The prominent topic environmentalists have been accentuating over the years throughout our nation is the goal to save money while saving the environment. It is a win-win situation for our pockets and for Mother Nature. The types of pollution that humans create in our lifetime has forced negative long lasting effects in our world. “An average American’s carbon footprint exceeds 20 tonnes. That is 1540 tons of carbon, 5 times more than a Frenchman and 20 times more than a person staying in India”, concludes the National Geographic. Where do we start? The simple answer is within ourselves. Reusing, reducing, recycling, and refusing are the process of reaching economical benefits as well as striving for environmental benefits.
Reusing is an imperative step that takes fifteen seconds longer than a leisurely drop in the trash can. It is the process of finding a second, third, or tenth use for an item to prolong its life. To begin with, stop throwing away your Ziploc bags, jars, and plastic containers that your pokey comes in. Wash them with soap and reuse them for kitchen storage needs. Continuing with the idea of reusing, refilling your ink cartridges instead of purchasing new ones can save you a bundle and avoid the waste of plastic cartridges and wrappers. Skip bottled waters and reuse your canteen. Buying a water bottle with a filter can reduce plastic use and save you money in the long run. Finally, you can recharge and reuse batteries. Harmful substances from the batteries permeate into the soil, groundwater, and surface water through landfills that release toxins into the air when they are burned. Don’t throw away your batteries! Affordable adaptors can be purchased that plug conveniently into your wall to recharge those batteries of yours, instead of throwing them away in the trash. Recycling your batteries can be another option that can save our environment and for all sakes, save the human being from inhaling toxic chemicals that lead to harmful
Cited: "Human Footprint | National Geographic Channel." Human Footprint | National Geographic Channel. National Geographic, n.d. Web. 15 Oct. 2013.