By: Mike Kessler

We have so many great resources on our planet, including an abundance of water to drink and air to breathe. However, because of the irresponsible actions of many people, including myself, these resources are slowly declining in quantity and quality. I have examined how badly we are harming our environment and decided that there has to be something that I can do to help. I looked specifically at the ways that I could conserve water and lessen air pollution.

There were many times throughout the day where I wasted gallons of water. I usually waited about two minutes to get into the shower for the water to get warm. Now, I just hop in even if it is a little cold. Also, while I shaved or brushed my teeth, I would leave the water running the whole time. I noticed how much water this wasted and turned it off, except when it is really necessary. By doing this, I save a minimum of 14 gallons of water while shaving, and I save seven and one half gallons by just turning off the water while brushing my teeth.¹ Lastly, I stopped going to fast food restaurants. This cuts down on the usage of water by the restaurant tremendously. It takes 1,400 gallons of water just to make a quarter pounder, fries, and a soft drink.²

I hate the fact that when looking up at the sky all I see is haze. The number one reason for so much air pollution is the number of cars on the road.³ In the morning, I used to let my car sit for a couple of minutes to warm up. As a substitute, I now just let it idle for the recommended 30 seconds. I also fill up my car with gas in the morning when the ozone level was not too bad. I do this because gas vapors escape and go into the atmosphere. Another way I cut down on air pollution is by turning off lights, causing the power plants to cut down on their output of pollution. All of these simple ways can greatly increase our resources and make earth a cleaner place for the future.

Doing this project greatly increased my knowledge of the environment. I really did not realize how much we waste our own resources. After my experiment I was shocked to see how much I was a part of the problem. My experiment was very easy to do and I enjoyed it. All I did was look at what I can do during the course of my day to help save all of the resources that we have. The experiment that I conducted did not take much effort at all. I found it amazing that just the little things such as turning off my water while I shaved saved a minimum of 14 gallons of water.

The biggest problem with this experiment is that I was doing it by myself. I realize that I saved a lot of water and helped clean the air, but look at how many people out there who haven't acquired the same information as I. Just imagine if every person followed this experiment. The sad part of it is that they could. If I can stick with the plan, then I know anyone can. I don't have much extra time in the average day, and this was the only way that I could help save our resources. I really did not feel that I made a huge difference, but that was only because I was the only one.

I suggest that everyone try to follow this experiment so that we can determine how big a difference it could make. One problem with this type of experiment is that the results do not show up instantaneously. There are many people out there who want to see something happen right now. We should not just be doing this for ourselves; we should be doing this for our children and our children's children and so on. We have had the opportunity to live on a planet that has an abundant amount of resources and we should now leave it the same way for future generations.

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