Letters to the editor: Finding ways to protect the environment

By Paula Wellnitz Orangeville

Editor:
This natural world is moving into the longed for days of spring. We hope we will see the greens of grasses, trees, and other plants, many of which we expect to see bloom.
We love all of this, yet are doing little to make it possible to keep it coming in the future. Well respected groups, like the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), who reports after a 20 year study by 2,500 knowledgeable scientists from 130 nations, that we must take action to reduce the over concentration of certain gases into the atmosphere in the next two years. Some of the effects of no action will be decreases of rain with consequential expansion of desert land causing food scarcity; melting icecaps will cause a rise in sea levels to flood islands and seaside land like the U.S. east coast.
These are things said often but derided by many. I can’t figure out why they deride, except that each of us must take responsibility in different ways to prevent this from happening and these people don’t want to do what needs to be done. They see that, it will, in the short run, change the source or amount of their income. However, not to do so will mean an end to their income for sure.
We have always been creative in developing new ideas as needed in this country and, actually, in the world. So we can continue to be creative. To encourage capable people to do this, we need to urge our legislators and public officials at all levels to do things in different ways to prevent, as much as possible the spread of these emissions. We can do things on a personal level to make this happen, also. The plants and flowers that bloom in the spring help use some of these emissions. But as they get too much they cannot keep up. We must work together with them so they will continue to bloom.
I feel sad when I hear people, whether local or media people or our government representatives, declaring that there is no global warming, nor are we affected health wise by chemical pollutants released into air and water and effected ultimately financially.
I will not try to prove such is so but just want to encourage all to do all they can to do one thing they see possible for themselves to preserve the tropical rain forests that are disappearing by the minute.
I could give several reasons for doing so, like preserving fresh water and keeping alive plants and other creatures that could enable us to cure diseases. Rather I’ll give a couple of ideas of things anyone can do. These are things like only using wood products and beef (Are you surprised at that one?) that do not come from destroyed rain forests; only use products from rain forests that are produced without cutting them down like: using shade grown coffee, resins, fruits, giving as you can to groups such as the Arbor Day Foundation that work to preserve and replant rain forest.