“Environment is no one’s property to destroy; it’s everyone’s responsibility to protect.”
This quote is by Mohith Agadi who is an author and entrepreneur who lives in India.
It can be disheartening when we find ourselves questioning whether the efforts of one person can make a difference when dealing with the large, global problem of climate change. And yet those efforts do matter. What would help the most is if many more people would make the effort for, as Agadi says, protecting the environment is everyone’s responsibility.
One of my motivations for recycling, reusing, donating items to programs that make them available to others, driving only when necessary, and in other ways decreasing my carbon footprint is that I care deeply about the quality of life of the children of our world, both in the present and when they are adults, and for all who will be born after them. I also care about the people who live in poor countries who are experiencing climate disasters caused by global warming even though the people in those countries contribute far less to what causes global warming than we in the United States and other wealthy countries do. In fact, I recently read that the average carbon footprint of people who live in the United States is four times that of people in the majority of other countries. We share this earth with almost eight billion people. The earth is also no one’s property to destroy.
I’m thankful that there are many programs whose purpose is to decrease the factors that contribute to climate change. We are able to recycle glass and plastic containers, paper, and metal so that new products can be made from those materials. Composted food and yard waste is turned into organic material that enriches the soil. There are drop-off facilities that take batteries, electronics, paint, and many other products that are then disposed of responsibly and kept out of landfills. There are numerous websites with information about the many ways each of us can do our part to help to protect the environment.
The majority of religious and spiritual traditions emphasize helping other people rather than thinking only of our own needs and wants. Doing our part takes some time and effort. But that is true of everything that matters. I think of caring about the environment and doing my part as not only caring about improving air and water quality for myself and my loved ones, but also as yet another way to help other people, both those of us presently sharing this earth and also those of future generations.