I’m me and you’re you. I bet that we are uniquely different in some ways and slightly the same in others. But there is one thing that everybody can share. One thing that kind of links us together… We live in this Earth. We were born in it, raised in it, and at the end we will die in it. Remember too that we came with nothing that means we depend so much and take from it and now it’s time to give back!!

When I say give back, I mean help and save this planet we live in, our natural Earth, by caring for it. We don’t do that ENOUGH and I’m not proud to say that I don’t do it ENOUGH either. You see, what we do is POLLUTE. With so many of our actions, we pollute so much that the ice is melting all the way in Antarctica! Ask me… I’ve been there and seen it!! Not joking.

Apart from the melting ice, pollution is bad for our health and taking a good care of the environment is the answer. So what is pollution? Pollution occurs when harmful contaminants are introduced or released into the natural environment that causes unwanted changes. This can be in form of air, soil, water, and many more. Do you want to know why and what you can do to help? Let’s see the types:

  • Land Pollution: is when is when we litter, when there are oil spills in land, when we use pesticides in the soil and more. Solution: Don’t litter, throw things out in their right place, and don’t use so many chemicals.
  • Water Pollution: When natural bodies of water are contaminated by illegal dumping, raw sewage running into the water and more. Those cause fish and other species to die. The safety of drinking water should cause concern. Solution: Same as Land Pollution; please don’t litter, conserve water at home.
  • Air Pollution: Air polluting is when chemicals are released into the atmosphere. One of the most common chemicals includes carbon dioxide. Carbon dioxide is released into the air when we turn on the lights or zap a piece of pizza in the microwave. When we ride to school in our parent’s conventional car. Those big factories you see looming in a near empty field of yellowing grass, with gray puffs coming from a pipe in the roof, those factories release carbon dioxide too. Solution: Carpool, take school bus or public transit, unplug or turnoff unneeded lights, in other words preserve air quality.

Again let’s see the other ways you & me can help:

Save Trees: I’m sure at your school you may have planted a sapling or learned about trees, right? Well trees are our protector and I can’t stress that enough. Trees absorb carbon dioxide from the air and remove it not to mention also releasing oxygen for us to breath. We cannot survive without Oxygen. As you can see cutting trees would be a bad idea so why not plant trees instead.

Plastic Bags: When I say that word, grocery shopping may come to mind among other things but does “dangerous” come to mind or at least “Bad for the environment”. If you thought at least one of those two statements give yourself a pat on the back… I’ll explain to you why these words should come to mind.

When we go to Walmart and buy a ton of stuff that range from a cute black top to asparagus, we usually take all of them home in a smiley Walmart plastic bag. Ok so what? Well when you throw these bags out they don’t decay for 1000 years. If you throw them out on the ground they release unhealthy toxins that are bad for both the environment and your health. These plastic bags can also be picked up by the wind and dropped into the Pacific Ocean perse and clog up waterways or a poor beluga whale could try to eat it and die. I don’t want that and neither should you. So now when get those plastic bags consider ‘reusing’ them or even to be an environmental friendly buddy consider using reusable or cloth bags to hold your groceries.

A quick note: Is taking out garbage on the garbage day’s part of your house chores? I do. Regardless, for garbage collection; please follow your waste collection schedule and put everything wasted or recycled in the proper bin as per your municipality program. You’ve heard: reduce, reuse, and recycle; start at your home. That’s one of the best ways you can help and save our planet. Ever heard of the saying “Ignorance is Bliss”? That would imply in certain situations where you’re happier not knowing the truth. How about when we blissfully ignore the fact that we are taking from the world and not giving good things back. The truth is sometimes we don’t know the impacts of our every actions and if we know, then we just need to start to care and if we care, we just might start to take positive actions and if take action we just might change the world for better.

Do your part!!

Serena Wambura