Don’t be a Zebra

Rachel Levi

Features Editor

rlevi@plymouth.edu

It was a cold winters day as I, alongside my Writing and The Creative Process class, headed up the icy sidewalk towards The Museum of the White Mountains.

We were in search of some creative inspiration, and to my excitement, the exhibit was based on the current state of our environment. It was harder then I had expected to narrow myself down to a single piece to use as inspiration. I began to consider that, unless you’ve been living under a rock, you’re likely aware of the state of our environment. Yet, here I was in an exhibit trying to get people to pay attention to this issue, one which, undoubtedly, affects each and every one of us. If you have yet to view this exhibit, I strongly urge you to do so.

Then, consider what you can do to make even the slightest change to help stop the negative impacts of global warming. The smallest contributions can add up. Think about it like saving money; if you saved a dollar everyday you’d have $365 at the end of the year, and that’s definitely better then not saving anything at all.

Whether you stop using plastic bags or decide to cut down on your meat consumption, doing anything at all to reduce your impact on the environment can make a difference. According to the Vegan Outreach webpage, factory farming and live stock are responsible for 18 percent of greenhouse gas emissions measured in CO2, as well as 64 percent of anthropogenic ammonia emissions, which plays a large role in acid rain. By cutting out meat from your diet you may be able to aid in reducing such harmful emissions. The point is there are many ways to help make a positive impact on our environment. Stop being a bystander, do your research, and take action. I promise being a vegan isn’t nearly as hard as it sounds.