As a pagan, I’m very serious about doing what I can to help protect Mother Nature.    I don’t know if we’re completely to blame for the “Global Warming” problem, but I’m sure we can do what it takes to stop adding to the problem.   Whether we take small steps or giant leaps, all of us as individuals and companies can do something to treat our Mother Earth better.
As an individual and a mother the ways that I have started to protect the earth is through reducing my waste, reusing whatever I can, and recycling whatever possible.  Reducing my waste is probably the hardest task in today’s consumable society.  Everything is “disposable”.  From the paper towels and paper dishes to our cleaning supplies.  Some of the things make life a little more convenient and a little less messy, but are they good for the planet?
Have you started using the disposable toilet bowl cleaners?  Don’t they seem just great!  No more icky toilet bowl scrubber to put back into its holder, but where does that flushable or disposable scrubber part go?  It’ll either go down the drain into our sewer system, which is already over loaded, or it will go into the landfill.  How long do those things last in the landfill?  I know I certainly wouldn’t want to find out!  Sure they make our lives a little easier right now, but in the long run, using a scrubber is better for the planet.
Reducing our waste, reusing things instead of throwing them away, and recycling whatever is possible is truly the best way for each of us to help protect our planet.  That’s as individuals, but what about businesses?
I am a small business owner, and I’m doing my part to reduce, reuse and recycle.  One of the ways that I have done this is by going 80% paperless.  The business that I do is completely via the internet, phone and fax.  By using a fax server to send any faxes we receive through my email, there’s no printing involved at all.  My previous employer wasn’t even 10% paperless, and we went through a full box of paper twice a day.
There are larger companies that are also doing their part in protecting the planet.  Look at what IBM has done with their Desktops.  IBM desktops are now being made with eco-friendly patents and sharing those patents with other businesses.  They promote energy conservation, pollution prevention, environmentally safe materials, and much more!  IBM isn’t the only one doing this type of thing either.  There is also apple laptops , Fuji Digital Cameras and other desktops companies that are all concerned and taking action.
If we all do even just one thing differently, we can make a positive impact on our planet.  We don’t necessarily have to make a huge change to our daily lives; small changes are all it really takes.  Lots of small changes by millions of people can make a huge difference.