High School Environmental Group Acts, Inspires

by Michele, March 19, 2008 at 9:59am

Today's post was written by a group of high school students from Herricks High School in Long Island, NY.

You must be the change you wish to see in the world.

                                                                        -Ghandi

In the world that we live in today, it is certainly no strange sight to see environmentalist groups working hard for a better environment. But if you are not part of one already, have you ever asked yourself why you are not involved? Or why not even start a group yourself? You might say that is simply impossible and that there’s always someone out there doing things already! But we, Reducing 4 More! , realized it was about time to stop relying on others to help make the Earth a cleaner and better place. We decided to join the movement and start taking actions ourselves!

We are a group of five 9^th grade students in Herricks High School, New York. Our group is named Reducing 4 More! because our goal is to reduce the harmful items in our environment for a more positive future. Our main goal for this project is to reduce the amounts of plastic we use everyday. Plastic bags we use in the supermarket and plastic disposable water bottles are used excessively these days! About 500 billion plastic bags are consumed in the world annually… that’s 1 million per minute! Also, about 400 million bottles are NOT recycled each day! These numbers should be already giving you the urge to just get out there and tell everyone to recycle. If not, let us tell you more about our project.

            We, Reducing 4 More! , are also very busy working on our project. We went to our local elementary school to present to different classes about the importance of recycling. We played educational games with them and had tons of fun! Our group also wrote many letters to local government officials, but has not gotten any response yet- but don’t worry! We have started an online petition (that you can sign by clicking HERE), to start “Plastax” in the United States. “Plastax” is basically a plan to place a little fee for the plastic bags that we get in the supermarket, hoping that people won’t want to pay and will use reusable bags instead. This has been proven very efficient in Ireland, where their usage of plastic bags decreased by 94%! Other countries have started this movement as well, but why not all countries? Our petition has gotten signatures from 41 states and 29 countries and still growing strong! We will be sending this petition to government officials, hoping they could take action.

            To spread our message even more, we decided that March 25, 2008 will be “One Less Bottle Day.” It will be a day where everyone willing will use reusable bottles instead of plastic disposable bottles just for that day. Of course, we hope “One Less Bottle Day” can be everyday, but this is a start to let people aware. We are utilizing sites on the internet to spread our message!

            We are currently working on a fundraiser, where we ordered key chains that promote the reducing of plastic bags. We were able to get a very generous sponsor, CLK Management Corporation, so we decided that 100% of the money earned from the sales will be donated to our local Sierra Club. The money we will earn forecasts to be at least $300. We decided to donate this money because we feel that the Sierra Club will be able to utilize this money to affect people on a wider scale.

            Reducing 4 More! hopes that you support our project! We want our action to be inspiring to everyone. If everyone starts to take action like we do, our project would be even more of a success. Even though we are just 9^th graders and not powerful political figures, we feel like we can actually make a difference. It might sound cliché to say that, but it holds a lot of meaning to it. By doing simple things such as spreading information and changing our habits, it all adds up. The impact will definitely powerful and will leave the Earth a better place for future generations. Also, all these actions not only provide a better environment, but it also brings people together. People can feel inspired and optimistic about our future and the world we live in today. The feeling of working with others and implementing a plan for a better environment is simply remarkable. It is a feeling that can not be described unless you have felt it yourself! So how will you take action?

Peace, love, and reduce,

Reducing 4 More!

Feel free to visit our website at www.reducing4more.wordpress.com