The Top Five Things to Help People of the Future

When it comes to the topic of people of the future, most of us will readily agree that it seems a bit dismal. Where this agreement usually ends, however is on the question of what are the things that I can do to help the people of the future. Whereas some are convinced that there is nothing that they can do for the future, others maintain that there are possible solutions to help people of the future. The possible solutions are investing more in local foods, recycle on a regular basis, carpool to work, use clean energy, and actively participate in the community in which one resides.

Let’s start with local food markets and how they are beneficial to the people of the future. Having local food markets creates better commerce for the people of a particular community. Because food production, processing, distribution, and consumption are done within the community it creates sustainability within an area. When a community adapts to local foods they cut out the middlemen and the quality of the food becomes better. There is a relationship between the producer and the consumer and then there is an ability to discuss how the product is created. If people started investing in a local food movement now the future would be a close community working together for a better future.

In addition to local foods there is the idea of recycling to help the people of the future. It seems as if we have been hearing about recycling for the last hundred years, but it needs to be done aggressively. Our landfills are over flowing with recyclable trash and causing contaminates to go into the environment. There should be recycle bins all over the community and not just at home or at the local grocery store. According to the Container Recycling Institute, 215 billion plastic, glass, and aluminum beverage bottles and cans sold in the United States in 2006; Sixty-six percent were not recycled. That means over half the bottles we used as a nation was not disposed of properly. Recycling starts at a community level, and as citizens of the community we need to be involved. One idea that could possibly be implemented is starting a community clean up one day a week. In addition to the community clean up while a person is walking within the neighborhood pick up trash that is visible.

Furthermore, carpooling to work would help reduce the harmful gases within the environment. We have so many cars in the United States and everybody wants to drive their own cars to work. A possible plan to alleviate this problem could be for employers to adapt a program within their business to pair up individuals who live within the same neighborhood so they could commute together. Likewise, the government could possibly build more high occupancy vehicle (HOV) lanes so that people would have more of an option to use these types of roads. If people started commuting to work together there would be more of a connection with other people in their community rather than a connection with one’s self. In today’s society few people truly connect with their neighbors, and this plan would aide in reconnecting the community.

Along the same lines using clean energy would help reduce the pollutants within the environment. Clean energy means using geothermal (energy from within the earth), wind, solar power, and hydroelectric to create energy rather than gas, coal, and other pollutants. To enact clean energy throughout the nation there would have to be a large movement in order for this to happen. There would have to be lobbyist in Washington D.C. endorsing this idea. Clean energy is a pertinent issue because of the total energy consumed in America, about thirty-nine percent of it is used for electricity. Currently half our energy is acquired by coal which is causing toxins to be released into the atmosphere. Clean energy is a more suitable way to receive energy and causes less harmful effects on the environment.

Moreover, actively participating in one’s community will promote a better future. Americans navigate through society with an individualistic attitude. If we acted as a collective society then we would help each other on a daily basis instead of in times of emergency. To enact this plan the idea of each day should be how we can help the fellow man and the community in which we live in. If the focus is taken off of ourselves and put on the community then the feeling of taking care of the community is no longer a burden it is an activity that is done by all on a daily basis.
Starting this idea on a community level will eventually lead to a movement on a national level.

Therefore if we can all pitch in and do a little it will go a long way. As a society we should help take care of each other and the environment. The five ideas explained above are suggestions and nobody has to participate. But if there were participation what would be the harm in doing so? Local food markets, recycling, carpooling, using clean energy, and working together as a community are positive ideas for the future. I would like to know that when I die that my children and grand children are not paying for my mistakes in the future. Wouldn’t you like to know the same?