Improved
6112 HealthChanged
3786 LivesSaved
3568 Lives0 lives impacted in the last 24 hrs Learn More
Auremar/PhotoSpin
Saving the planet may seem like a big job. And it is. It is not something that one person, or a small group of people, can do alone. It will take a lot of little tasks by a lot of people all over the world to protect and conserve nature.
It will not require lots of time, energy or even thinking, instead saving the planet will be done by engaged, everyday people who decided to make a difference.
The Walt Disney Company has long led the charge to promote the idea of how small changes can create a monumental shift. Disney Citizenship is the community-focused, volunteer-driven arm of the mammoth company, and has announced that the company gave away nearly 370 million dollars to charities in 2013, including many environment-focused initiatives.
Disney Citizenship’s overall goal is to promote the happiness and well-being of kids and families. They use that goal to guide their actions in all other facets of their media, entertainment and theme-park empire and seek to inspire families to join them.
The Walt Disney Company is not the only media company making changes to help the environment, though.
The Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) announced in April 2014 that its members helped prevent 19 million tons of waste from going into landfills in 2013. MPAA members took great individual strides to help protect the planet using various new technologies and information.
The first LEED-certified post-production facility in Los Angeles was built by 20th Century Fox. Among other green technologies, it gets 70 percent of its energy from wind power.
Paramount Pictures has installed microturbines to reduce the studio’s electrical usage by 2.1 million pounds of CO2, which is the annual CO2 emissions from 81 homes!
Warner Bros. Entertainment has continued to increase energy conservation measures including adding wireless thermostats and LED energy efficient lights. Their total savings from these measures is estimated at over $450,000.
However, it doesn’t take owning a media company to help save the planet. Listed below are five easy activities anyone can do to help save the planet one small step at a time:
1. Rideshare.
Carpooling to work or shuttling the kids to school can save money, time and energy. Try to choose the mode of transportation with the smallest environmental impact. Biking, walking, and taking public transportation top the list.
2. Conserve electricity.
It just makes sense to turn off electronics when they are not in use. However, don’t forget to unplug appliances and things like phone chargers. Even if they are not “on”, they will still leak energy if they are plugged in.
3. Be efficient about water usage.
Taking shorter showers will help but also look at repairing leaky faucets or pipes. This can save hundreds of gallons of water over the course of a year.
4. Recycle.
Everyone needs to do their part to reduce the amount of garbage that ends up in landfills each year. Recycle bottles, cans,and paper and maybe even try composting food!
5. Be responsible about paper usage.
Think twice about printing something out. And if printing is necessary, use both sides of the paper to do it.
Once everyone starts making those little changes, it will roll into a snowball effect with larger and larger changes being seen throughout the world.
Being contagious about one’s efforts to protect this planet is a good thing! Be sure to tell everyone how they too can help save the planet.
Sources:
TheWaltDisneyCompany.com. Web. 30 April 2014. “Disney Citizenship 2013 Performance Study.”
http://thewaltdisneycompany.com/sites/default/files/reports/FY13PerfSummary.pdf
TheWaltDisneyCompany.com. Web. 22 April 2014. “Six things you can do to protect nature on Earth Day and everyday”.
https://thewaltdisneycompany.com/blog/six-things-you-can-do-protect-nature-earth-day-and-every-day
MPAA.org. Web. 22 April 2014. “Earth Day press release.”
http://www.mpaa.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/Earth-Day-Press-Release-3.pdf
Reviewed May 1, 2014
by Michele Blacksberg RN
Edited by Jody Smith
Add a CommentComments
There are no comments yet. Be the first one and get the conversation started!