As many people know, the Earth is dying. While some companies are switching to better, greener methods of production, many are not. During the industrial age, there was little to no regulation on what companies must abide by. Many companies were throwing large amounts of soot and smog into the air. Oil and large amounts of waste were dumped into the rivers, making it toxic for the aquatic animals that lived there. The pollution was so bad that it even affected regular life in the city. Many people got sick due to the trash in the streets and very poor air quality. Since then the industrial industry has changed a lot, but so far about 95% of the world’s air is polluted. The heaviest pollution areas are Africa and China. Even though laws and changes have been made to counter the effects back then, It is still not enough. With the growth of population happening at this point of time, air quality will start to plummet as the demand for things increases. People in China are already constantly wearing masks due to the air quality being so bad. Smog, soot, and ash do not belong in any living things lungs. It can cause major health issues and cause asthma attacks for asthmatics. On the business side of things, if a company switches to environmentally friendly packaging or manufacturing, they will preserve the earth longer. Thus keeping their flow of consumers constant. All problems have solutions which is why making the packaging of something environmentally friendly will eventually be cheaper than polluting the earth further. As companies continue to not care about the air being polluted, it makes the earth essentially heat up. Global warming is a big issue, it may not seem like it now, but in forty, maybe fifty, years the entire state of Florida could be under water. Getting companies to adopt more environmentally friendly packaging and manufacturing would slow it down a lot. Instead of 40 to 50 years the human race would be looking at one hundred to two hundred years of more time to solve global warming. A good example of a company going green is Mcdonalds. They have eliminated foam cups and replaced them with one hundred percent recyclable cups. Since Mcdonalds is such a big franchise, this change made an impact in making the planet a cleaner place. Going greener can also be cost effective. In Germany, Mcdonalds has started a program where coffee cups can be cleaned and reused. This would only increase revenue for the company because less money would be spent in buying more resources for packaging. This may also create more jobs for the job market. Using reusable cups would create a demand for someone to wash those cups. This would also boost the economy and increase consumerism. To get this company to strive to be more environmentally friendly, consumers had to protest first. Even though many companies are unwilling to go green, most of them will either be run out of business or forced to go green by consumers. The truth of the matter is, we are like bacteria. There are billions of us and we can either help or harm our home. Currently we are harming it and it is dying. When it dies, we die. That needs to change if we plan on living here much longer.
Essay by: Faith Duwal
Arizona State University