How to Get Involved With Helping The Environment: Four Tips to Going Green

There's no doubt about it, the world around us is going green. We hear it everywhere: on television, in the movies, and in newspapers and magazines. It's a fact: everywhere you look, everybody's going green. But how can we translate this new green trend into our own lives, and how can we get involved? In this article, you'll learn four things you can do to help the environment.

Instructions

1. Educate Yourself. If you're interested in joining the growing ranks of citizen volunteers who really want to help make our world a safer, healthier, and more beautiful place to live, begin by educating yourself on the variety of environmental issues that plague our world today. It's not simply global warming and the problem of fossil fuels we're dealing with today, it's also local issues such as rainwater runoff, flood mitigation, and protection of local ecosystems. It's how energy extraction affects the environment; how the clear-cutting of forests affects ecosystems and atmospheric carbon dioxide levels; and how taking action in your everyday life is just as important.

2. Harness the Power of the Internet. The Internet is an excellent resource for researching environmental issues and organizations whose mission is environmental awareness, education, and action. For example, The Wilderness Society's website (www.wilderness.org) not only provides a wealth of information on the preservation of forests and wild places, but it also devotes an entire section of the site to what you can do to take action. Many local and national news outlets are creating websites devoted to environmental education, including MSNBC's Going Green website (www.msnbc.msn.com/id/17950339 /) and NBC's Green Is Universal (http://www.greenisuniversal.com/?extpar=nbc). The Microsoft Network (MSN) has created a very robust and informative website devoted to environmental issues and how to get involved. You can view their site and discover ways to take action by pointing your browser to http://green.msn.com.

3. Recycle. Though it may ring somewhat cliche, it's true - one of the best ways to become environmentally aware is to start recycling. It may sound simplistic, but you'll quickly find yourself learning why it is important to recycle, how it helps the environment, and the myriad of products that are made from recyclable materials today. If you don't have curbside recycling, ask your local library if they have a recycling dumpster on the side of the building you can dump your recyclables into (that's what I do every Tuesday). Once you discover the benefits of recycling, you'll have a greater appreciation for other environmental issues.

4. Volunteerism vs. Simple Everyday Environmental Activism. Here's the message I'd like readers to take home with them today. Taking environmental action is fun and simple, and it begins with doing little things in your everyday life. If you're especially motivated to volunteer for an environmental organization or become a grassroots activist, go for it! But environmental activism truly begins with each one of us and the things we do on a daily basis to make our world a safer, healthier, and more beautiful place to live.

Tips & Warnings

• Remember, you don't have to be a super-environmentalist to get involved with helping the environment. All it takes is a few simple eco-friendly acts per day, like recycling your milk containers or cereal boxes.

Resources

• The Wilderness Society
• MSNBC Going Green
• NBC Green Is Universal
• MSN Green