Q&A for How to Help Save the Earth

Because this world is ours. We live here. It's not just us. All the creatures live here. We're the only ones capable of thinking. We need to do something for the protection of our world. In fact, we're not only polluting the Earth; we are also acting as if we control nature in many ways, rather than acknowledging that we're very much a part of it and that its resources are finite. And we are the ones who can restore healthy interactions with Earth's systems, it's our responsibility.

Make a compost bin. Put dirt and all your waste into the bin and you have safe dirt to grow plants in. As the article notes, "This is an excellent way to cut back on waste and improve the health of the land you're living on at the same time."

Absolutely! In fact, a clothesline is a lot safer and gentler on your clothes than a dryer; you also won't have to worry about stuff shrinking. You may want to hang your colored clothes in the shade, however, so that they won't fade.

Scientists have speculated long-term risks to the future of Earth. Global warming, impact events, and nuclear warfare are commonly talked about scenarios that may severely harm Earth. Other scenarios include artificial intelligence uprising and depletion of resources due to overpopulation. Ultimately, the Sun's lifespan will come to an end, which will mean certain death for Earth as well, but that's billions of years away.

If pollution is not stopped, the air will become harder to breathe, our skies will become foggier, and water will become undrinkable. The soil could become hazardous as well, and the food pyramid will collapse due to animal extinction.

Institute collective planting of trees; teach kids not to litter; make students more environmentally educated.

Absolutely. Not nearly as time efficient, but certainly more environmentally friendly.

Unplug electronics that are not in use, turn off your power if you're using a surge protected outlet (so no electricity is going to your appliances), turn off lights in rooms that are not in use. Make use of the natural sunlight in your home (this is especially useful for homes with lighting issues). Switch incandescent light bulbs to LEDs. Only wash big things like sheets or towels in machine washer -- you can wash a lot by hand. Also, use cold water if you're using a machine. A lot of energy goes into heating up the water. Machines like the WonderWash are manually powered, but get your clothes really clean!

Individually, you can reduce your energy usage by turning off the lights and other electronics when you're not using them, use natural light instead of artificial light whenever necessary, use blankets instead of heating, etc.

Pollution, global warming, animal extinctions, environmental destruction, etc.

You can conserve it by only using the amount of water that you need. For example, you can turn the water off while you brush your teeth, and take showers as quickly as possible. Limit the amount of times per week that you do laundry or run the dishwasher.

Connect with organizations like the World Wildlife Federation for ways to help.

Yes, you can. Planting more trees will provide us with better air quality and animals with better homes. Recycling helps to reduce waste so that it can be re-used instead of going to landfill.

When you receive an envelope, you can carefully open it, causing as little damage to the opening as possible. Pasting a paper sticker, erasing, correction taping, or writing over any sensitive info like names would the second step. Then, you're free to use it as you like!

You can make sure that the lights and any electronic devices that you have are unplugged or turned off when they are not in use.

Yes. Even if you're 12, you can still help save our world. You can talk to your parent(s) or guardian(s) about saving more electricity, water, and discuss with them about doing volunteer work to clean up our earth. Talk about making a garden that's a great place for animals and wildlife. If your parents are against it, you can always do things like always turning off the lights and unplugging things, taking shorter showers and picking up any litter you see.

Your school could get involved in the local community. Making food from scratch lessens the footprint we leave on the environment.

Fossil fuels are hydrocarbons, primarily coal, fuel oil or natural gas, formed from the remains of dead plants and animals.

The environment will be in better shape to continue to host life.

Recycling in the workplace, encouraging car shares, buying fair trade and organic products for vending and coffee machines, having a fountain to refill plastic bottles, and avoiding disposable plastic cups for coffee machines. Source materials for production from environmentally friendly sources. Avoid trade with companies with bad environmental reps. Fundraise for an environmental group. Plant trees on company land or as a team building activity. A larger company could also pay for environmental speakers to visit local schools or even provide/subsidize local public transport.

Talk to your representative and senator about bills in Congress regarding climate change.

The above suggestions are practical. For more useful ideas, see Save the Environment at Home and related articles.

Because living while polluting is easier than living without polluting. It's not that we want to pollute. It's just that modern life has evolved into a quagmire of poor choices regarding our environment. There are many ways to slow down pollution listed in this article. We're now beginning to make eco-friendly choices, but we have a long way to go.

The best topic: Reducing Trash in the Environment. Every kid and adult can start picking up trash, bagging it, and asking local authorities to collect the bags of trash.

Stop the trash from reaching the oceans. That means cleaning up along banks of streams, creeks, and rivers, as well as roadways and forests. Clean up along the shores of lakes and dams. If we grab up trash at smaller places, it will be less likely to enter waterways and end up traveling to the oceans.

They can end up in the ocean as garbage and can be eaten by animals, killing them, and clutter landfills, as many people don't bother to check if the plastic they are throwing out is recyclable or not.

Pasture lands with clover to fix nitrogen,1 clover to six grass seed by weight. Eliminating the need for nitrogen fertiliser. Lengthen grazing season. Give over a small amount of land to shelter belts. These trees will fix CO2 and help reduce farm manure.

Who knows for sure? A lot of people say it's too late, but I don't believe that's the case. Having hope may be in folly, but it's sure better than living in despair. Do what you can to save the environment. Do what you can to bring about positive change. Maybe it's too late for us - I don't know - but it's never too late to hope, never too late to champion positive change for all.

Share the information with your class and fellow classmates in a presentation. A good idea would be to grow a plant or tree from seed and document your journey. Show people around you the value of nurturing life and protecting the planet.

Almost all councils have a recycling collection. Find information on how it works in your area. Once you have done that, get a recycling bin and some recyclable bin bags (bin bags are sold at most supermarkets). Collect the plastic in the bin/box until it is full, then put it in the bag, tie it up and leave it at the collection point nearest to you.