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Emma Anderson

September 13, 2017

WRTC 103

Prof. Fielding

Environmentally Friendly

Almost my whole life I have been taught to protect the environment, whether it is through

recycling, composting, or educating myself on the bigger issues one person cannot control. I

developed a love for the environment early on, because my parents taught me to recycle at a

young age. Through recycling, I became more interested in what else I can do to save the Earth

and that led me to making decisions that shaped me into the person I am today. Throughout my

experiences, I have learned that protecting the planet would benefit everyone, since we would all

suffer from the consequences or reap the benefits. The movement to save the environment has

been growing rapidly; the technological advances we have seen over the last century have

contributed greatly to the pollution increase. Based on my personal experiences, I became an

environmentalist because I learned the Earth needs to be protected; however, everyone should

strive to protect our planet because the consequences we will see in the near future will impact us

all greatly.

In 2012, Hurricane Sandy hit many states on the east coast, and some definitely had it

worse than others. My aunt and cousins live on Long Island and they were hit by Sandy pretty

badly. Many houses in their town were underwater and a lot of property was destroyed. I saw

pictures of all the trash and debris the hurricane brought in and I realized that although humans

cant control natural disasters, we can control how much we litter. By simply throwing our trash
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away, recycling, and composting, the environment, plants, and animals would all be much safer.

Joining girl scouts in first grade also helped me become more concerned with the safety of our

environment. I was a girl scout in first through fifth grade and especially when we were older,

our troop leader would often take us to local parks to clean up trash and to learn about the

different plants and animals. We went to Prince William Forest Park the most often since it was

not too far of a ride, and we would go to other elementary schools as well as our own to clean up

trash there. I enjoyed what we were doing to help the earth and I enjoyed learning about the

different species of animals and plants. Lastly, my most recent experience as an environmentalist

was my decision to take AICE Environmental Management and Sciences my senior year of high

school. We focused on the big picture issues such as natural disasters, the effects they bring,

greenhouse gas emissions, oil spills, and the ways animals, plants, and ecosystems are effected

by pollution. It was very interesting to learn about how

all of these variables impact the earth and how we can

help in small ways. It was this class that really shaped

me into an environmentalist; I was being educated on the

issues that affect big parts of the world. I realized it is

important to know these things because its easy to get

caught up in protecting the area we live in. The major

issues matter too because they will produce greater

consequences in the long run.

Environmentalism is defined as the political and

Visiting the JMU Arboretum on September 16,
2017. ethical movement that seeks to improve and protect the

quality of the natural environment through changes to environmentally harmful human

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activities (Elliot). The concern for a healthy environment can be dated back to Roman times

where pollution was associated with epidemic diseases. However, the general public did not

become interested in the environment until the late 19th century. The industrial revolution was

what began major sources of air pollution due to the increased use of trains as transportation

methods, advanced machinery producing harmful gases, and eventually cars being used more

and more frequently. Environmental organizations began to be established up through the mid-

20th century. These groups were concerned with nature conservation, wildlife protection, and air

pollution due to the rapid increase in urbanization. Many groups established were focused on

conservation in peaceful ways. The advancement of technology in the last few decades has really

allowed us to see how our air quality has declined. Scientists can measure how its gotten worse

over time and what products are the ones making it

worse. In the 19th century, people could much

easier compost extra waste so it could be

repurposed. However, since the 20th and 21st

century have brought about a great use of plastic,

landfills and incinerators have been put to great

use. Plastics are generally made from petroleum,

which can be recycled, yet most people still throw

plastic away. People nowadays are more careless

with what they do with their trash, which adds to

the pollution and degradation of the planet. Enjoying the beautiful flowers the Arboretum has.

My participation as an environmentalist has made me care so much about the planet we

live on. Through my experiences since I was about eight years old I have cared greatly about
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ways I can protect the Earth. I recycle anything I can

and I am conscious of turning the lights off in a room

when I dont need them. I have begun to educate

myself on the major issues and their consequences so I

can learn what there is we can do as individuals to help

prevent them. Through my experiences, I hope I can

help others learn what we can do to protect the

environment. We are all in this together, and any

negative results doesnt just affect a few of us, they

affect us all. Although advanced technologies have

I'm happy JMU encourages students and faculty
to recycle or compost anything they can. contributed to increased pollution, we can find a way

to use them to our advantage-by spreading the word on how to make the earth the best and

healthiest planet we can possibly live on.

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Works Cited

Elliott, Lorraine. Environmentalism. Encyclopedia Britannica, Encyclopedia Britannica, inc.,

9 June 2017, Britannica. Accessed 10 Sept. 2017.

Woodford, Chris. What is environmentalism? Explain that Stuff, Explain that Stuff, 15 Oct.

2016, Explain that Stuff. Accessed 10 Sept. 2017.