Little Green Recycling Day

Social psychologists began researching recycling behaviors in the early 1970’s while studying the effectiveness of beverage bottle deposit programs (Osbaldiston & Schott, 2012). As concerns increased about the impact of solid waste production on the environment, social psychology has sought an understanding of what factors motivate individuals to recycle (Osbaldiston & Schott, 2012). With recycling rates leveling off at 35%, there is a need for practical knowledge that can be put into use by policy makers to encourage more recycling behavior,

Recycling has been the environmental crusade to reducing the human footprint, with it’s spotlight shining down on in recent years. It was the noblest of causes, recycling being a great idea for the environment and society; but it is being handled poorly. Its modern descendant has turned into a corporate scheme with recycling becoming a business, instead of being about the environment because marketers are using environmentalism as a excuse for overconsumption, recycling products are only being recycled for profit, and cities & big business use inflated numbers to attain media attention. Let’s now take a look at the bread and butter of

“Waste” is a short essay in which Wendell Berry critically analyzes the growing epidemic of trash that is polluting the nation’s land, waterways, and the air. Berry explains to the readers how the remnants of floods and litter that leave farmlands scattered with trash, makes more work for the farmers who have to rid their land of the trash before they can use it. Along with the floods, roads and highways also lead to a barrage of garbage from people who are too lazy or ignorant to take proper care of their garbage, which Berry claims leads to “. . . a constant precipitation of cans, bottles, the plastic-ware containers of fast food joints, soiled plastic diapers, and sometimes whole bags of garbage,” (Waste 1) along the edges of their fields. The garbage of the country continues to be a burden for everyone, whether it impacts them directly or not. Although it would be impossible to eliminate garbage completely from the country, the waste could be greatly reduced. Most of today’s trash is a consequence of the laziness of American society.

Author Derrick Jensen states in “Forget shorter showers,” that simple living will not solve the environmental problem. First, the water, energy, and waste used by industries and agriculture are far greater than the amount used by families. Next, switching to more green technology can still cause more damage than it is intended too. Finally, placing the blame on simple living people is not where the actual problem lies. Orion contributor Derrick Jensen argues, “Municipal waste accounts for only 3% of the total waste production in the united states” (341).

As The World Burns: 50 Simple Things You Can Do To Stay In Denial, by Derrick Jensen and Stephanie McMillan, is a graphic novel about the state of our environment. They use cartoons and abundant sarcasm to convey the message that the attempts people are making to save the environment are not enough to do any real good. Their message challenges both those of Edward O. Wilson and the University of Connecticut in that Jensen and McMillan’s ideas are much more radical and suggest that the ideas posed by Wilson and UConn, such as the importance of recycling and sustainability efforts, are ineffective at saving the environment. We must resolve the challenges posed by Jensen and McMillan so that all of the ideas put forth in the sources may work together rather than against each other. In order to do this we must accept that some of the ideas given by Jensen and McMillan may be too extreme to do any real good and that the ideas suggested by Wilson and UConn, though slightly ineffective, are nonetheless important steps in saving the environment. Taken alone, none of their ideas will save the environment; instead it is necessary to combine the ideas of Wilson, UConn, and Jensen and McMillan in order to create a more realistic plan to save the planet.

Pollution is an issue that could potentially cause damage and recycling conveys an important role. An issue we currently phase is trash segregation, students aren’t recycling or separating trash as they should. As mentioned earlier, mindset is just as important as action - they have careless, ignorant mentalities. What my project proposes, are two main part the action and the mentality transformation. The action idea is to develop as community service recicle trashcans with that from the outside look the same as what its entering in them, an example could be a trash can full that physically look like a plastic bottle, so students only troth there there plastic

In chapter one, they discuss how the mayor of New York at the time, Michael Bloomberg takes away recycling. He says it would save New York 40 million dollars. Many of the citizens were disgusted by this decision, yet not many people took the initiative to change this. Considering this was a state law, was enough confusion in itself. In the beginning stages, it felt as though only an individual that was powerful, or well known to the public, may be the only way to change this scenario. When in fact it could take just a regular old citizen to make a change. Talking to your friends, co-workers, neighbors, and local politicians can be a start to fight for a change you believe in. Jennifer, and Amy decided to do their research. They thought possibly paying out of pocket for people to have their recycling collected could be an option. Or even having homeless people sort the recycling, and return the bottles, and cans to collect money would be another option. That didn’t work,

Everyone knows that littering is bad for the Earth, and people do try and keep the Earth clean by cleaning up after others and themselves. But some people take it to the next level. Some people will act as if they are superheroes protecting the Earth from trash. Like in Dave Barry’s “A Couple of Neat Guys” the characters do this, which is a high comedy that uses verbal irony, hyperboles, and much more. Barry reveals the universal truth by about showing how some people do really care about how the Earth is and how it shouldn’t be a landfill everywhere.

After moving into the area Brian began to notice the little things that he missed from The Mission. He thought about the art, the people, but most importantly the beauty of the Mission, the flowers, the nature, the community gardens, and the lush green that was still everywhere even though he was in the heart of the city. This yearning for something naturally beautiful in his space was the catalyst of his inspiration to begin the creation of community gardens in West Oakland.But these weren't just the creations of community gardens ,they were the beginning steps to clean air and a healthy environment in places all around West Oakland. But Brian recognizes that one of the biggest challenges in the creation of these gardens is the acceptance of them in the community. And even though it seems like this is something that everyone would want he recognizes that the push back that happens is out of fear. He sees that this is a community who only only see’s receiving nice things as a means to an

How will I help our environment? I will be partnering up with Karlie Ramirez, we have decided on the 21st of October to head up to Giant Rock, located in Lucerne Valley. Over the years mankind has polluted our air drastically, consequently we throw trash on the ground and in our oceans. At worst is air pollution. Exhaust fumes, Radiation spill or nuclear accidents It creates an adverse effect on the overall environment. We put fumes and gases in our air on a daily base and How does this affect our environment? As some of us have seen It kills wildlife and is currently putting a hole in our Ozone Layer. Karlie and I will be heading to pick up trash, approximately for about 5 hours. Before we can move forward, there are a few steps we will need to complete before the 23rd of September. Moving Forward to our first step, will need to speak to our parent about purchasing a few items. Such as, trash bags, gloves and water. Moving on to our Second step, discussing where we will be disposing of all trash we pick up. When you make a point of doing everything you can to help your environment by recycling, your actions make you part of the solution rather than part of the problem. Our third step, talk to our parents about transportation and Location in Giant Rock. After these steps, Karlie and I will be ready to help our earth function and breathe, on the 21st of October. (Here we come Giant Rock!) Everyday items such as soda cans and plastic bottles can be deadly for unsuspecting wildlife.

According to “Takepart”, Alex Lin read a newspaper article in 2004 about how e-waste is 70% of toxic waste. A few years later Alex and a couple of his school friends collected computers to refurbish. Today, Alex has seven computer refurbishing centers around the world. He said "With the advent of the computer in the 1970s, electronics use has increased exponentially, bringing with it ever-increasing amounts of waste. In the majority of the world, this waste is improperly disposed of, resulting in untold damage to the environment.” That one newspaper article inspired Alex to help the environment and now many cities have adopted e-waste and refubishing services. Another teen named Faye Carey wrote a paper to try to inspire people to adopt abandoned pets. According to “News Hub” Faye Carey volunteered many hours to help abandoned animals find a home. She rescued so many animals that there wasn’t any more room for the animals to live at the shelter. So, she created a Facebook page to spread the word to adopt animals, mostly dogs. Articles about teen activism can inspire young people like Alex Lin, and be the inspiration in others, like the one article Faye Carey

(claim of value) The United States’ educational system does little to promote “green” living or to enforce environmentally-friendly policies within the school system. Within the local educational system that I am part of, this fact is apparent. Glen Allen has prepared me to start living a “green lifestyle” only by means that I have

One hot, summer day, while walking through downtown Chicago, a man holding a sign caught my attention. Generally, in downtown Chicago, when you see a man holding a sign, you expect it to request money or food. Instead, this sign read, “Help the world go green. It’s time we became eco-friendly”. The middle-aged man sported a Bears t-shirt and shorts with a orange-rimmed visor. He looked the part of a normal Chicagoan. Why is this man spending his day advocating for such a cause? I reflected on everything I had seen earlier that day. Walking down Wabash Avenue, I could see empty disposable cups from fast food restaurants gathering on the street curb. Each garbage can that I passed seemed to be more full than

Recycling is presently one of the most controversial topics, considering that while most individuals put across their support regarding the act the number of individuals who actually do something in order to recycle is much smaller. Many people are currently unable or unwilling to recycle properly because the process often requires a series of changes in one's life. It is thus essential for the authorities to provide educational programs meant to assist individuals in understanding why recycling is important and in learning how to recycle effectively. People need to accept the fact that the benefits of recycling will reflect on the future and that conditions are currently critical as a result of the fact that the masses are generally unacquainted with the importance of this process.

A worker at a paper factory in Illinois states, “Then the issue was saving a tree. But trees are replaced. We plant them, we cut them, we plant them again” (Pendleton). The worker also said, “The problem now is the landfill situation, I think this one is going to stick” (Pendleton). By 1991 thirty-nine states and hundreds of local governments have passed laws or solutions requiring the purchase of recycled paper. According to Henry Miller, vice president of a paper mill said, “By volume, thirty-eight percent of solid waste in a landfill is paper and cardboard” (Pendleton). That paper and cardboard, if recycled could have produced that much paper or other products and it would have cleared up thirty-eight percent of many landfills across America. One major way to get people involved with recycling is the environment perspective. Not only would the landfills be cut down the environment gains a lot by having people recycle. So what do the states do to keep the environment clean? They enact laws against litter and waste. One way is the state requiring the deposit on beer and soft-drink bottles and cans (Prichard 8A). In those states, millions of bottles and cans that once were left on beaches, tossed in rivers and parks or thrown along the highways are being taken back to stores instead for a refund. A twenty-year old student from Michigan said, “Throwing away cans is like throwing away money to me” (Prichard 8A). These state laws must be working if people have this