THE POLAR ice caps are melting and glaciers are retreating or sliding into the sea. There does not seem to be much question that the world is getting warmer.
Is the warming the fault of human beings or the result of natural processes that are not yet fully understood? It is a fine topic for debate, but that debate, at this point, has little meaning. The process is under way. While it is not possible to state with certainty that global warming is solely the result of human activity, it is already clear that the industrialization of the world over the past two centuries has been a big contributor to that warming.
Any effective solution to the problem will require not only the concerted effort and cooperation of national governments but individual efforts by the people of all the nations. Humankind must get used to thinking about its effect on the only home it has — the earth — and change its habits accordingly.
But what are people supposed to do? Few can afford to dump the family gas guzzler and buy a hybrid car. Even fewer can afford to tear down the family home and replace it with an energy-efficient, eco-friendly house.
Better to begin with small things than do nothing at all. One good place to begin is at the supermarket.
F When the question come, “Paper or plastic?” do not hesitate. Choose paper. If you have a wad of plastic bags at home, take them to the store when you go shopping and reuse them. The same with paper bags. Even better, buy a couple of canvas or mesh totes and keep them handy for shopping. Plastic requires too much petroleum and energy to manufacture to be considered disposable. Paper bags are not much better, considering the waste that is generated in their creation. And why cut down a tree just to carry the milk home?
F Speaking of plastic, in just a few years, the sale of “designer water” has become a multi-billion-dollar-a-year industry. Drinking lots of water is a good idea and bottled water has its uses — for traveling, in household emergency supplies and to provide drinkable water after disasters — but most of the water sold is just an extremely expensive convenience. How many tons of plastic water bottles are thrown in the trash every year? In Emporia, certainly, tap water is just as safe and tasty as any bottled water, no matter the price. It can be carried anywhere in a travel mug.
These suggestions will not stop or reverse global warming. But they will help, if only just a bit, and they are things that ordinary people can do. They represent a way of thinking that may well be essential in the future.
It is a beginning.