Journals of a Gay Vegan: Introspection
The Trees Are Alive - Keep It That Way
My interest in environmental issues came as a direct result of two
of my other intrests: animals and nature. I absolutely love animals
which is why I joined PETA, and I also love
nature. I love to just walk through the park and look at
everything around me, the trees, the birds, the squirrels, the water,
it's so beautiful. My ideal vacation would be a weekend in the
mountains. Hiking, walking, sitting, and enjoying nature. The
world is a beautiful place. We rush by it so fast so often that
we miss all it has to offer. I love the big cities and metropolitan
areas, but even in the big cities you have to take some time and walk
through the park.
We take all of it for granted assuming that it will be around forever.
And all the while we're destroying and wasting things that we just
can not get back. Species of animals go extinct. Hundreds of miles
of forests are tore down. Pollutants flood the air. But we still
don't care. I guess I just don't get it. Perhaps other people just
don't enjoy walking through the park, breathing fresh air, watching
animals in the wild, and enjoying the gifts that nature gives us.
But it takes effort to care. Recycling isn't always easy. Conserving
water is a pain. Sure it becomes almost second-hand after having done
it for a while, but starting out seems so hard. I guess the best
way is just to take one thing at a time. Work into it. It's worth
it.
Every little thing that we do helps a litte. The more people that
care, the more things will change, and maybe we can still save what we
do have.
But do you know what the best way to help save the Earth is? Go
vegan. The absolute best way to show that you care about the earth is
to give up eating meat.
If you don't believe me just take a look at some of these facts from
meatstinks.com.
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"Every year, about 125,000 square miles of rain forest (along with
1,000 plant and animal species) are lost--more than half of it is now
used for grazing cattle. Vegetarians save an acre of trees every
year."
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"In an effort to conserve water, you install a water saver on your
kitchen faucet, saving up to 6,000 gallons of water per year. Most of
those savings will be lost if you consume just one pound of California
beef (which requires 5,200 gallons of water per pound to produce). A
typical American meat-based diet uses 4,200 gallons of water per
person every day while a vegetarian diet uses only 300 gallons a day."
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"Forty-five percent of the total land in this country is used to raise
animals for food or for crops to feed these animals. Vegetarians
require 1/6 of an acre of land to feed themselves each year;
carnivores, 3 and 1/4 acres."
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"To produce a pound of protein from feedlot beef requires burning 40
times more fossil fuels than to produce a pound of protein from
soybeans."
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Going vegetarian is the absolute best way to help save the environment.
For more information on a vegan life check out Vegan Outreach at
http://www.veganoutreach.com.
If you aren't ready to make that big of a change, start with something
easy, shut of the water while you brush your teeth. If you want more
information on ways to help preserve the beauty of our world check out
http://environment.about.com.
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