My son was recently given a book
I can help recycle rubbish. It explains that 'Everything we use and throw away is made from the earth's natural resources. These are water, oil, coal, gas, air, rocks, plants and animals.'
Paper was a tree. Drink cans were rocks. Glass was sand. Clothes from plants, animals, or chemicals made from oil.
It uses an analogy all children understand: 'Imagine you were given a huge jar of sweets but you could not have any more when they were gone. Eat them slowly and carefully, and you can enjoy them for a long time. Gobble them all up at once and they will soon disappear.'
We need to leave these resources to people who come after us.
Then it occurred to me that some people complain about the price of petrol but it is our insatiable thirst for convenience -- plastic bags, nappies, plastic cups, store-bought food/drink in plastic containers, the list is long -- that drives up the cost of crude oil. Why drive when we can walk or cycle? Why buy cheap clothes (cheap to make, using lots of oil to transport across the world) when a good few classic pieces can see us through many years?
My son now makes the point of switching off the lights he does not need as he moves from one room/floor to another. That's a result.
And then of course there are string bags ....
