winter? Well you have a point there, but what’s the problem with growing a garden in the spring and summer? You can grow it then, can’t you? Try it, you never know, you might actually like it! There’s nothing more satisfying then eating something that you worked so hard to grow. What if you don’t have space to grow a garden, you ask? Make a trip to the farmer’s market in the morning. Kentucky farmers come from all over the city and state to sell their locally grown products. When you buy from the Famer’s Market, not only do you help support the farmer’s you buy from, but also the environment. For every item you buy at a locally grown food vendor, you help decrease on carbon emissions. The less you buy from manufactures, the less gas it takes to transport their items because they don’t have as much to ship! And look at that; you help out the little people AND the environment. Feels good doesn’t it? Ok so now that you’re recycling, growing your own garden, and buying food locally, what about saving some gas? That sounds nice, right, everyone’s all for lower gas prices. But how about not using any gas at all? Walk places, bike, get some exercise; there’s no need for Americans to be stereotyped as fat people. Did you know that when you walk somewhere you burn calories and… wait for it… wait for it… you help the environment! Imagine that!

So I’ve given you at least four ways to be proactive in the green movement. What are you waiting for? Get on that bandwagon and Go Green! There’s always room for one more! Be nice to the Earth; it is your home after all. Do you let people visit your house when it’s a wreck? Then why should we let our planet get that way? Clean it up, do some good.

Works Cited

The World Without Us by Alan Weisman

An Inconvenient Truth by Al Gore

“The 3 R’s” by Jack Johnson

Andrew Revkin. “Nobel Halo Fades Fast for Climate Change Panel.” The New York Times (August 4, 2009)

Cohn, Meredith. “Red, white and blue — also green: Replacing perchlorate in fireworks makes them safer for environment.” Chicago Tribune (July 4, 2009)