How work effectively promotes a cleaner environment

Cleaner environment how work effectively promote a cleaner environment? Will ? Macionis, John J. (2009). Society basics (10th ed.) Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Prentice Hall. Chapter 15: Population, Urbanization Environment Chapter 16: Social Change: Modern Postmodern Societies.

How can you work most effectively to promote a cleaner environment?

Reducing waste is perhaps the most effective and immediate way to produce a cleaner environment. Recycling, reusing, and trying to buy as few new objects as possible are all simple ways to reduce one's carbon footprint. This can include steps as simple as buying from secondhand stores, avoiding the use of products that cause needless destruction to the environment (such as those which contain palm oil), and using a refillable water bottle. "It takes 95% less energy to recycle aluminum than it does to make it from raw materials. Making recycled steel saves 60%, recycled newspaper 40%, recycled plastics 70%, and recycled glass 40%. These savings far outweigh the energy created as by-products of incineration and landfilling" (Recycling benefits, 2005, Recycling revolution). Electronics as well as paper, glass, plastic, and metals can all be recycled. Other simple actions can include not littering, encouraging friends and family members to engage in similar conservation efforts and even having a compost heap to recycle apparently unrecyclable items such as coffee grounds and egg shells.

On a larger level, reducing the consumption of resources is also an important step. Meat production is a tremendous drain in terms of the resources it requires to fatten an animal for slaughter, and cows in particular are environmentally damaging when used for food because of the carbon they release into the atmosphere. "if Americans were to reduce meat consumption by just 20% it would be as if we all switched from a standard sedan -- a Camry, say -- to the ultra-efficient Prius. Similarly, a study last year by the National Institute of Livestock and Grassland Science in Japan estimated that 2.2 pounds of beef is responsible for the equivalent amount of carbon dioxide emitted by the average European car every 155 miles, and burns enough energy to light a 100-watt bulb for nearly 20 days" (Bittman 2008). While it is probably not realistic to hope that every citizen becomes a vegan and buys a hybrid car, switching to a less meat-intensive diet, cooking rather than buying pre-packaged foods, selecting more fuel-efficient vehicles and reducing unnecessary driving are all ways to decrease waste and the strain upon the environment required to cater to the needs of a growing world population.

No single individual can rehabilitate the environment alone, of course. Every person must work to motivate others in the community to conserve. If one's local community does not have a sufficiently aggressive conservation campaign, citizens must step in and encourage the township to expand its efforts. Hosting a composting workshop and keeping citizens properly informed about the impact their actions can have upon others is paramount as a way of building a sense of responsibility regarding the need to 'go green' and to create a more symbiotic view of the environment's relationship with humanity. Some people may simply be not aware of how changing their consumption habits can affect the planet, or the carbon footprint left by their favorite products and foods. Having a farmer's market is a wonderful way to build a community, generate an interest in sustainable agriculture, and show people that eating less meat can be tasty as well as good for the planet.