Doing Our Part!
January 26, 2018
Hey there, EMS! Did you know that right now animals are dropping dead? Did you know that humans are living shorter lives than ever? These are major real-world problems that adults are working on. I know, you might be saying, “if adults are working on it, then why should I?” But wait, because we can all try make a difference no matter how small we are as middle school students. Keep reading and I will give you three problems in the world, and how we can help solve them right here at EMS.
Pollution
Pollution is happening all around us every day. Here’s an example: you finish your lunch and head outside to the patio. Your friend lets you have the rest of their chips, and when you complete eating them you can’t find a trash can. You throw it on the ground. Later that day, a squirrel comes and sticks its head inside it and suffocates to death. This is just a minor example, but it is still bad for the environment. One easy way that all middle schoolers can help is to just pick up after yourself. It’s simple, and there are conveniently located trash cans all around the school. If you really want to go deeper you can walk around outside (anywhere in Emporia) with a trash bag and pick any litter you see. If everyone tried not to litter, the world would be a lot cleaner. Littering is also illegal, just so you know.
Global Warming
You have probably already heard about Global Warming at some point. This is a very serious issue that needs to be addressed. Global Warming according to National Geographic is, “…it is causing a set of changes to the Earth’s climate, or long-term weather patterns, that varies from place to place”. There are many simple, easy and inexpensive ways you can help this at home. The first way is to drive less. I know, middle schoolers can’t drive but your parents can. Consider talking to them and saying, “Hey mom/dad! It’s a nice day why don’t we bike to the store instead of driving. It’s good for the environment!”. Also, you could carpool with friends, family, etc, when going places. A second way to help with Global Warming is to recycle. I know that in Emporia all you have to do is place your recycle in the provided bin, and put it out for pick up on your assigned day! This reduces waste which instead go to landfills, and one of which (in the ocean) is the size of Texas! That is huge and very sad. If you would like some more detail or ideas to help this cause, I will post some links down below.
Poverty
Not everyone has a warm house and meal to go home to every night. In fact, for several students school is the best environment for them because it is warm in the winter and cool in the hot weather. They get food and they are loved. At home, it’s not always like this. As middle schoolers, we are hitting the age where we grow. A lot. This means, that we need new clothes a lot. Many kids don’t have this luxury, and you can help them by donating your clothes when they are our grown. In Emporia, you can donate them to Abundant Harvest, Shiloh Home of Hope, and there are always a lot of clothes drives going in the winter, such as mitten trees and coat drives. You can also donate food and toys to these sources. I will put the links down below for these businesses. The last way you can help around the holiday season is at many convenient locations (Walmart, Emporia Public Library, etc) is to adopt a child off of an Angel Tree. This means that you will buy this child presents and other necessities because their family can not afford it. These are just a few, yet many ways you can help with poverty, though there are many more out there.
I hope that after reading this you realized that there are a lot of ways you can help the world at home or at school. Maybe you will start doing a few of these things at home. If everyone starting doing their part, you wouldn’t believe the results, they would be amazing!
Global Warming
https://www.nationalgeographic.com/environment/global-warming/global-warming-overview/
https://www.conserve-energy-future.com/stopglobalwarming.php
Poverty
