By Shannon Harper and Lucy Franks
Did you know that seals and turtles mistake plastic bags for jelly fish and choke on them? Did you know that the rainforest stretch of the planet has reduced from 14% to 6%? Did you know you could be saving your friends life by learning some basic first aid? Small things can make a difference to the safety and lasting of the Earth, if we all think this way.
Doing a few simple things that need much less thought than you think, can benefit society on a large scale, contributing to making a difference in this world. We are what we do, this is a fact.
‘We Are What We Do’ are an organisation set up to market positive actions and help people understand that what we do has an impact on everyone. Their website suggests many interactive ways of getting people of all ages involved. They have created a list of many beneficial actions, spreading their ideas widely across schools, in the hope of encouraging the younger generation to start turning these simple ideas into world changing actions.
Chewing gum is an everyday luxury for us however something so small could be the difference between destroying the planet and enjoying it. It’s messy, sticky and with the UK buying 1.000 million packets a year, there’s a lot of it out there! Costing almost double to clean up when it’s absentmindedly dropped on the floor, everywhere; chewing gum is becoming a problem in the appearance of our local communities. Why not just put the gum in the bin and not add to this sticky situation.
Also, just taking 5 minutes of your time to research and learn the recovery system could save someone’s life one day. If that’s too strenuous then perhaps a smile, pleasant and rewarding, an action with minimal effort but maximum impact. Another action that would really help is to donate lose change to local charities instead of letting it build up in your purse. Why not get your own back on T.V. and watch less; allowing it to no longer distract you from work? It might even make you feel good!
So, there are lots of small things that everyone could be doing in their daily lives and this is just the beginning of what could be achieved. So, the next time you go to turn on the T.V or spit your chewing gum on the floor, maybe think twice about it. Because one small choice of one small person can make a massive difference and influence others into joining you, helping to save YOUR planet.
