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Tottianna Powell
Professor Hamalian
English 115
8 December 2014
The Green Issue
The going green issue has been an ongoing issue that raises eye-brows and various
passionate opinions. I believe that going green will help the environment. However, societys
members are handling the issue in all of the wrong ways. In other words, recycling is a short
term fix that does not directly target the real issues. No longer are humans living in a world
where the environment is pleasant or stable but much rather becoming more and more
industrialized and diminishing before our eyes. The majority of the society believes that
recycling is a great action toward saving the environment. Though recycling can be beneficial by
conserving resources and saving energy. Our citizens make up for all of the good they have
done recycling through their everyday actions. Trees are also being cut down, which is a primary
source of oxygen. Fossil fuels are prevalent in todays air, and we (members of the society) are
constantly cutting trees down to obtain more resources.
To begin, many of societys members own homes, rent homes, or live in someones
home. All of which need power to function in everyday life. Most households if not all obtain
electronics anything ranging from a toaster to a television. According to Lawrence Livemore

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National Laboratory Report on Estimated United States residential energy, the estimated use of
energy a color television uses is four hundred-sixty kilowatt hours (unit of energy), and
estimated to be used twelve hours a day. This amount of energy can be used to operate ten lamps
with twenty-three bulbs. This is an example of how one household can waste an ample amount
of energy in a small amount of time. While everyone in one household may recycle, they are
defeating the purpose by simply continuing to have various energy consuming products in their
households. If energy is one of the most fundamental needs in life, why do we waste it?
Furthermore, the wastefulness in the United States is growing instead of decreasing.
Realistically, more energy is being used to condemn all of the particles recycled by societys
members. According to Lawrence Livemore National Laboratorys 2012 energy flow analysis,
suggest that 2012 was the most energy wasteful year in more than a decadethe amount of
energy wasted annually has hovered between 50%-58% during the last ten years, but in 2012
their waste calculation shot up to 61%. People are under the impression that recycling alone
will help save energy. Lifestyle changes must be made in order to truly save the environment.
Few environmentally friendly changes, such as using compact fluorescent light bulbs instead of
standard incandescent bulbs or saving plastic bottles and aluminum cans; will not make up for
the massive amount of energy wasted every single day, that then calculates to years of waste.
Lastly, in order for society to truly grown and become an environmentally safe place,
legal action must take place. As a United States citizen, our citizens abide by the rules of the
constitution. Environmental rules are not enforced in todays society nor was it enforced in the
past. To truly evoke change and solve these issues with wasting ample amount of energy and

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various other environmental issues, people must recognize the importance. Granted that, there
was a law passed stating that societys members are to limit how much energy they are using in
their households, significant changes would take place from one generation to the next.
Likewise, trees are constantly being cut down. According to, SavaTree Trees contribute
to their environment by providing oxygen, improving air quality, climate amelioration,
conserving water, preserving soil, and supporting wildlife. Trees do an amazing job of recycling
all the polluting carbon in the air and returning the oxygen back into our atmosphere, creating a
stable cycle of carbon in our atmosphere. However, the tremendous rates which trees are being
cut down in our forests have grown to alarming rates. According to Textile Waste Diversion
Incorporated, three to six billion trees are cute down per year. Oxygen is a source of energy,
therefore we are not only wasting electricity, yet wasting sources of energy for the human body.
Trees are not valued as they once were decades ago, which is why our society continues to
decline in solving environmental issues. The majority of people are either not doing enough to
help the environment or truly are not doing anything at all.

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Works Cited
"Tree Facts | Facts About Trees." Savatree.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 08 Dec. 2014.
"US Wastes 6186% Of Its Energy." CleanTechnica. N.p., 29 Aug. 2013. Web. 09 Dec. 2014.