从点滴做起　Every Little Bit Helps

There is hope if people will begin to awaken that spiritual part of themselves, that heartfelt knowledge that we are caretakers of this planet.

～Brooke Medicine Eagle

The holiday season was coming to a close and the new year was approaching quickly. I was so pleased with the resolution my family and I had made at the beginning of this year and especially proud that we were actually able to keep it.For the past year we had made an effort to go green and, looking back, I knew we were pretty successful.

Last year we began recycling all of our glass, paper, plastic, and aluminum cans. We changed all light bulbs throughout our home to those energy saving bulbs；we stopped purchasing bottled water and began using SIG bottles.In addition, we made it a point to use reusable bags when grocery shopping；even taking my reusable bags to the mall.

One of the best things we did was to subscribe to a service called Green Dimes. For a small fee, Green Dimes will stop all that annoying junk mail that arrives in the mailbox and use part of the fee they charge to plant trees in the community.Just think of all of the trees we helped save and all of the trees we helped to plant！

Although I was proud of all the changes we had already made, I felt that we could take it a step further for the new year and do more. I was especially interested in teaching my kids, who could always use a good lesson in giving back, to become more involved in learning how important it is to take care of the environment.I began thinking about ways I could further the connection.It took awhile for it to come to me but when it did I was inspired and excited about it.

I figured that, in our own way, we were already giving back to Mother Earth. But wouldn't it be great if we could give more to organizations that support causes which help the less fortunate around the world?What I decided to do was take the money we earned from recycling our aluminum cans, glass, and plastic and give it to charity.We would give to a different charity each time we collected the cash when we turned in our recyclables.

My seven-year-old son, Brayden, would even be able to join in, as he was responsible for sorting the items and taking them to the recycling center with me. I wanted him to become even more involved, and so I decided that he would help me decide which charity to support.He could help to do the research about the various charities on the Internet.Because we cashed in our recyclable items every month or so, we wouldn't have a large lump sum；but I loved the idea of teaching my son that it doesn't matter how much you give；what matters is that you give.The smallest donation can make a difference.

As this year comes to a close we are all proud of the steps we have taken to make a difference. And next year, although the dollar amount won't be huge, we will be doing our part to help the environment and make this world a better place.All of the changes we make don't have to be huge, but if everyone became involved, just think of the difference we could make.

～Laura Dean

如果人类的精神苏醒，从心底认识到我们是地球的看护者，那我们这个星球就还有希望。

——布鲁克·麦德森·伊格

圣诞假期即将结束，新年正加快脚步向我们走来。我很满意自己和家人今年年初所下定的决心，更让我感到自豪的是，我们坚持下来了。这一年里，我们竭尽所能地让生活更环保。回顾一下，我们做得十分成功。

一年来，我们回收了所有的玻璃、废纸、塑料和易拉罐；我们把家里所有的白炽灯都换成了节能灯；我们停止购买瓶装水，并且开始用耐用的登山水壶。此外，我们在杂货店买东西时开始用环保购物袋；有时我们甚至带着环保购物袋去超市。

我们所做的最有意义的一件事是定制了“绿色一毛钱”服务14。只要交付不多的费用，该服务就能拦截垃圾邮件进入我们的信箱，而且还会拿出一部分收益在社区里植树。想想我们保护下来的树木，还有在我们的帮助下种植的树木，多令人欣喜啊！

虽然对今年所取得的成绩感到很自豪，但是我觉得在新的一年里还能做得更多、做得更好。我很喜欢激发孩子的环保意识。孩子总是能给我很好的回馈，回报自然，更加关心环保的重要性。我开始想办法加强子女教育和环保之间的联系。过了好久，我终于可以将这两者更加紧密地联系起来了。这着实令我欢欣鼓舞。

我觉得，我们的所作所为已经是在回报母亲——地球了。要是我们能够向慈善组织提供更多帮助的话，让他们更好地帮助不幸的人群，岂不是更好？所以，我们就把从回收易拉罐、玻璃和塑料中获得的收益都捐给慈善机构。每次卖完回收的物品，我们都把钱捐给不同的慈善机构。

甚至连七岁的儿子布雷登也能加入进来。他每次都负责将物品分类，并且陪我一起送到回收站。我想让儿子更多地参与到这件事情中来，所以我想让他决定把钱捐给哪个慈善机构。他可以帮着在网上调查各个慈善机构。我们每过一个来月就把回收物品往回收站送一次，所以每次都卖不了多少钱。虽然如此，我还是喜欢教导儿子能明白这样一个观点，那就是，勿以善小而不为。即使捐得再少，我们也算尽了一份力。

眼看今年就要结束了，我们对自己所作的改变感到自豪。明年，虽然捐的钱还不会太多，但是我们会作出应有的贡献，让自然环境和人类世界更加美好。我们不需要作出什么大贡献，但只要人人都参与进来，想想我们能够带来的变化吧。

——劳拉·迪恩