August 29, 2018
Inspire Our Kids . . . and Yourself!
Part 4 of a Series on the Environment from the Question Line Duo
From Jeannette:
I became passionate about ecology in 1971, when I was eight years old. My third grade teacher showed our class a film about pollution. That's all it took. I couldn't believe what we humans were doing to trash our world, pollute our air and water, and I was incensed. Back at home, that afternoon I started "The Ecology Club," voted myself in as president of the club and made my best friend in the neighborhood vice president (I didn't give her a choice in the matter. Fortunately, she was willing to humor me and help!) I made badges, stickers and signs, then announced to my family I was on a mission to stop littering. Off we went, me and my best friend to clean up litter in our neighborhood. I wish I could say we made a difference. I still pick up litter nearly every day on my rural, gravel road.
My ecology club didn't change much, but that teacher changed my view of the world and awoke in me a deep care for our environment that played a role in my landing at Perelandra twenty-two years later. Perelandra is changing this world like no other place I know.
Your new mission, should you choose to accept it:
We ask you to share this information about the plastic problem with one young person in your life. (Or go big and share our environment solutions every week!)
Help that young future environmental warrior with a project to change family habits, change his school's habits, wake up the community or get the neighbors committed to reducing plastic waste. No kids in your life? Talk to a teacher, pastor, scout leader or someone you work with who has kids and encourage them to share this with the kids they teach. Offer to help them with a simple lesson plan or presentation.
Some of these videos and multi-media articles are rather stark. If they don't motivate everyone who sees them to make at least one simple change in their habits, we don't know what will!
Thank you National Geographic working to educate us on this disaster. And thank you for these very simple solutions:
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Always bring a reusable bag when you shop.
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Carry your own reusable water bottle.
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End littering. Properly dispose of your own trash. Pick up litter when you can.
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Tell your server "no straw, please" when you order a drink.
How do you tell a young person how to work with nature on their project?
Kids generally have no problem accepting they can talk to nature. So when they start their project, just tell them they can ask nature to help them. All they have to do is say out loud, "Nature, I am starting a project to _____________________ (let the child/teen use their own words here!). I would like your help, please."
You can do that too! It really is that easy to talk to nature and get help.
Or take it a little further and use the simple approach we've been recommending.
1. Choose your start point.
Name your goal. This is your DDP (definition, direction and purpose). Here are a few examples:
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Teach my nephew about the problem with plastics.
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Work with my employer to eliminate straws, plastic water bottles and plastic utensils in our workplace.
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Give a volunteer presentation at my local library on the plastics problem.
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Set up my home and adjust my buying habits to minimize plastic waste.
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Write to CEOs of the stores I shop regularly, asking them to get with the times and eliminate plastic bags. [Fortune: Phase Out Plastic Bags]
Got the idea? Don't complicate it. You'll see better, quicker results when you keep it this simple.
2. Take your goal to nature.
The easiest way to begin is to follow the instructions given in Idea #9 of this article, inserting your DDP to eliminate plastic waste: