LIBRO: YOU ARE HERE

CAPÍTULO: Where to spread your wings (Home: Santa Monica, California)

Jineth Daniela Garcia Ostos- ​jdgarciao@unbosque.edu.co

Natalia Zamudio Vargas- ​nzamudiov@unbosque.edu.co
Ingeniería Ambiental- 2020-II

We need to start being conscient about the way our habits are transforming the planet, like for
example our clothes, the public services and the products we buy for our regular activities. Nowadays,
the companies have decided to develop new production procedures to acknowledge the importance of
starting to create new sustainable products, reducing waste and proposing initiatives to stop using
unnecessary packages. But it is also a change that we need to start as a consumer, because it's our
responsibility to buy sustainable products and big sizes instead of small portions of the product. It is a
massive challenge, as a consumer and producer, in order to start a mindset to transform the production
in Colombia, by proposing new marketing campaigns, replayzing plastic products, and stopping using
non organic clothes, the planet will appreciate it.

Regarding water resources, one of the examples given by the author was the Eastern Garbage Patch
(The oceanic garbage patch occupies a large and relatively fixed area of ​the North Pacific Ocean, The
size of the affected area is estimated at 3.4 million km², which represents seven times the surface of
Spain). That´s why we need to take care of all water resources and start from home, when we brush,
bathe, wash dishes, wash the car, where this water can be reused for other household activities. On the
other hand, it is important not to throw solid waste in the bathroom, dishwasher, among others, since
the treatment they do to the water after it leaves the house does not ensure that the capacity of this
treatment prevents suspended particles from reaching the effluent that is discharged to the marine
environment and in this way can affect both species of flora and fauna.

The author reflects the importance of knowledge about what we consume and discard in our daily
activities, from the time we get up until we go to bed. In the case of energy resources, the impact of
artificial light represents a notorious increase in the economy and its result impacting directly the
environmental resources, which are less year by year, since citizens have used to depend on light
bulbs instead of using natural sunlight in their work or daily activities.