It's the end of the world as we know it.
It's the end of the world as we know it.
It's the end of the world as we know it and I feel fine.
Most of us know the refrain if not most of the lyrics to this R.E.M. song. But what is it that's changing our world so much and so quickly? It's us - our attitudes and behaviors, likes and dislikes, virtues and vices, triumphs and failures. All of these effect the way our world is and what it is becoming.
Just as our world can be changed in a negative way by one person, one group of people, one corporation, one nation - so too can it be changed in a positive way.
We know a world in many ways that is dying - our planet's natural resources are vanishing, our ozone layer is depleating, violence and terrorism are growing, and our rain forests are disappearing.
Let's make a pact this summer that we are going to end this way of viewing the world. Let's be our brother's keeper - our planet's keeper. As we are relaxing this summer, why not do things that will help our planet, our neighbors, and those most in need. What can we do?
- Recycle [paper, plastic, glass, aluminum, toner cartridges]
- Plant a tree [in your yard, your neighborhood park]
- Clean up a park [get involved in summer clean sweeps]
- Volunteer with a homeless organization or soup kitchen [help those in need http://www.bridgesoutreach.org/ - http://www.shelteroursisters.org/ - http://www.cfanj.org/ ]
- Volunteer at a local animal shelter to help pets find homes with loving families
- Tutor smaller/younger children
- Coach a team
- Plant a garden in your back yard - grow your own produce
- PRAY - we are our planet's keeper - our brother's keeper - our sister's keeper.
JUST GET INVOLVED. Make this summer vacation a memorible one for you and for those that you serve. You really can make a difference.
One problem...that ain't gonna happen (changing the world I mean) with ONE person, the world in it's entirety (or at least in it's majority) needs to gather around, open a coke, and do something...maybe a "global energy savers" day where the world sacrifices one hour of energy to save a large amount of resources and slow the decay (or thickening) of the ozone layer, maybe skip a meal once a month so we have enough to send eventually to 3rd world countries, ect. Problem is most people in the world (including the greedy hedonistic "ghost" that is me) won't bother doing this, so we're kinda screwed in that department. Although, if the world just does the tiniest things to better the earth physically and socially like helping around locally, it might not be a stretch to make some kind of difference; but hell, I'm just the 800 year old ghost in the room.
ReplyDeleteBy the way, R.E.M. sucks. The Police are where it's at:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wO9_tOdwF8A
As I am getting ready to leave for college in Kentucky, my visits to my future home have shown me a multitude of new things, one of which sticks out quite differently from the rest. I will be attending school in a very small country town, Murray, Kentucky. The overall scene of the town is a dry, quite place to reside surrounded by fields, farms, wilderness, and more farms and fields; this is entirely different from what we are accustomed to seeing around Bergen County NJ. The way that people seem to respect things around them (such as the land) out west is astonishing. Although there are much less people there than in our area, the amount of pollution is a minimum, barely seeing a plastic bottle on the roadside traveling down the local highway. This has inspired me to be more concious about my use of resources both outside of my home and in. Outside I plan on being more concious about recycling, polluting (why drive to work when it's just 5 minutes down the road?) and inside such as cutting down on electricity, turning off lights and TVs that arent being used, unplugging appliances (phone chargers and hair straighteners) when not in use. All together I plan on making a huge effort to give back to mother earth during my last summer in NJ, seeing how beautiful the environment can be in other areas of the nation really makes me want to make an effort toward changing areas such as my hometown.
ReplyDelete^To the Ghost: It is a shame that people have such a pessimistic view to help change the world for the better. Would it really kill you to make small changes in your everyday life to help the world become a better place? I really feel if each person changed just ONE habit that hurt the environment, we could really turn the world around. All it takes is for one person to make a difference in the world, and before you know it, others are inspired to do the same and take a stand. I just feel its very selfish and arrogant for people not to bother helping those in need. You may not realize it, but postive actions go a long way.
ReplyDelete