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Articles By Syndicated Columnist
Dan Thomas
© Copyright Home
Improvement Inside And Out
The
Environmental Impact Of Our Choices
Think about the concept of sustainable living as being a lot like
your family budget. If you spend more than you make each month and neglect your
bills as a result, the bill collectors start calling, and if you keep going down
the same path you will end up owing so much that you can not possible pay it
back. On the other hand, if you are careful with your monthly expenses (maybe
even saving a little,) you are able to live within your means and keep everyone
happy, especially yourself.
The planet is no different. Right now, its resources are being depleted far
faster than they can be replenished. The bill collectors are calling more and
more often and louder and louder each time. You start thinking bankruptcy is
the only answer unless something changes. It is the same for our resources.
Fossil fuels such as oil are becoming more difficult and more expensive to
bring out of the ground, and their reserves are dwindling. Burning fossil
fuels to provide energy for homes, vehicles, and industries emits carbon
dioxide and other greenhouse gases along with pollutants that affect the
health of the planet and its people.
Other resources are in trouble too including water. In some parts of the
United States, drought conditions are becoming more common and more
widespread. Debates continue about where to find sources of water to pipe in
from other areas, to dill into underground aquifers, or even to build
desalination plants to take the salt out of seawater. One possible effect of
global warming is the further reduction of groundwater sources. Decreasing the
demand, that people place on water sources is essential in order to continue
to have enough water to go around.
It is not too late to turn the situation around, but in order to make the
changes that the planet and its people need for a safe, healthy, prosperous,
and compassionate future need to happen quickly. According to the United
Nations, some parts of the world are nearing the tipping point, after which
the damage will be irreparable.
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