In 2013, Americans generated about 254 million tons of trash and only recycled about 87 million tons of it, according to the EPA. Now just imagine how much the whole world generates in a year and only recycles a small portion of it. A couple of years ago, I started to become more aware of the safety of our environment because of video that were circling social media of animals being affected by all the trash that people are throwing in the oceans and out their car windows while driving down the road. Also it’s not just the animals be affected by the trash, we are also. It’s affecting the air we breath and the water we drink. That’s why so many people drink out of plastic water bottles. Plastic takes years to break down, and some plastics don’t because of certain things that go into making them. Prezi states that U.S. alone each year waste enough water bottles that they can wrap around the earth 190 times. And that just the U.S., what about the rest of the world that don’t have decent drinking water like the U.S.? Like China for example, their air and their water has so much pollution in, for them just to go outside they have to wear masks so they won’t breath it all in. According to the Chinese Ministry of Health, industrial pollution has made cancer China’s leading cause of death. Every year air pollution kills hundreds of thousands of citizens. 500 million people in China are without safe and clean drinking water. Also there's deforestation that's happening at a rapid rate. According to Worldwildlife forests cover about 31% of the earth. They produce vital oxygen that we need due to all the pollution in the air. Many of the worlds endangered species live in forests and 1.6 billion people depend on benefits they receive from forests, including food, fresh water, clothing, traditional medicine and shelter. But all the deforestation that's happening is jeopardizing all these things people and animals rely on. This impacts people's livelihoods and threatens a wide range of plant and animals species. Forests also play crucial role in climate change because they act as a carbon sink. They absorb carbon dioxide that would be free in the atmosphere and contribute to ongoing climate patterns. It’s estimated that 15% of all greenhouse gas emissions are the result of deforestation. I think we can all help resolve many of these problem I listed. In our community we should have recycle bins, not just dumpsters and trash cans. So that everyone who would like to recycle and I recommend that all of you should, or just seeing the recycling bin will encourage more people to recycle. I know that our little community won’t make a big difference but it’s a start on making one. Also the excessive use of water bottles, why don’t we all use reusable water bottles? Why would you constantly wanting to waste money on buying new ones? Maybe you buy them because you think the water is dirty, you can buy a pitcher with filters in it and keep it in your fridge or you can buy a reusable water bottle that comes with a filter built in. And with the deforestation, everyone plant a tree or two. Go green. Give back for what we’re taking. By cutting down all those trees, we’re basically taking our clean oxygen away. Imagine how much cleaner, healthier, and less pollution there would be if we did all these things. Almost everywhere there would be clean water, the Chinese wouldn’t have to use masks anymore to go outside, our climate would start to regulate again, all the animals that are at risk of becoming extinct would no longer be endangered, and our ozone layer would start to repair itself because the trees would be absorbing the greenhouse gasses. But if we don’t start doing something about our environment, the U.S. could become just like China in maybe 10-15 years. The temperatures are just going to keep rising, glaciers and ice is going to melt, water levels are going to rise, cities are going to be covered in water. There won’t be clean air or water anywhere, there will be so much pollution, that just to filter it out will be so much work. With all these examples I gave you that could possibly happen, why wouldn’t go out and try to make a difference? Our earth is hurting. With all the trash, the excessive amount water bottles being used, and all the trees that are being cut down. Go out. Make a difference for your future children. Be able to take them out and show them how beautiful the earth is and not just tell them stories how it used to be.