One of my fondest memories of my childhood is going out to explore the new world the day after a big snow. I can still remember vividly how the snow would hang off the trees, the pristine white fields so bright that they blind you if you look at them directly. I always felt sad, though, on my way back home looking at the damage I had caused to that breathtaking view by leaving my footprints across the expanses.
When going throughout our daily lives we each leave an ecological footprint in our world. Much like the footprints in the snow, these ecological footprints are effects we have on our environment as a result of the actions we engage in daily.
When you drive your car to work, or even ride a bus, the emissions of your chosen mode of transportation are destructive, a footprint in the snow. The first step to reversing the damage we have caused to our home is to evaluate the damage and that is where awareness of our ecological footprints comes into play.
When dealing with restoring our home planet knowing the damage is just the first step, cooperation will be the foundation of our success. It is one thing to figure out what is wrong and how to fix the damage. It is a completely different task to educate the next generation towards healthy and restorative living.
Students in Bet Shemesh are now learning about how they affect the world and what they can do to help. Sviva Israel offers their eco-survey to the public and you can check your eco-print as well.
Author: Jack Reichert
As far back as he can remember Jack Reichert has been interested in the environment. In the second grade, he rallied all of his classmates to donate one recess a week to cleaning up litter from the schoolyard. That was the same year that a city councilman asked him to help with his campaign because of the letter Jack had written asking him to clean up Boston Harbor. Ever since Jack has followed the development of the international green conscience with anticipation and hope that one day we will treat Mother Earth with the respect she deserves and not turn her into another Giving Tree. For tips, feedback and prophet sightings, Jack can be reached at jack (at) greenprophet (dot) com.
