Saving Mother Earth

I've seen people eating bags of potato chips, and discarding the plastic bag in the streets. I've seen some people drink out of a soda can, and litter it in forests. All these cases of littering are horrible; they ruin our earth. We don't want our earth to be ruined, it's where we live. This is why we need to step it up and do something before our earth gets more trashed (which it already is).

Many people litter throughout the world. I don't, because it is very bad for our earth, and for the people around us. Litter is dangerous and can carry diseases, like in pet feces. Glass bottles are also dangerous because it's made of glass, and if we step on glass, we get hurt. Bacteria can infect the cut, which is very dangerous. Glass bottles take one million years to biodegrade, so this means that more danger might come. Biodegrade is when an object is being broken down and decomposed by bacteria or decomposers. The most littered object around the world are cigarettes. It's not only dangerous to the smoker, and everyone around the smoker, but it is also dangerous to the environment, affecting plant life and wildlife. Each year, 52 billion cigarettes smoked by five billion Canadian smokers make up 5,000 tonnes of the world's pollutants.

FACTS ABOUT LITTER

• The average American throws out almost seven pounds of trash a day.
• Even though the population of the States is only about 5% of the world's population, it uses 30% of the world's resources, and lets out 30% of its waste.
• Garbage production has doubled in the past 30 years. 
• Around 80% of US products are used once, and then thrown away.
• 95% of all plastic, two-thirds of all glass containers, and 50% of all aluminum cans are never recycled, but instead they are burned or buried.
• Most litter is food wrap or containers and cigarettes. 
• The average distance that someone will carry trash before littering is 12 paces.
• There are 8,000 tonnes of cigarettes dropped by Canadians each year; at the most, within 10 feet of an ashtray. It takes 10 years for the filter to biodegrade.
• People under age of 25 are more likely to litter in a group, and people over the age of 25 are more likely to litter when alone.
• Glass bottles take 1 million years to biodegrade.

Currently, and for the past few years now, the United States has been the world's worst littering country. America accumulates at least 236 million tons of garbage every year. It is estimated that the average American produces 7 tons of garbage a day. Even though the population of the States is only about 5% of the world's population, it uses 30% of the world's resources, and lets out 30% of its waste. In my opinion, much of the US are greedy wasters. They take a lot of important things (food, water, natural resources) and waste a lot of it.

In 2004, China has passed America and became the world's worst littering country. 209 million tons of waste were littered in the urban areas of China. The pollution was also a big problem in China back then. It still was when I lived there a year ago. It was very rare to get a good, nice blue skied day, but now the pollution is getting much better. A few years ago, the pollution was at 500 almost every single day, which is the worst pollution rating. This is because China depends on coal for their electricity too much, The burnt coal pollutes the air in the urban areas of China. China is actually good and bad about cleaning up and recycling litter. Many poor Chinese people collect plastic bottles to recycle or sell.







Another problem the earth has is that trees are being cut down in the jungles, destroying animal life and plant life, but mostly, decreasing the amount of oxygen on earth. Trees take in Carbon Dioxide, and release it as oxygen, which we breathe. If all the trees on earth are cut down, we will have no more air to breathe. We need to save trees and plants!

The world is littering way too much. The earth is being polluted way too much. Too many litterers are hurting our home. We need to do something about our problem, for example, using less electricity, recycling more, using less plastic products, using solar powered items, buying and caring for a plant, and much more. This problem won't go away by itself. Saving mother Earth is  You need to help. YOU are the cure of litter.


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Helium. N.p., 18 Aug. 2009. Web. Jan. 2012
<http://www.helium.com/items/251763-why-the-usa-is-one-of-the-biggest-waste-producers-in-the-world>

Webb, Flemmich. "UK Badly Disposed to Litter Problem." The Guardian. N.p., 26, May 2009. Web. 20 Jan. 2012.  <http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2009/may/19/environment-litter>

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<http://www.curelitter.ca/sef/page/id/6.html>

"What Countries Produce the Most Trash?" Green Answers.com. N.p., n.d. Web. Jan. 2012.
<http://greenanswers.com/q/63410/recycling-waste/garbage/what-countries-produce-most-trash>

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<http://earth911.com/news/2009/08/10/trash-planet-china/>

Povoledo, Elisabetta. "EU Criticizes Italy Over Trash Crisis in Naples." The New York Times.  N.p., 15, Jan. 2008. Web. 20 Jan. 2012
<http://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/15/world/europe/15iht-italy.4.9237559.html>

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Malone, Robert. "World's Worst Waste." Forbes.com. N.p., 24 May 2006. Web. 20 Jan. 2012.
<http://www.forbes.com/2006/05/23/waste-worlds-worst-cx_rm_0524waste.html>