Go green. Help the environment
Febuary 6, 2010. By Arnold Rapinan
Here’s another way of doing what I can to help fight global warming: drive a Prius! I first heard of global warming when I saw Al Gore’s documentary called “An Inconvenient Truth” in summer of 2006. I thought it was a great propaganda and wondered what political agenda behind it. Boy, was I wrong!
Going green started for me a year later in summer of 2007 and it was not because of the documentary or all the publicity it was receiving at that time. Rather, I started going green by accident: I took my then 3 year old daughter to the recycling place to turn in the cans, plastics and bottles we have consumed that summer. The whole idea was to teach her how to make and save money. I will never forget the look in her eyes when she received $63 and change for our junk: six bags (60 lbs each) of cans, plastics and bottles. She said, “I will put it in my piggy bank for my education.” I was hooked.
Lo and behold, I was asking my in-laws to save their cans and plastics. My recycling process at home became more serious. I learned more about global warming and how serious it is, and that I wanted my children’s grand-children to enjoy earth. From recycling plastics and cans, I decided to change all of our home appliances to be energy efficient. I started buying organic items, and bringing my own bags to the grocery stores (our three cars have re-useable bags in their trunk). Last year, my wife and I decided to purchase environmentally friendly cars: Tahoe Hybrid and Toyota Prius, bringing our commitment to the next level. God willing, and if we can afford it later on, solar roof next. You can do the same thing: start small, like stop using bottled water, and by the time you know it, you are making a difference!