I often see a collection of smirks when I comment in class about how I am trying to save the Earth, one piece of paper at a time. I can't figure out if this is because my students just don't care about saving the planet or if they think I am totally nuts (which may, in fact, be true). Regardless of the reason, it bothers me. What is wrong with wanting to improve the environment?
Many people believe that wanting to save the Earth has a direct correlation with the belief in global warming. This is not true. You can still want to improve the quality of the air you breathe without buying in to the science of climate change. You can still recycle your electronics because you don't want a poverty stricken four year old to die while salvaging toxic parts from your outdated computer. And, you can still want to preserve some natural habitat for those animals whose lives are being destroyed by your glut and greed.
It does not take much effort begin to treat Earth, your home, with a little more respect. There are garbage bins everywhere, stop throwing garbage on the ground. Most cities offer recycling services that will pick up your recyclables from your home - all you have to do is place objects in a bin - do so. Plug your electronics in to a power strip and turn off the power strip when the electronics are not in use. Get some plants for your room and your home - they improve the very air you breathe. Buy used objects whenever you can. Thrift stores have great stuff that is half the price and often, just as nice as new objects. And, most importantly, be consistent with your "green" practices. People will learn to follow your positive behaviors.
If you would like to learn more about green practices that you can incorporate in your everyday life, visit Treehugger.
19 comments:
I think it's good that you want to save the Earth, it's the only one we've got. Many teachers waste paper on trivial assignments that would probably work better on the computer. I actually like breathing clean air, so I'm glad my mom has many plans around our house. I also recycle all the time, it's such a habit now i forget I am even doing it.
I'm all about going green! I personally respect your idea of saying the world one piece of paper at a time. Not only is the use of computers in the class room instead of paper beneficial to the Earth, but also it saves us time. For instance, typing an essay on the computer or going to do the daily journal online is a lot less of a pain then writing in down on paper. I can't speak for everyone else but I personally hate doing journals that I have to write down in a spiral. On the computer you can take less time writing and more time thinking about the ideas you want to share.
One thing I notice that often bothers me is the recycle bins at school. Students but soda, juice, water etc at school everyday. All of these come in plastic containers. The recycle bins at school are NOT just for show so why do people find it so hard to place the bottle inside the bin. It's quite an easy task that everyone throwing away bottles should be able to accomplish. GO GREEN!
During the summer I went to my mom's work for a day to help out. I was absolutely horrified when they asked me to photocopy papers, by the end of the day I went through at least four packages of paper, each with 500 sheets!!!
I love the idea of doing almost everything on computers in your class; it saves time as well as countless tress.
One thing that bothers me at this school is that the recycle bins in classrooms are only for paper, not plastic bottles, so I carry an empty water bottle in my bag all day so I can recycle it at home.
I love the idea of going green. I respect you a lot when you say things about saving the Earth, its a good thing! When I went on a field trip, we went to UNF and went on a tour and one of the things that appealed to me about UNF was the fact that they are going green. They have windows that reflect sunlight so at night they use that energy. I found it really fascinating. I hope everyone one day decides to go green.
Mrs. Stoklosa I don’t laugh when u say u want to save the planet one paper at a time and I think its amazing how things are in your class and your doing a wonderful job at it. The class is awesome and I wish other teachers were like you and make it so we all go green and save the planet. And if they all had your mindset on that every class would be fun.
I think it is very possible to 'save the world, one piece of paper at a time'. Ha. (And I laugh at the humor of it to society.) My family recycles everyday. We have two recycle bins (one for newspapers and one for cans and whatnot), and they are overflowing when it comes time to set them out for the pickup. One of our chores everyday is to actually collect the recycling thats in the house and bring it out to the bins. I think more people should do more research on how and why they should commit to a healthier environment, not only for themselves but for the well-being of their potential offspring.
Going green is part of my everyday life. I think I contribute to saving the environment in my own ways. I was my car in the lawn so the excess water drips into the grass. Turning off the lights when I leave the house is a daily routine. I always try to use as little paper as I possibly can.
However, I am a huge consumer of gasoline. My car gets less than 10 mpg. My Jet Ski gets 4 mpg, and I own two. I try to drive as best as I can to save gas, but it can only so much.
every thing you just said in that post is what i say to try to convince people who dont care to car, because if we dont do anything, especially now the earth will die at a more exelarated pace.
I think its totally rad how you try to save the world. I am all about recycling and what not. When ever i see trash around school I pick it up and I get some looks like I am totally nuts. I see people all day kick trash on the floor, stare at it and keep walking. I don't understand why people don't just bend over and grab it. It blows my mind why people don't.
I see all these signs around school about recycling and what not and some of those facts are just crazy, they are just simply crazy! I think we should all just do our part and pick up a few pieces of trash every day and see how much cleaner our school will be.
It's not that we smirk because we think it is funny to try and save the enviroment or that we think you are nuts. I know I smile when you make comments like that because I aam trying to do the most that I can to protect and save our enviroment. It's nice for a change to have a teacher that actually cares about 'going green' while others print papers by the hundreds, daily. It inspires me, thank you.
I am probably the worst when it comes to the environment. It's sad for me to admit but we don't recycle in my house because no one takes in the bin after it has been picked up. I do however, try to save paper. Like I use the front and the back instead of wasting a sheet of paper. I should probably try to treat the environment a little better.
I definitley agree. I love our planet, and i hear that they cut down thousands of acres of forest every few second. Which literally brings tearts to my eyes. Thease poor animals can't talk and say hey stop cutting down our homes. So you not using as much paper just makes thease animals day a little bit brighter. I hope to someday live on this planet, when it is healthy and not surrounded by smoke dust and tree stumps.
I am not really a green person nor do I plan to be because its so overrated. I do recycle and don't waste paper and etc. The thing that really pisses me off and why I don't help the "Green movement" is because you try and save the world a paper at a time yet my 4th hour teacher prints out our notes which are like 10-20 pages long. She also prints that out for three other classes. So going green is so counterproductive. That's why I won't go green but I will do my share.
I agree with you on saving the Earth. I do I got my mom to start recycling all the water bottles and the other containers and I dont throw garbage on the floor, and I dont know if I buy the global warming theory. I just think you take care of the place you live.
We only have one "earth" and we need to take care of it, once its gone its gone! To been green u have to "want to be green". In other words people making you recycle and you wanting to recycle are completely different. If you are forced to do it you may not always do it when the authority isn't there. If you want to do it, you will do it no matter whose around.
I respect the fact that you're trying to save the world once piece of paper at a time. Personally, hearing you say it in class reminds me of a superhero slogan and I can't help but smirk. Today at school I was walking down the halls and reading all of the posters that were dealing with recycling. I think it's great that the school is posting huge posters in the hallways, but students continue to throw bottles and food wrappers into the recycle bins. Hopefully this will stop soon.
I believe everything you said is true. We need to go green or we are going to destroy the Earth. We need to do as much as we can to protect the Earth.
It's a good thing you want to save the earth. We are limited to our paper, and who knows when trees may stop growing or they're aren't anymore left. Many teachers just go ahead and waste paper for numerous things that aren't worth it. There is no point to waste so much paper. If everyone helps the environment out by reducing paper use, no one could imagine how healthier and natural of a world we would have. It takes one person to make a difference.
I think its really cool there is actually someone out there who takes the time to appreciate the world around us.Everyone thinks that the trees and grass around us will be here forever. But in reality, if we dont take care of the planet, it could be the end to all our trees n grass as we know it.
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