{"id":1906,"date":"2019-05-08T03:32:11","date_gmt":"2019-05-08T03:32:11","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/projectgreenlancaster.millersville.edu\/?p=1906"},"modified":"2020-05-07T20:04:13","modified_gmt":"2020-05-07T20:04:13","slug":"combating-climate-change-tips-and-tricks","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/projectgreenlancaster.millersville.edu\/index.php\/2019\/05\/08\/combating-climate-change-tips-and-tricks\/","title":{"rendered":"Combating Climate Change Tips and Tricks"},"content":{"rendered":"

Combating Climate Change Tips and Tricks<\/strong><\/p>\n

by Maggie McClintock<\/strong><\/p>\n

Lancaster County is one of the most impacted areas of Climate Change in North Eastern United States.<\/em><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

Photo by Maggie McClintock<\/p><\/div>\n

In today\u2019s world it\u2019s normal to look outside and see trash covering the streets and the grass. Oftentimes people don\u2019t even think twice about the trash lying in the streets, just opening the car window and tossing it out. Plastic pollution and litter may seem like a problem that will never be solved, but there\u2019s always ways that people can help out \u2013 even if it\u2019s starting small.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

Photo by Maggie McClintock<\/p><\/div>\n

Adopt a Highway Litter Control.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Originally started in the 1980\u2019s, the Adopt a Highway Litter Control program is program that encourages organizations to \u201cadopt\u201d a highway and pick up the litter. Local residents and Millersville University students gathered in April to pick up a highway. Known as \u201cThe Highway Pickup\u201d by the students of WIXQ, the event has been happening for more than twenty years. Former Millersville University Professor Ralph Anttonen and Judy Anttonen have been part of the Adopt a Highway program for two decades. \u201cIt started when we went to Europe,\u201d said Anttonen, \u201cand we realized how clean France is and how clean Finland was, so we decided to adopt a Highway.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

Photo by Maggie McClintock<\/p><\/div>\n

One of the students who participated in the Highway Pickup noted that, \u201cin America we just throw our trash wherever we want to and its really important for us to understand the impact that it has on the environment. And by going out and actually picking up the trash we can see how much people throw out.\u201d With two teams of four, the students picked up a total of eight bags of litter off of Long Lane \u2013 near Cherry Hill Orchards. It was surprising how much litter the teams picked up in under two hours.<\/p>\n

Pollution Statistics <\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

Photo by Maggie McClintock<\/p><\/div>\n

America Runs on plastic.\u00a0 Americans use 100 billion plastic bags each year \u2013 the evidence left in the trees and in the oceans and killing our wildlife. 800 metric tons of ends up in the world\u2019s oceans and there is more microplastic in the ocean than there are stars in our galaxy. In just one day, Americans use 500 million straws -enough to go around the Earth twice. With the rate that plastic production is increasing, by 2050 the amount of plastic on the planet will outweigh the amount of fish in the ocean.<\/p>\n

\"statistics<\/a>

Graph by Maggie McClintock | statistics from ourworldindata.org<\/p><\/div>\n

Being sustainable<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

People don\u2019t change and people don\u2019t want your ideas thrust upon them, but there\u2019s ways you can influence those around you. Recently in March, the Climate Speakers Network hosted a Climate Change Workshop at the Lombardo Welcome Center (Millersville University\u2019s first zero energy building). At the workshop the speakers discussed the impact of litter on the local level. Due to pollution, Lancaster county is one of the warmest areas in the region \u2013 due to the large cities that surround Lancaster.<\/p>\n

One of the biggest messages that the Climate Speakers Network gave was that you can spark change by yourself.<\/p>\n

Living a sustainable life is good, but it\u2019s not easy for everyone. Switching to sustainable energy like solar or wind isn\u2019t always an option for everyone \u2013 be it the cost or your location \u2013 but even without using a renewable energy source there are things you can do in your everyday life to reduce the amount of litter in the world.<\/p>\n

Some things that you can do to help against climate change:<\/p>\n