I normally go home from work at 7:30 in the evening, except last Wednesday, July 4th, when my son, Carlo called and asked me to go home early. It doesn’t happen everyday so I begged off from work and headed home.

        When I got home, my son sat on my lap and asked me “Mama, what happens if we can’t stop global warming?” I asked him if he’s scared, he said yes. I told him, don’t worry about it sweetheart, there are experts who study and work everyday to stop it from happening. Besides, God will never let anything bad happen to us. He said, can you tell all the children and teachers and parents in your school not to smoke and burn plastic? I said ok… and then he continued by saying can I come to your school after my school so we could pray together… I looked at him. I wanted to cry. My son is only seven years old he is worried about his environment and future.

        I know he learned it from school but unlike other students he just didn’t leave what he has learned, inside the classroom. He told my mother to stop burning trash in our backyard, he told my brother not to smoke, he told me to recycle … At his age, he’s doing something about it in his own little way. It would be a shame if I don’t do anything. I’m God’s chosen angel for my son. I have to assure him that he’ll be safe in my care and God’s. I searched the internet (www. epa.gov/globalwarming) and here are few simple things I found that I know we could do.

1. Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle
        Recycle your newspapers, beverage containers, paper and other goods. Use products in containers that can be recycled and items that can be repaired or reused. In addition, support recycling markets by buying products made from recycled materials. Reducing, reusing, and recycling in your home help conserve energy and reduce pollution and greenhouse gases from resource extraction, manufacturing, and disposal.

2. Be green in your yard
        Use a push mower, which, unlike a gas or electric mower, consumes no fossil fuels and emits no greenhouse gases. If you do use a power mower, make sure it is a mulching mower to reduce grass clippings. Composting your food and yard waste reduces the amount of garbage that you send to landfills and reduces greenhouse gas emissions. Improve your lawn or garden while also benefiting the environment. Smart Landscaping can save energy, save you money and reduce your household’s greenhouse gas emissions.

3. Use water efficiently
        Saving water around the home is simple. Municipal water systems require a lot of energy to purify and distribute water to households, and saving water, especially hot water, can lower greenhouse gas emissions. There are also simple actions you can take to save water: Be smart when irrigating your lawn or landscape; only water when needed and do it during the coolest part of the day, early morning is best. Turn the water off while shaving or brushing teeth. Do not use your toilet as a waste basket - water is wasted with each flush. And did you know a leaky toilet can waste 200 gallons of water per day? Repair all toilet and faucet leaks right away.

4. Spread the Word
        Tell family and friends that energy efficiency is good for their homes and good for the environment because it lowers greenhouse gas emissions and air pollution. Tell five people and together we can help our homes help us all.

        I know so much have been heard and said about global warming. Fact is we just had the hottest summer ever…But what have we done so far? So I’m writing this to once again remind all of us, every little step we take together will make a huge difference. We may never realize and see it for ourselves anymore but let’s not forget our children and their children too. Let’s not wait for our government to act, let’s not watch other people do something about it… everyday we see many of us contribute to global warming… we can do something about it. We don’t even have to look and start far. We can start in our own homes…. Please, I ask, do it for your own kid and mine….

from Miss Amy
Carlo’s mom

Caption: This author is a cum laude BEEd graduate of UNC and pre-school and elementary school teacher.