Going Green to save the Environment Essay

Environment preservation has been of high concern by many environmentalists’, governments and other non-governmental organization. Due to the current situation of the environmental degradation, many campaigns by different organization have thus been put forward as a remedy to the effects of this problem. To curb this problem, different global attempts have thus been instituted to ensure a high concern to prevention of further degradation and limit the then effects born of this problem. Broadly, environment is the ecosystem in which man, animals and the plants survive in. For the health of the live on the earth, importance is attached to the influence of a health state of the environment. A polluted environment is harmful to man, the other animals and to the plants kingdom. Such comes from the indirect consequences that arise as a result of the harmful environment or directly through the health effects that poor environment has to the living things. In the ecosystem, living organisms interact with the environment in their pursuit of life in which case, they uses the environment to source for their daily requirements. If the environment is degraded, its maximum capacity to offer sustaining output to the living things in the ecosystem is destabilized, which results in the fatal effects of harm to these living things. However, the problem with such environmental degradation is rooted to human beings influence where man in the sole contributor to this problem. Through his daily activities in exploitation of the resources in the environment for his survival, man has continued to degrade the environment. (Wade, 2003) However, with the inset of the problem arising from this problem, man has embarked on the philosophy of ‘going green to save the environment’. This aspect entails the application of various attempts that brings one to being friendly to the environment as well saving money income in his operations. This has a double remedy the ones life, where one saves the environment using certain tools which are also economical in terms of money expenditure. (Beretz, 1999) Environmentalists and human activists have argued that man can only undertake to save the environment in an economical way through the various daily interactions with the environment at various levels. Such levels leading to going green to save the environment, would be captured at the people homestead, workplaces, use of recycling campaigns economy and optimality in peoples daily automobile system and proper concern on material and equipment storage. In such, various areas have been developed by the seventh generation in the realization of the roles that individuals can play at their personal level to save the environment in the cheapest means hence saving their income. The seventh generation is a group of human activists who have joined together to fight for the value of a clean environment. Their campaign is safety geared towards initiating environmental protection at the personal level. (www. seventhgen. com/making_difference/newsletter_article. php? article=404&issue=46) However, in understanding the concept, movers of this philosophy have to capture the diversity in the understanding of the term environment. Broadly, environment captures various sets of variable which will include pollution, demographic control, protection of the ozone layer, use of recycling to prevent pollution, use of environmental conservation methods, and aspects of global warming and endangering of some animal and plants kingdom. Perhaps, the greatest contribution has been by the government, international environmental laws on environment and other big organization of both national and international scales on environmental conservations. However, the contribution of these groups has perhaps been minimal, too costly and not optimal to addressing the issue. Research has showed that, despite the high campaign on environmental protection the problem continues to be a threat to the plant and animal ecosystem. With this challenge, the developers of the seventh generation movement work to remedy this problem through personalizing saving of the environment. The concept will basically involve the application of various conservation measures by the individual person which would be less involving in terms of time resources, effect to the external population and above all saving money. To an individual person, he will interact with various environments in his day to day live depending on different variables such as age, religion, occupation, gender, political orientation and personal social-cultural believes with the environment. In the different environments that individuals interact with, the concept of going green and save environment captures on how an individual person should relate with the immediate environment for its preservation but which would otherwise be of the most minimal cost. To the seventh generation activists’, man is involved in the use of some resources at his personal level which can be re-used once again and who’s un-optimal use leads to environmental pollution. Since such resource products are used by the individual, saving the environment would be fostered through recycling of materials. This would involve the re-use of the products for even other purposes and periods. Environmentalists argue differently on the consequences of recycling in relation to the economy as a whole. (Clay, 2001). In the broader sense of environmental conservation, recycling a product depends on the economies that may be got from such an activity. Firstly, if the product got from this activity is cheaper that that of a new product of the same nature, then recycling is an important tool as it will imply income saving. However, if the product got from the recycling is expensive than the purchase of a new commodity of equally the some nature, then recycling would be uneconomical and thus no need of doing such. To the individual level, the relevance of economies from recycling a product should guide him of whether to recycle the product or not. In one level, such an activity will only involve the particular individual. On the other hand, the activity will save him on income for purchase of other products. Sufficiently, the going green and save environment philosophy is captured at this point. Recycling will involve various resources products such as energy wear materials, use of recyclable products, keeping the air clean upon other activities for collecting rain water for household use and recycling plastic components such as bags that are not easy biodegradable. (Wagner, 2005) Through use of various household product recycling activities, an individual can save his income above saving the environment. At the homestead, individuals should recycle plastic bags, through using them time and again. Either, the use of easily biodegradable plastic containers and products for packing household waste is a measure. For ones physical outwear, clothe recycling is still a measure in which a person can wash a piece of cloth material for many times and still keep some few of them for his use. Some articles like paper towels as well as napkins should be made of recyclable paper material. In the physical decoration of the homestead with paint, brands of paints manufactured from some organic compounds which would be volatile and cheap as well having a lesser effect on environmental degradation should be used. At the personal level, cleaning compounds such as soaps and detergents have been a chief source of environment. ( Sivils, 2003). However, remedy to this would be personal manufacturing of his household cleaning products which can be done from various simple components which are cheaper and a highly environmental friendly. Other economies would be safety to the kids, the old people or pets who would be chemical sensitive hence affected by chemical cleaning materials. After a research carried recently rain water offers a fabulous health conditions to the individual. Rain water is normally healthier with fewer chemicals and therefore better for use by an individual. The opportunity cost of rain water is other sources which contains chemical compounds harmful to man. Either, such sources are normally costly and therefore uneconomical. For one to save income and be environmental friendly therefore, he should strategize to possibly have a collection of rain water. Such a method is cheaper and also safeguards the person against any health problem that may arise from use of treated water or water with various chemicals. An environmental friendly and cheap method can be on the deposition of individual food and organic leftovers, rather than trashing them to the dumping areas. In most the cities, environmental pollution has been as a result of food leftovers substances that are dumped in the dumping site by individuals. (Domoto, 1999) Intensity of such leftovers is environmentally unfriendly whose long run cost is perhaps too high both to the individual, community and the government. By using compost pits for your leftovers, it can alternatively be used as a source of organic manure for your field. Indeed, this method is cheap and ensures a high saving to the environment. ( www. seventhgen. com/making_difference/newsletter_article. php? article=404&issue=46) By and large, an environmentally friendly homestead is a key factor in concern to going green to save environment. The homestead is the living area of the individual. Therefore, it forms an environment which the individual person should work towards its upkeep. Broadly, diversified methods can be used to improve and maintain a good homestead environment at a cheap cost which is highly cost saving. Diversity in such household’s environment concerning issues varies from energy saving techniques and use of proper methods to conserve waste for household use. In various, studies household activities have been voted as a big contributor towards environmental pollution. Above this problem, such household activities are normally highly costing. Various household activities have led to external environment pollution which is harmful to the immediate individual in the application as well as the neighborhood as a whole. Perhaps the greatest household environmental pollutant is the energy system and activities used in the households. Various energy inputs such as cooking energy, lighting, water heating and laundry appliances have been a chief source of pollution. To avoid this, individual should use environmental friendly energy conservation methods that are also cheap. Some electrical systems and appliances are normally cheap and have less environmental pollution. Example, persons should aim to use fluorescent bulbs that are energy efficient. Home selection of such should vary with shapes, color hue match and room lighting. (Wagner, 2005) Many of these choices have been voted to use a scaled down amount of energy than the other versions. Other varied energy appliances in the homestead can highly help to save the environment above reducing costs of their use. The use of energy star appliances, reducing the homestead utility bill, use of wall warts which are adoptions used for drawing energy from homesteads walls and the use of other dormant appliances which do not use energy when off can highly help to save energy. Active home appliances should be left to home machinery which could only loose its memory when switched off. Household should use energy audit system to control the saving attributes at the homestead which help to save the individual income and the environment as a whole. Contributors of the seventh generation usually argue on the impact of energy as a major source of environmental pollution. Improper use of energy at home can be a chief source of high income expenditures and an environmental pollutant. At all levels, the going green to save environment at the homestead level will call for water saving measures. This will involve on the general methods in use of water at home and the water heating methods which should be through the use of solar heaters rather that electricity. In all such activities the individual incomes is saved as well as the environment. (Wade, 2003) As a whole, personal use of automobiles has been a detriment to environmental pollution. In big cities of the world’s most developed urban areas, exhaustion of fumes, extravagance consumptions of fuels and vehicle jams have highly contributed to environmental pollution. To the individual person, the going green and save environments involves use of car and gas saving instruments that calls for less pollution and lower transport cost. To the individual going green on cars involves economical car application tools which may not imply direct use of transports. Such measures may include public transport use, operating work at home, probably renting of a car, economical driving and the use of environmental friendly fuels in your cars. Such aspects by an individual works toward achieving the going green in conservation of environment as well as saving income. A persons equipment purchases are taken for storage at the stores. To the individual, the storage system of his purchases may highly lead to environmental pollution. The store system should involve methods that help to reduce pollution. Stores packaging, volume of purchases, conditions at the stores should be environmental friendly at a cheap source. (Clay, 2001) The dimension of going green to save the environment tries to capture the possible ways in which an individual at his personal level can work towards minimizing environmental pollution with the cost aspect being minimal. It seeks to draw environmental protections activities and campaigns have been moved from the government or other big organization and bringing it close to the individual level. This has been done after a close realization on the importance of the role played by individual in protecting the environment on economical base rather than use of the broader institutions at higher expenses. Reference: Beretz, C. (1999) Saving the Farm: Forum for Applied Researched Public Policy Vol. 14 Clay, R. (2001) Saving the Earth from Space: Environmental Health Perspectives Vol. 109. Domoto, A. (1999) Saving the Environment Women at the Wheel: UN Chronicle Vol. 36. Seventh Generation (September 2007). The non-Toxic Times News letter. www. seventhgen. com/making_difference/newsletter_article. php? article=404&issue=46 Retrieved on September 29th 2003 Sivils, M. (2003) Rosendale Steven Ed. The Greening of Literary Scholarship: Literature, Theory an the Environment: Studies in American Fiction Vol. 31 Wade, M. (2003) Saving the Planet: Report Debunks Myth That African Americans Don’t Care about the Environment Black Enterprise Vol. 34 Wagner, C. (2005) Saving the Environment Saves Human Lives: Environmental protection Programs Could Reduce Impacts of Future Disasters: The Futurists, Vol. 39