For many years, we have been becoming more and more aware of the environment. However, it also appears as though very little is being done to care for and protect our world, in which we can expect to inhabit for at least another 40 or 50 years. We hear via the radio, we see in the papers, yet we do nothing. How can we blame anyone but ourselves for the destruction of our communities, our countries and our planet?

Various organisations have continually been informing and advising us on how to use the law of the three Rs, how to protect our environment and how salvage the future. The future that our descendents face will be bleak if we do not do all that is within our power to save it. The future of our fauna, of our flora is, everyday, rearing ever closer to total extinction. Nature and animals that we have grown up knowing, enjoying will one day, not to far from now, be a distant memory.

But the information is out there! Sometimes we do not even have to move from our armchair or sofa to get it, thanks to the new medium of informing us – advertisements. For those of us who can’t find it in ourselves to actually take the extortionate length of time (around 20 minutes) to find out what this recycling malarkey is, then the government and various environ-organisations have, very kindly, made adverts that slot very nicely into the hour (or three) of TV that we watch daily. The information can be just a click away from what you are reading now.

What can we do without really making an effort?

1. Turn off the lights when we leave a room – we only want one set of Blackpool illuminations!
2. Take a shower in place of a bath – use fewer resources and come out smelling just as fine and funky-fresh.
3. Instead of throwing out old clothes, give them to children’s hospice or charity, e.g. Oxfam – they may be dead to you, but to someone else, they can make a world of difference
4. Turn the tap off whilst brushing your teeth – save resources and stop that urge to go to the toilet
5. Opt for Fair-Trade goods when possible –farmers and producers receive a higher percentage of the profit, cut down on the emissions produced by large factories and industrial estates, and the food tastes just as good (if not better)

Some of the most highly acclaimed and highly respectable organisations (such as ‘Friends of the Earth’ and ‘Greenpeace’) are very accessible and willing to help and advise on how to get you started. Small actions can lead to great changes. Changes must be made in the way we treat our environment. So why not start today? A plastic bag may just seem like a plastic bag to you now, but what if I told you that if you leave it in a field or on the side of a road somewhere, i.e. if you don’t put it in the recycling, it will take 100 years to fully disintegrate. That’s a long time.

In many parts of the word, particularly in mainland Europe, recycling is just a typical part of everyday life. We should all take a leaf out of the book of Germany or Spain, whose reaction to the pollution and destruction of the earth has been very notable and somewhat inspirational. The Use of atomic and radioactive energies is being abandoned, but not by everyone. The greater the need for energy, the quicker the production rate must be. Therefore, many companies are still using such energies with only the thought of cost and speed in mind. We must support alternative energy sources, such as wind turbines, or solar energy in our daily life in order to make an impact and shift our weight in this battle against devastation, destruction and disaster. It may be a little pricey to have solar energy cells at first, but once that payment for the equipment has been paid, the energy is free. The sun will exist for a substantial length of time, it produces no toxic waste, does not pollute the environment in any way, and it is free!

I am urging you to make a conscious effort – do something! This world that you live in is gradually diving into a dark abyss. See what can happen if just one household changes its habits. So when you next walk past the rubbish dump, just think –you can make a world of difference.