Protecting Mother Earth

Every third week of Sunday is a different kind of family day in my household, because it is a day where My dad, mom, sis and I will wake up as early as 8am when everyone else is still sleeping and dreaming to venture into a day of Recycling near our neighbourhood. We will spend a few hours volunteering, and it is up to us which "department" we want to be in.

I realized that recycling work is quite "gendered", the girls and women will usually prefer sorting out papers, I think because it's the least dirty and it's not heavy. The men will usually sort our plastic, tins, newspapers. I've tried plastic before, I think people still need to be educated to wash their bottles properly before they recycle. Usually after a few hours helping out, my body will itch like mad and I'm super worried it's not some handiwork of unseen bugs biting me for its lunch.

Biscuit Tins and cans are organized into one segment. Plastic bottles into another.

My sister enjoying her music while she sorts out papers. Black print on white paper is segregated into one box. Papers with colour printing sorted into another box. The lesser the paper is written on, the more valuable it is.

My dad, he volunteers for the newspaper section. Me thinks he loves the dirtiness of it. Maybe it's a macho thing. He smiles to the camera as I snapped away. I love seeing him rush to help carry down old newspapers whenever a vehicle would dropped by with a bulk or two. I love his enthusiasm. I love this meaningful thing that our family does together.

I found treasures in the pile of papers meant to be recycled.

Amidst the many disposed advertisements/brochures/official letters/office documents, my eyes caught sight of these. These art pieces stands out amidst the black and white paper.

The one thing I've realized from the experience of recycling that we as human beings, create a lot of burden/trash for Mother Earth to swallow. As we consume and satiate our needs and (mostly) wants, we make tons of rubbish. With the persistent warnings about the natural catastrophe that Earth is facing and will be facing in the future, I make little changes in my life to ensure my carbon footprint is minimal. If one person does a little thing, imagine a hundred milliom people contributing to make positive changes to fight global warming. I hope that each of us can play a part. What you can do,

1. Recycle

You can recycle plastic bottles, aluminum cans (coke etc), papers, old computers and televisions. Do segregate them and send them to your nearest recycling centre. This act of yours help save the energy consumed in making new ones.

2. Buy minimally packaged goods

Less packaging, less waste

3. Turn off your PC

I used to put it in screensaver mode, but it's better to put it in sleep mode if you're going away for a short while b4 returning to it. Shutting it off is the best option when not in used.

4. Buy/Eat Organic Foods

5. Go vegetarian

It is practicing goodwill for Planet Earth and compassion for animals. I find this tough myself as it's hard to switch to non-meat diet suddenly. So I'm taking the option to eat vegetarian at least once a week.

6. Bring cloth bags, Say No to plastic

This everyone might be familiar. I love cloth bags with artsy design, plus it's fashionable and environmentally-friendly. This is hitting two birds with one stone.

7. Take away (In stainless-steel container)

People still use alot of white polysterene in Malaysia, I'm not sure how it is like in the US. I've tried to talk to restaurant owners about reducing the use of it and tell them it is non-biodegradable. But seems like they're only in it to make money and saving the planet is not on their priority list. It's sad. I think the awareness is still very low here. At times I really fear for their kids or grandkids, who are going to live in this planet far longer than them after they're gone. Have they given a thought about their welfare?

8. Use public transport or Carpool

The public transport system is not very well planned out here. So people mostly drive. The cars are too fast on the big roads. So bicycle is out of the question. I think our nation (Malaysia) depends too heavily on cars. We've become quite lazy due to that. I love walking and love looking at the scenery around my house, it has something different to offer each time. I think I could walk more, I think people could walk more. If they only realize the pleasure and benefits obtained out from walking.

I'm going to help raise awareness on Protecting and Saving Mother Earth on 7th August, for the first anniversary celebration of The Golden Space, a meditation and healing centre that I've been going to for some time. I am also going to have my first official booth to display my artwork and hopefully *finger crossed, sell them. Many plans that I have not execute yet. I can be such a procrastinator. Many ideals, but little practical actions.

So much to do, so little time. Yikes yikes yikes.

Last but not least, I hope you can do a little part, it helps sustain this beautiful planet we all live in. Much love to you and your family!