While poverty is a major issue in our world, other problems also threaten our generation and those to follow. For instance, the sustainability of our ecological systems is a characteristic that has sorely deteriorated as our modern society has grown; ranging from agriculture to forestry to our climate, it is imperative that we change our methods regarding these systems so that they can be maintained indefinitely. Our current depletion of fossil fuels and irreparable damage done to the environment are not examples of sustainability. The implications of unsustainable industries is the collapse of modern industrial society. However, we can make a difference, even at the individual level. What could you do to live more sustainably? For example, you could use compact fluorescent light bulbs to save energy, and thus help sustain the environment.
(Don't forget to answer the poll on the right sidebar to make your opinion known. Also, check here if you aren't sure how to post with your name.)
Posting on this Question of the Week is now disabled.
Monday, April 7, 2008
Question of the Week: April 7
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
34 comments:
In order to live more sustainbly, well there are many ways.Well, one way that i can start to is to buy a SIGG water bottle. Instead of good old normal bottles. Right keller?? I could recycle MORE, we have enough of that in our family. I could use less hot water, maybe even plant a tree. They are all very important, its just a matter of keeping up with them.
-Berenice :]
for me i think it would be easier than others but i would ride a bike or walk were ever i wanted to go and i eould also use less water bottles in the future i would try not to do things like fourweeler rides or any thing that burns focil fuels.
anonymous, please add your name to your post. Thank you.
sustainability.
well, it all comes down to earth itself and the people who trump around on it. What used to be a hard-working life for everybody, now has become so easy-laid-back- and wants as little as possible to enrich the world...they only show it by what they do everyday. turn on the light switch. time for school. hot shower, hair straightener, breakfast, and to the car it is. school. how much electricity could one building possibly NEED?! windows, my friend. we need more windows..natural light. We need more natural everything and more people willing to work instead of people who want to watch as the world runs past.
that's what we need.
-Dani
If we all made the slightest step in the "earth friendly" direction--walking or riding a bike to school, buying organic foods, or simply recycling--the results would be mind boggling. Think about how many people live on our planet. There are literally billions! If every individual made "green" decisions in their everyday lives, it would greatly inhibit the deterioration of our planet. Its easy, and your planet will thank you. :)
--Brianna Morrow
Well... I live pretty well myself... I don't drive, I recycle, I reuse water bottles, I am pretty "green". So to live even more I think I would like to plant more trees in my yard and have a garden by next year... its a thought I think I will try.
-Kacey Killingbeck
~Formally known as TehMaster
*The Admin's sidekick (GO ME!!)
I have actually convinced my Grandpa to use the engery effecient light blubs and to get a trash service instead of burning his trash every week.
I have now switched to Engergy effecient light blubs.
I am going to start buying the cloth grociery bags at the stores instead of using all the plastic pags they give you.
Plus, with the cloth bags you can reuse them every time you go to the store.
I could also cut down on how long of Showers my family && i take.
That would be good. haha.
[we take like 1 hour showers] haha.
When i went to Middleton, we had a club it was called MAD. it ment Make a Difference. We did fund raisers and things to send food and clothing to the people in Africa, && we held a dance to raise money to buy the food and clothing.
We even collected pop cans to help the enviornment.
It was really fun and worth the time and effort.
i enjoyed it and i think we should start something like that at Skyview.
<33 Drew Davison
There are so many different ways to "Go Green". I think personally some of the best ways to help are so easy. I recycle but I still find myself throwing away things like milk cartons, pop cans, and newspaper. I'm going to make an effort to recycle everything I can. I noticed that in the Skyview cafeteria they took away the milk carton recycle bins. I have been wondering why. I know other schools use them, so why did they take them away? Another way we can help would be to use our cars less. Walking, running, or cycling is a great substitute and it is healthy for you. Think of how much more exercise you would get and you would also be helping our planet. Also, we have all heard the saying, "Go plant a tree." How many people do this? I think this year I plan to plant more plants. Maybe I'll have a garden. These are all ideas that can help make our world a better place. After all, who wouldn't want to live in a cleaner world?
i've started to take a bus to school even though i am able to get a ride so even just a simple walk can make a differences between the enviornment and also enjoy life while you still can<
There's so much we can do to help the planet get back on its ecological track. But I believe the most important one right now would be planting as many trees as possible, and cutting down on the amount of CO2 we emit. Out of all of the ecological problems we're having right now, pretty much all of it can be linked to global warming. If we don't act on it now we're all pretty much going to die. IF all of earth's ice melts, that raises the ocean 20 feet! That's major cities like NYC, London, Hong Kong, Tokyo, New Orleans, LA, all underwater. That would majorly pollute the water. And then the demand for freshwater would go up, and there won't be enough to go around. A lot of people will die.
Anyway, to end my rant, I believe we need to start acting upon global warming majorly. That's really gonna save the planet.
-Jacob Haun
Well our whole house already has all of the energy saving light bulbs through out the house. And we also recycle pop and beer cans and any plastic or cardboard that we have every week, so we have started and when I start driving maybe it will be pretty smart to get a ride from the bus to save gas and money.
Josh Davila
I think that it is amazingly important to conserve energy. What if we had no cars? Or if we cut down to only public transportation? At first it would be a real pain, but after a couple years we would adjust, and It would solve soooo many problems. It would cut down extensivly on pollution (helping stop global warming, in which I am a firm believer) and would solve our decreasing oil problem (or at least help.) Not only that, then people would be more likely to walk places, or ride a bike, etc...
Unrealistic, I know. But just to think about it is very important, because hopefully someday we will be able to help our earth before it really is too late.
This is a important things to becareful and I think it's up to us of use wisely if we know what is conna happen and I think this is a time we conna plan our life like using an economic life like save the food and don't spent or save money and plan where you go like if you go some where than write what you need than you come with all of it so you conna save your gas of going twise but it's up to you and what you think it's good to your life?????
B@be V@si
it would be easy if we walked instead of driving all the time. i walk everday to school and back home sometimes i get a ride sometimes.
Mindy Brooks
nown as smily
I think that people should ride their bikes or walk instead of driving. By doing so, we would accomplish two things. One, we would not use as much fossil fuel, and two, people wouldn't have so many health problems since they are getting exercise. By the way, those flourescent lightbulbs release radioactive waste that is actually worse for the environment than the regular light bulb.
its just like sara said; there are a ton of ways to go green. i think that myself and many, many more try really hard in helping people more than the earth. its not a bad thing, but we do tend to focus more on the people of the earth rather than the earth. in reality it is quiet funny, if we only focused on the other people around the world and not the earth, then eventualy there would be no earth. any way(i know, i know, me and my rambeling)one way we could all help, and i think this could help more than we think, is car pool. i now live out a bit farther, but there are a few kids that do go skyview; so if we all rode in one car, we would not only save ourselvs money, but we would help the earth as well.
so if you KNOW that you live close by, call me up and we can just car pool.
Hey, I think we should spend less time on the computer. It's wasting energy. I also think we shouldn't have to assignments that require going on the computer.
~Those who wish to remain anonymous
Those who wish to remain anonymous,
While I certainly understand and respect your wish, I must ask that you post your name if this is your comment to earn points. If you have already left a comment answering the question or are going to leave such a comment in the near future, then you can, by all means, remain anonymous for the remainder of your comments on this post. Thank you for your participation.
one of the new things i have seen on the organic clothing market (which by the way i LOVE and own a lot of organic clothes) is organic shoes. they are made out of hemp, leather, cotton and old recycled tires. the hemp, leather, and cotton is used for the tongue or upper part, and the recycled tires are used to make the soles of the shoes. not to mention these shoes are really cute, they also have many different types ranging from tennis to sandals to heels, and they are afordable. they cost as much as a new pair of nikes, adidas, sketchers, ect. I think people should not just think about how they get from place to place(car, bike,ect), but also what they wear from place to place.
-T
There's lots of ways to live more sustainably. Buy a SIGG water bottle, combine shopping trips all into one, ride bikes more often, walk, etc. But I agree with Dani. We really don't need to use so much energy on our looks which probably won't last more than ONE day anyway.
As for me personally, I can learn to live without looking perfect everyday (I probably don't look perfect anytime anyway), and I really want to get a SIGG bottle.
T*Bird
It would actually help if we could get some of the teachers here at Skyview to put a plant or two in the classroom. For instance, we spout plenty of carbon dioxide, why shouldn't we recycle that into oxygen right in the classroom? It also helps to soak in a half tub of water rather than take a short shower. Showers use more water.
Erin Stretch
I think that that in order to live sustainably, conserving water is a big part of it. Even if you take a small step in that direction, such as, using only as much water as is necessary. In example, taking a 15 minute shower instead of a 30 minute one, or turning off the water while you brush your teeth instead of letting it run. Another way to help is to conserve our electricity. Leaving various electronics plugged in, wastes electricity. I found a kind of cool gadget that charges things by solar power instead: http://gadgetgreeninspector.blogspot.com/2007/10/freeloader-solar-charger.html
Taking small steps to reduce pollution and live sustainably is a lot easier than it seems and can save you money in the future in utility bills.
-Miss Hannah "Former Camerawoman" Wilkett
Alright man, first of all, if everyone in the U.S. recycled everything they could, what do you think would be the impact? It'd be amazing how much that would help and this is just one country. Its not that hard to go find a recycle bin somewhere, most grocery stores have one relatively close. So ya, just recycle yall.
Terrell
i think a lot of people don't go green because it is more expensive than just living a "normal" lifestyle. This makes it harder for middle or lower income people to go green. For starter we could by only the food we need and we could buy eco friendly items.
Recycling, conserving our use of paper, using compact florescent bulbs, driving less (take the bus), and not littering are all important elements to living sustainably. The littering factor is particularly important in wildlife areas, where excessive human garbage can cause significant damage to organisms and their habitats. You can also invest in solar energy later on in life, since the technology is a little pricey. While we focus on sustainability regarding energy and forestry, I believe that helping to sustain animals is an important cause as well. For example, I would not buy Chilean Sea Bass, while, while an excellent fish to eat, I've heard, is being fished to dangerously low levels. The same is true of other animals, and as individuals, we can make some small impact if we try.
hmmm...
well something that im already doing to live more sustainbly is instead of driving everywhere, i walk to where i can. thats good for the evironment plus its good for me too :D
Hey Admin, really if you think about it, that sea bass will just be eaten by someone else. By not eating the fish, you are allowing someone else the pleasure of consuming the product. Same with all animals that are turned into food. No matter if you stop eating animal products or not, the world is still going to eat what they want to. I'm sure they would be thrilled to enjoy your portion of the fine animal produce.
~Those who wish to remain anonymous
um i think recycling is the simplest answer.
if everyone around the world recycled it would make a huge difference.
Breigh-Anna
Those who wish to remain anonymous,
That is an excellent point, and one I have considered in the past. It is true that if one individual boycotts a product, it will make no difference in and of itself. However, if just one person starts such a cause, they may spread awareness to multiple people, and perhaps the boycott will spread. It may seem like a stretch, and perhaps it is, but in my opinion, it's better to do something, and tell others that they should do the same, than to do nothing, participate in the destruction of a species, and be a hypocrite if you ever attempt to speak out against this issue.
i can eat more healthy organic food to reduce the processing of food and making of sugary products
i understand all of the ideas, but shouldnt we try to work together to accompish something, because if only One person does THEIR part, that doesnt means EVERYONE will do their part.
Mmm...we should all try to get one of those SIGG bottles.as a school we should all get one...it isnt much but its a start :)
-kelly green
WOW! Coming down to the end of one simple week and answering one simple question on how to live a simple and sustainable life. This simple question and some of the answers expose just how hard and easily it is to live in a way that is not detrimental to our planet. The way I see it! Everyone that is not part of the solution is part of the problem. Why do I keep hearing statements centered around one person can't make a difference. One person is the only reason anything has ever been changed.
So, to live simple this last weekend I made a choice to walk as many places as I could from the moment I got home from school on Friday night. It was grand and life just flowed along at a different pace. I noticed a lot of things that I probably wouldn't have noticed. Also, I waved at every person I saw too and that was fun.
My crazy scientific mind is telling me that simple is in!! You heard it hear Sunday April 13, 2008.
Goats are in, Charlie is in, second hand cloths are in, Sigg bottles are in, walking is in, Keller is in, bread made in Idaho is in, intelligence is in, galumphing is in, Chilean Sea Bass is OUT and non-believes are out!
oooh i like this one :]
ways to go green?
reduce your impact?
oh baby theres tons
yeah, recycling is huge..but im hoping that by now everybody knows that.
-something that i just learned a little while ago is that if you have something electronic plugged in [[like a phone charger, your computer, a toaster, a curling iron, your tv..etc]] it STILL uses up energy even if its powered off, thus contributing to all of that greenhouse gas.
-buying local produce from fruit stands is another biggie. it cuts down on shipping, and they dont use preservatives because the food theyre selling is actually fresh
-WATCH WHAT YOU BUY. use energy efficient bulbs, some of them can save you $17 on your parents next bill. nice right? next time you hit the mall, check out what you want to be wearing is made of..avoiding non-energy efficient products can send out a big message to companies. when you go to the grocery store, take a cloth tote with you. at a lot of stores, you can use those instead of their plastic bags. stay awaaaaaay from plastic.
-obviously, turn off the lights when you leave a room. that saves tons of energy! during the summer, shut the curtains during the day to keep out heat to cut down on the ac usage, and vice versa during the winter.
-buy a REAL water bottle. stay away from aquafina and dasani bottles. go buy your own reusable one. if the taste of regular water really bothers you that much, then get those little flavor packets that you can add to it. theyre great :] plastic bottles use energy to make the plastic and ship to your store..and can only be reused about three times before they get too germy to refill anymore.
-voice your opinion. if youre for actually making a change, then write a letter to the newspaper, to political leaders, to the president. let them know that youre not okay with what were doing to our world..and theyll listen. dont understimate your voice, youre bigger than you think.
-make biking cool. theres places in europe where almost everybody rides their bike instead of in their car. go for it, and dont be embarrassed..youre making a difference.
-turn the shower doooown. instead of pulling out the knob full force, push it in a little bit..that lets less water come through, but you barely feel a difference. and when you shave? turn it offff and then back on to rinse. take showers at night, because youre less likely to use as hot of water and that increases the chances of you taking a shorter shower. think about how much water and energy heating it up JUST YOU would save over a year
iiii should probably stop now
but thats just a couple of things we can do to help..my family and i have already started doing a bunch of stuff like that to try to help. if this is a big deal to you, check out www.wecansolveit.org its a great website and it has a lot of tips on how you can help
melissa schmidt
Post a Comment