UNITED STATES—We have been told time and time again that the environment is precious and the resources in our environment are just as crucial. I think one of the most wasted resources is water. Yes, water is something that comprises more than 70 percent of our bodies, yet we waste more water in a given day than we can imagine. This past week alone, I had to stop and really think about the amount of water that I wasted and it honestly made me sick to my stomach.

The amount of water wasted when getting ready to take a shower, washing one or two dishes instead of washing an entire sink of dishes, flushing the toilet just because, the list can go on. I pay for water each month and because of that I should be more aware of what I’m doing with that water beyond the basics. One thing I’m quite good at is not leaving the water running when I brush my teeth. That has been a habit that I picked up years ago and I continue to do. I’m getting better with time, but there are still plenty of things I can do to conserve water even more.

I mean there are people in third world countries that are literally dying because they have no access to water or no access to clean water. I need to embed that reality into my reality. Just because I have access to water doesn’t mean I should just waste it because I can. It’s not fair to those who don’t have it. That brings my attention to the importance of conserving energy. We’re wasteful when it comes to energy, but me personally, I try to conserve as much as possible in the world of electricity and gas. I utilize the gas dryer when washing full loads, the heat/gas in the house stays at a comfortable 70 degrees and if I’m not at home, lights are not on unless they have to be on.

This is something many people are not too conscious of. If you’re not utilizing a light, what is the purpose of having that light on? Furthermore, STOP leaving cell phones, laptops and other electronic devices charged up, when they are fully charged people! Not only is this a burden on your electric bill, but it drains the battery on your devices, especially your phones, laptops, iPods, iPads and so many other devices. Trust me I know. I had a brand new laptop, literally have the battery burn out in less than 6 months. It drove me crazy, because I could not fathom how the battery died so quickly, um, I was leaving it charged around the clock all the time.

We have talked water conservation and energy conservation, but we should also take into consideration natural resources. What am I referring to? I’m talking about trees, I’m talking about land, and I’m talking about clean air. We drive SO MUCH nowadays the atmosphere is becoming more intolerable as each day passes with all the dirty emissions entering the air. We are chopping away more forestry to develop more land and expanding commercialism. When we destroy the habitat of animals, what do you think happens to those animals? They start to invade our habitat as they have no place to go.

I know this might go into one ear and out the other for most Americans, but we only have 1 planet Earth. Once Earth is no longer inhabitable we don’t get a second chance. Remember that, there is no Earth 2, there is just Earth, once its resources are no longer plentiful, there is not much we can do to salvage it. Protect what we have now, that way we have these things later.