This column has been contributed by Hazel Bell, a Miami native who is greening her life. If you would like to become a contributor to greenerMIAMI, please contact us.
“…The natural evolution of life is balance. The only imbalance on the planet is us. We are not supposed to have a dominion. If we have anything, we have a responsibility.” Morgan Freeman
Everyone knows that technology and growth of the human population has made our planet smaller. The aspects of our lives that have the most impact on the Earth are our fuel use; from drilling and processing to the final use, and our waste of everything we touch: plastic bags and packaging materials, furniture, cleaning products, food products, clothing, old cars, old computers, cell phones…anything broken or we no longer have a use for. Our flat landscape in South Florida is no longer completely flat because of the garbage we have created. The landfills are not going to go away. As the population grows, they will only increase. Our growth is exponential. I was born in Miami and remember days of dirt roads and wooden bridges…and a lot less traffic and people.
We can’t step back in time. We can’t do much about the garbage that already is. But we can do something about what we do now and in the future. I recently found several online resources that teach and encourage a renewable, sustainable lifestyle. I believe that we are at the beginning of some huge and remarkable changes in our lives. Whether you believe that Global Warming is real or not or that we are largely responsible for it or not, you cannot deny the need for real and major changes in the way we live.
“Cradle to Cradle” is a philosophy that everything we make and use can be put back into the Earth and contribute to its life cycle instead of taking away from it. Currently we live in a Cradle to Grave world with our landfills being the graves. With the Cradle to Cradle philosophy, things we use that are manufactured are made from sustainable resources and from things that will decompose instead of fabricating things with chemicals and plastics that will never break down or that add dangerous elements to our environment as they do.
We can all make a big difference with a small, simple change. If you must use the plastic shopping bags, recycle them – every single one. This is so easy to do by taking them back to the grocery store! And worldwide we are using between 500 billion and 1 trillion per YEAR! Refuse the plastic bag in the first place. And if you only have a few items, don’t even use a bag or bring your own cloth bag.
The only way that we can change the world is if we as individuals make the changes. Unfortunately, the companies that sell the products and make the products are mostly driven by the almighty dollar. They use the cheapest, most readily available materials. We can no longer afford that thinking. As we make small changes and demand more from ourselves, I believe the technology will catch up and become more affordable for everyone.
Spread the word…..
Photo Credit: smallcaps Flickr