“Why can’t we bring our own bags to the supermarket?”

“Why do you have to make a fuss over everything? Their plastic bags are free!”

“But that’s wasting things ...”

“It’s just a plastic bag, it won’t do any harm!”

“But plastic is hard to recycle and pollutes the earth! If we bring our own bags every time we shop, we could save hundreds of plastic bags a year!”

* * *

“Why must you keep the water running when you brush your teeth?”

“Water isn’t expensive! Why do you have to nag about everything?”

“It isn’t the money. It’s simple to turn off the water, why does it bother you so much?”

* * *

“Why don’t you print on both sides?”

“We have enough paper to print on only one side. Besides, I can afford it!”

“But paper comes from trees. I don’t want to kill so many trees.”

“It’s just a piece of paper! It’s not like I’m going to cut down a whole forest!”

“You will cut down a whole forest if you do this every time you print something!”

* * *

“Why did you just throw that plastic bottle in the trash? It could be recycled!”

“Our neighborhood does not recycle! And I do not have time to do such things.”

“All you have to do is rinse it out!”

“What’s the difference? Just one un-recycled bottle won’t matter that much!”

“It does matter. Maybe one won’t, but think of how many times you have said that!”

* * *

Maybe “one” will not do any harm, but there are so many “ones” in the world! Everyone thinks that one more piece of garbage won’t matter, but look how much garbage we produce! One second is a small amount of time, but when you put lots of them together, it can be a long time. Every second, hundreds, thousands, maybe even millions of acres of forest are disappearing. Every second, there could be as much water polluted, or species going extinct. Why can’t we realize that this world does not just belong to humans? Every living thing has its reason for being here. There are bees in the garden to spread pollen and shrimp in the ocean to clean seabeds but humans act like everything on earth is meant for them. Humans have conquered the sea, but left behind the filthy black liquid which comes from boats. They have conquered the air but left gray clouds of stinky air. Humans only live for themselves.

Water does not belong to humans. Forests do not belong to humans. Air does not belong to humans. They cannot be traded for money because they belong to every living thing. Natural resources are limited. We do not save water just because we want to save money. We do not waste paper just because we can afford to. We cannot wait until there are no more natural resources for us to realize that money cannot buy everything.

We should not harm innocent creatures without even realizing it. One piece of plastic on the beach could kill a sea gull, a turtle, even a whale. How can you not feel sad when you throw away a plastic plate instead of recycling it? How can you not feel guilty when you don’t turn off the water when brushing your teeth? You think that what you have done is such a little thing that it won’t make a difference, but that is what everyone thinks. Many grains of sand piled up can make a dune. Don’t ignore a mistake just because it is little.

As many ways as there are to destroy the earth, there are also many things we can do to protect it. Do not think little of a piece of paper. If every person in the world were to save a piece of paper, millions of trees could remain standing, and thousands of animals could have a safe home. Learn to hear what the earth has to say, and learn to care about it with your heart. Together, we can keep the earth just as blue and green as it once was.