Earth Savers Essay, Research Paper

The film showed many problems occurring with the earth today and what the individual can do to correct them. It showed many simple things that anyone can do to help out the earth. The five main categories in the video were recycling, saving endangered species, saving energy, saving water, and protecting the ozone.

The fist section of the film talked about what you can do to help reducing your waste. By buying products with little or no excess packaging you can lower the amount of garbage you have. Each person creates 4 pounds of garbage a day, and it is eventually going to catch up with us. The three things to remember are recycle, reduce and re-use. You can use recycled materials like egg cartons, paper bags, paper towels and recycled bottles. When you recycle you need to separate your trash into categories. Keep your papers, aluminum, tin, and glass in separate containers. Also never throw away used motor oil. One quart of oil pollutes 250 gallons of water. To recycle your oil buy an oil kit and call the recycling center for were to take it. Baby diapers are one of the major contributors to land fills. The country throws away 18 billion every year. The keep our land fills from overflowing we need to recycle, reduce, and re-use.

Another cause fir concern is our wasting of water. The average person wastes 100 gallons pr day. Most cities have to divert their water away from rivers and streams and there is a limit. To conserve water you should turn of the faucet while shaving, brushing your teeth, or flossing. Most water that is wasted in the home is toilet water. Forty percent of the water wasted in the home goes down the toilet. To lower this number you can fill a jug with water and put it in the water tank behind the toilet. Also you can conserve water in the shower, and sinks by getting a water restricter valve. When watering your plants or lawn do it at night when less will evaporate, or buy drought resistant plants. One major thing that you can do to help the conservation cause is write your president and force them to pass a broad ocean protection plan to keep the oceans clean.

The third major environmental problem the world faces today is the depletion of the ozone. This is causes primarily by CFC’s, but halons as well. Right now there is a hole in the ozone the size of the continental United States over Antarctica. If all the ice in Antarctica melted then weather would change and the oceans would rise. Without the ozone we risk skin cancer, crop damage, and amune system failures. To help stop the ozone depletion each individual needs to refrain from buying halon fire extinguishers, and only ozone safe aerosols. One chlorine molecule kills hundreds of ozone molecules for decades. Acid rain and snow are destroying entire ecosystems and we need to take responsibility.

The fourth problem facing the world today is energy wasting. Drafts in houses are a major cause of high heating bills. Half of the energy spent in the home is spent on heating and cooling. Stop wasting energy by weather stripping above and under all doors and windows. Also make sure tat the filter on the air conditioner is clean. The best way to save energy on cooling is to not use it at all of just use a fan. Also buy fluorescent light bulbs instead of the traditional incandescent light bulbs. The incandescent are must cheaper in the store but by the end of their life they will cost you about 65 dollars. The fluorescent bulbs last nine times as long, use less energy and will only cost you 33 dollars. The main reason that we always feel hot is because the earth is getting hotter. The carbon dioxide levels have increases tremendously since the invention of the automobile. Carbon Dioxide traps heat and is a contributing factor to global warming. To lower these levels buy fuel efficient cars and keep them in good shape by getting regular tune ups.

The fifth problem facing the earth today is the disappearance of many species of animals and plants. Each hour 3,000 acres of rain forest are burned, or cut down. One sixth of the earth’s carbon dioxide comes from the burning of the rain forest. It is predicted to be totally wiped out by the year 2057. To help save the rain forests boycott all wood furniture made of teak, mahogany, and iroko. Instead buy wood that is from deciduous climates like oak, pine, cherry, birch, and maple. Another way to help save the rain forest is to boycott all beef that comes from land that used to be part of the rain forest. The disappearance of animal species is also a major problem. Dolphin’s are killed by the hundreds just to catch some tuna fish. The drift nets that are used always catch dolphins as well as tuna because dolphins stay around tuna. To help solve this problem only buy tuna that has the label ” Dolphin Safe” on the side.

As you can see there are many things that you can do to help save the planet. If everyone did their part than the earth won’t overheat, get flooded, or get to polluted to live in. The video did a good job of describing to us problems, and then telling us what we can do to help solve them.

320