So just what is this thing we call going green? It would seem to be a term for covering the world with trees and grass to make it a greener place to live. Well that is part of the equation, making sure we plant what we remove is a huge step to being green. The actual meaning of going green is to keep the planet in a balance so it can operate to its fullest potential for life support. There are a lot of factors involved with this and the vegetation is just the beginning. Another major factor in going green is our air space. We need to keep our air as well as our atmosphere in a stable balance as much as possible. It is absolutely essential to life both plant and animal. Another component of being green is our water supply. If we pollute our oceans the fish will die out and we lose a major food supply. We are already beginning to see signs of this in places such as the coral reefs. Going green means wasting less, using less and cleaning up our planet to the best of our ability.

Nearly all the problems on our planet are a result of human action. We are the only ones who can correct them. So you may be asking yourself how we are going to do that. The answer is one person at a time. Each person needs to do their part to reduce their footprint on the earth. In this case, the meaning of footprint is the damage we do to the environment. A big way that we can contribute to the cause is to drive electric cars. If that is not possible then at least leave the car behind and walk when you go to your neighborhood market. The pollution that cars create is one major contributor to our poor air quality. The oil that we strip out of the earth and then burn is a sticky messy goo that we are breathing when we burn it. I have even heard talk of certain places restarting their nuclear power plants. If everyone would save power at home it would put a stop to such talk. While we are on this topic, did you know that there are still power plants that operate by burning coal? Use energy efficient green light bulbs. They are called green because they take less power from the power plants and therefore less coal is needed to operate them. Try to use biodegradable products whenever possible. Our landfills are full to the brim with things that will be there for hundreds of years, thousands of years in some cases. Going green also means recycling everything you can. Buying recycled goods helps tremendously in the effort to save the planet. If you want to take this one step further, recycle things at home. This means put less in the trash. Save your water bottles, boil some water and re-use them. If you have clothes to toss out give them to someone who can use them, use them for rags, make quilts or anything else you can think of.

What it all comes down to is this. We are responsible for cleaning up our own mess. Each of us played a part in it and we all need to be involved. It is extremely important to the survival of every living creature that we act responsibly. Do your part by being as green as you can. Have you ever heard the term clean as you go? Well, we are at a point in time when we need to do this in a very big way.