The biggest concern
for me is deforestation…
Did you know that 95%
of forest areas in the US alone have been cut down, & over 50% worldwide? This
is only going to get worse as regions of the world become more commercialized.
Forests cover 30% of
the land area on our planet and they produce vital oxygen & provide homes
for people & wildlife. Many of the world's most threatened & endangered
animals live in forests. With the decrease in forest areas, wildlife that
previously lived there have nowhere else to go & die as a result. Can you
imagine being run out of your own home? It would be devastating & animals
don't deserve it either! The National Geographic reports that rain forests
could completely vanish in a 100 years at the current rate of deforestation;
here are some astonishing facts:
- 46-58 million square miles of forest are lost each year – that’s equivalent to 36 football fields EVERY MINUTE!
- Around 17% of the Amazon forest has been lost in the last 50 years.
- More than half of the world's timber & 72% of paper is consumed by 22% of the world's population.
- Over 30 million trees are cut down every single day in the world.
- Over 5,000 products are made from trees.
- In the time it takes to read this article, an area of Brazil’s rain forest larger than 200 football fields will have been destroyed.
- It takes 200 years to grow a forest tree. It takes 20 minutes to cut it down!
1) Designate a room in
your office where you can place recycling bins; I designated the copy room and
put a bin for paper as well as plastic which is what we mostly consume here.
2) Contact your County
Recycling Coordinator; by law your County is required to provide the opportunity
to recycle at least 4 out of the 8 following materials: newspaper, glass,
aluminum cans, plastic bottles, steel cans, cardboard, office paper & yard
trash. Your local Recycling Coordinator will be able to provide you with
specifics on what materials are accepted in the county program as well as a
service provider’s contact information.
3) Plan a meeting for
everyone in your building or office to announce the program, teach everyone what
goes in which bin, encourage & praise participation & follow-up via
memo & newsletters as often as possible. Consistency is key to any successful
program.
-
Today, I had an management
meeting with all of our staff including security & housekeeping advising them that beginning
today we are to implement a RECYCLE POLICY with no excuses (I handed out memos
of what items are recyclable). To encourage the new strategy, we will be doing
a survey at the end of each month and the employee who has done the most
recycling will get a $25.00 gift card to the restaurant and also a tenant of
ours, The Cheesecake Factory.
Take action today as well & start a recycling program at your office, school or even at home. Trust me it’s easy and rewarding; start today to make a better future for your children tomorrow; and if you don’t plan on having children, at least save the poor little animals in forests throughout the world!! Don't know where to begin? Below are some links that will give you more information on where to start...♥
"Whatever you do will be insignificant, but it is very important that you do it." - Mahatma Gandhi♥
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