Can You Spare a Dollar?

It use to be, can you spare a quarter, or maybe even a dime, but a dime or a quarter will not get you far at all. Right now, the US dollar bill will hardly get you anything at all. That is; in the United States. You are lucky if you can get a cup of coffee with that dollar bill. If you want a good cup of coffee, well I’m afraid you don’t have enough money.

In other countries you can buy a pop and a candy bar and still have a little change left over. What makes our country so different? I know we are not the only country where it is getting harder and harder to find a bargain for their dollar. Everything here is always at a high price, that is, until you travel abroad. If you travel to Europe or India, you will probably pay a lot higher prices for living expenses. Hawaii has higher gas prices. As far as food goes, that varies region by region. The US dollar will become obsolete in years to come. The five dollar bill will replace it, and eventually we will have the same woes! There are plenty of ways not to think about it. Become more proactive…plant a garden, food prices are going up fast. Downsize your vehicle, gas prices are going up. Look at hybrid vehicles, they are fuel efficient and are environmentally friendly. People don’t think about the amount of water they use. Instead of turning on the faucet full blast, use half the amount you intended. With China being in a severe drought along with other countries, when we have plenty of water, we never think about those that hardly have it. Turn off the light when you’re not in the room. How many times have we heard that one growing up? But, it’s so true. We would not be wasting half of the electricity. It would mean a lower bill and extended amount of resources if we all abided by that one little rule. Save on your gas bill. Do you remember all of the houses during the 60’s and before that use to have a clothesline? People hardly ever use them anymore. It would cut down on the gas bill and save on the resource for later use.

It’s all about conserving. We have to conserve our resources. And it is not just during hard economic times. It is an everyday, year round effort by everyone. It’s hard when some people care and others don’t. It just makes it much harder. Conserving our resources should be a joint effort by everyone. We all have a vested interest in conserving. It all just takes discipline. We have to change our way of thinking and acting. Once we learn our lesson and what our role is in conserving our resources, we can better explain it to the next generation, and instill in them the message of conservation.

One more thing, wash out your plastic water bottle and re-use it. There are plastic water bottles found everywhere; floating in our rivers and lakes, thrown on the ground in the forest floor, on the side of the road, etc. Just remember it is the important thing’s such as starting a compost pile and recycling your plastics and conserving your water usage and walking or riding a bicycle instead of driving a car that is going to change us and our planet for the better.