By Holly Kafka
Have you ever taken the time to notice how littered Havre appears sometimes? Actually, nine times out of ten, you do not have to look very hard! Last week in one of my classes, we became caught up in a conversation about a very similar matter: unrenewable resources, the environment, and recycling.
From the time we first began grade school, we have been taught not to litter and not to waste things such as water, paper, or electricity. (Come on, how many times have our parents had to yell at us to get out of the shower?) Our class had many comments on issues concerning the environment, but I believe the most interesting point actually came from our instructor. She confessed to us that she felt our generation to be the most wasteful in most of history, even though we are most aware of the problems facing the environment and ways to help cut down on pollution that the generations before us. I do not know if her comment struck everyone else like it did me, but I felt almost guilty for not thinking more in depth on this matter before.
True, in our area, recycling is limited. It is hard to find a place to recycle glass and plastics, and we are not as fortunate as bigger cities that are able to put recyclable materials in a bin next to the Dumpster to be picked up by the city every week. Unfortunately, many of us use this as an excuse not to recycle. How can we expect our world to be beautiful for our children and grandchildren if we do not take care of it ourselves?
Another topic that arose during our discussion was the use of resources that are limited, such as gas, lumber, and water. Many people do not limit the length of their showers anymore. Cruising is a common way to use gas. Most of us go through more paper in a day then we will ever realize. With everyone else doing the same around the world, we deplete our resources at an amazing rate every year! Over time, these resources can be renewed, but it is definitely not an overnight process.
It is time for us to take a step back to really look at the way our earth has become. Is it the same as when we were born? No. Do we take as good of care of it as we possibly can? Probably not. Will it still be enjoyable for the generations to come? That is up to us.
Until next week, have a safe and fun weekend, Havre!
