Climate change has been happening for decades. The Earth getting warmer happens naturally; however, humans have only made it worse. From littering to not picking up your dog’s poop, we are only making the situation worse.

However, there are ways to overcome this and help save the Earth! You can pick up trash or plant a tree. You can become vegetarian, do meatless Mondays, or make sure you buy meat products from sustainable/nonindustrial farming/free-range (aka grass-fed) practices. Also conserve energy by washing your clothes in full loads, turn off the lights when you don’t need them on, wash full loads of dishes and remember carpooling/public transportation is better than just driving by yourself! The less driving, the better. Keep in mind that even just picking up one piece of trash can make a difference! Trying to reduce waste is another great way. An easy way to reduce waste is to buy 1 big bag of chips rather than a bunch of small ones. When you pack your lunch use reusable bags and containers instead of plastic bags. Even something as simple as eating all the food on your plate at dinner can help!

Morgan Kelly a student at GHHS, stated, “Meat is a big part of our food culture in the US, and it’s definitely a great source of protein, but it has many, many environmental consequences. The process of raising animals is to eventually be made into meat requires so many resources and so much space! From carbon dioxide emitted while transporting livestock or food/antibiotics to the large masses of natural habitat being destroyed to provide space for them to live, cutting back on meat consumption can make a big difference in the environment.” Yep! Meat is a big part of our culture but it’s not the healthiest for our planet! Rachel Hileman a student at GHHS says “I became vegetarian because I love animals, it makes me feel better mentally and physically and I started losing interest in meat.” These are fabulous reasons and a great job of helping the environment! I hope this inspired you to be more environmentally friendly!