Ghosh 1

Rik Ghosh

Schild

Speech Communication

01 December 2010

Green Living: It’s worth it.

In the world, humans are making use of natural resources that will cause them to run out
in the near future. In addition, the ways in which humans use them are destroying the earth.
Human dependence on forests, fossil fuels, and multiple other raw materials must change, and
for this to happen, all humans must look to their morals and values, and think: What are my
actions really doing to the world? By environmentally contributing to society, the earth may be
saved. Humans must collectively collaborate, and make a united decision to “go green”.

Human behavior, as in dependence on fossil fuels, wasting, etc. is causing the earth to
deteriorate. There is clear evidence that this deterioration is happening. Already, changes in
climate in China, due to deforestation, have rendered about 14 million people homeless. This is
clearly not a good event, and similar events will likely occur if humans continue current
behavior, and do not stop to think about their actions. In addition, many scientists and journalists,
such as Eugene Linden of Time Magazine, say that humans are actively contributing to this
deterioration. In a 2000 issue of Time Magazine, he says that, “ [the] Earth is one big natural
system and that torching tropical rain forests and destroying coral reefs will eventually threaten
the well-being of towns and cities everywhere.” This obviously makes it clear that whatever
people do to forests and other natural resources will affect their daily lives, whether directly or
indirectly. This is exactly the problem with someone who thinks that just his/her actions will not
really affect the earth. The truth is that it will, either in a good way or a bad way. This state of
mind, coined environmental laziness, is only multiplied by the problem of high prices of
environmentally friendly products.

Current market climate makes “green living” unaffordable, or just “not worth it” for
many families. This is probably one of the main reasons that “going green” is not as popular as it
could be. While shopping at the hardware store, or supermarket, one is likely to find the cost of
“green” items to be significantly higher than “normal” items, sometimes even twice the price.
Even environmentalists such as Josh Dorfman think “it’s sometimes difficult to weigh the
environmental impact of a choice, especially when it’s coupled with financial considerations.”
He mentioned this in a 2007 interview with NewWest.net. This is clearly a problem to begin
with, but if this is the case, humans need more persuasion, and they must realize that every
person needs to, and can make a difference. Some people may think that “green living” is just a
hype or fad, but this is absolutely not true. Currently, humans may not be informed enough, or
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worse, despite their morals, just do not care. This is mainly what needs to be improved upon, but
if minds cannot be changed, prices must be lowered, and there are many ways to do this.

Even if green products are out of reach for financially lacking families, even smaller
changes can be made, and will help a great deal. Changes such as changing all light bulbs in
houses to compact fluorescent bulbs, will help the environment and save money. In addition
using reusable water bottles reduces the cost of constant purchasing of disposable water bottles,
and cuts down on waste as well. Even just recycling all recyclable goods will make a big
difference. To take this further, even large product manufacturers should help. Companies should
promote recycling, and promote their green products, rather than just sell it “on the side”. In
addition the government could offer tax rebates for offering green products so they will be more
affordable, as the production cost cannot really be lowered. If ideas such as these are taken into
consideration, and if people reflect on their morals when acting then humans will most probably
be able to enjoy the earth for many years to come.