Green Side Out - The green lifestyle

The average individual that lives in a large metropolis environment is generally very learned when it comes to the topic of recycling. This is largely due to the fact that recycling is highly promoted in the larger cities. In many urban areas it is even a solid requirement. Unfortunately, this impressment of recycling facts does not generally extend to the average suburban or rural communities, of which comprises the large majority of the United States, as well as on a global scale. One interesting fact is that many of the more rural citizens still burn their trash and haul metal off to the junkyard where it gets buried deep underground, or alternately many people will simply find a remote gravel road and toss the trash off into the bushes. It is a sad fact that, even with the environment on a gradual downfall, individuals still will not take it upon themselves to make a difference. Let’s take a look at the facts of recycling.

Fact 1

First, there is the issue of greenhouse gases. Most people know that greenhouse gases are the result of factories, so how could recycling effect this growing problem? It’s simple, one of the vital recycling facts is that as greenhouse gases are the result of the factories that actually make the recycled product in the first place. If you recycle, that is less of that product that must be created in the first place, producing less greenhouse gas emissions into the atmosphere.

Fact 2

Recycling saves our resources. Of course, most people think that phrase is referring to the man-made resources that the large corporations have stored back. This is partially true, but the real positive aspect of recycling facts in this instance is the resources that are taken from the earth itself. Metal, for example, is the final result of ore taken from the ground. Cardboard is resourced from trees. When we recycle, we guarantee that these resources will last longer.

Fact 3

One of the more important recycling facts is that recycling can save our water supply and the millions of breeds of freshwater and sea life that live within. No matter how you go about it, when you make items out of any kind of industrial material, you have a certain amount of leftover “scrap.” Much of this excess is in the form of liquid chemicals and inevitably ends up in our water. The result is tainted water that we drink and the loss of life for many forms of aquatic life. The only other alternative is to bury it in the ground, where it destroys the earth and will eventually become a serious issue. Recycling, however, greatly decreases the amount of scrap material left over, and therefore extends the life of not only the planet, but the creatures therein.

Fact 4

The fourth and final of our recycling facts, and possibly the most important of all the recycling facts, is that you can change the world. All too often we hear the same old lame excuse, “I am only one person. I can’t make a difference.” This seems like a logical statement. Nevertheless, what if you took a moment, one single second in time, and looked a little deeper into this thought. Ask yourself this; what if everyone in the entire world were to say, “I am only one person, and I CAN make a difference.” If that were to happen, then the entire world would begin taking the extra few minutes a day to recycle their waste products and, for centuries, make the world a healthier and more beautiful place for our children.