What You Can Do
What You Can Do to Help the Environment
The problems of pollution are so great that we need everyone to help — including you!
You can help by joining Mikey Microbe’s Action Team. To join, just send Mikey an email and write in the email message why you want to be part of the Action Team. We’ll send you an FREE email newsletter about Mikey Microbe and the Microbial Action Team, with tips about what you and others can do to help the environment.
Mikey Microbe and the Action Team are counting on you to help “Make the World a Better Place” through education, communication, and action.
FIRST: Education
We all need to learn more about our environment, what’s hurting it, and what we can do to clean up pollution. Cleaning up pollution is called remediation. Using microbes to help clean up pollution is called microbial bioremediation. The people who know the most about microbial bioremediation become the people who advocate using beneficial microbes to clean up pollution. You can learn on your own about good microbes and how they help clean up pollution: you can learn more by searching on the Internet, and by reading books and magazines you can find at the public library or school library. Ask your librarian to help you get good information.
Pay-for-Performance is another important topic for everyone. Too often, companies that are paid to clean up pollution get paid whether they clean up a little, a lot, or not at all. For example, some contracts call for remediation companies to take polluted water out the ground, run the water through filters, then return the filtered water to the ground. That’s called “pump and treat” and it’s okay as far as it goes; but pump-and-treat doesn’t guarantee that the pollution will be removed from the water, even after years of effort. A better way is called pay-for-performance, where the company that’s cleaning up the pollution gets paid extra for doing a great job and cleaning up the pollution quickly.
Another important concept to learn about is the importance of cleaning up the source of pollution, instead of just trying to clean up pollution downstream. The concept is simple, but very important to eliminating pollution in a meaningful way.
SECOND: Communication
After you learn more about the benefits of microbial remediation, you should share the good news. Tell everyone who wants to help the environment and clean up pollution about the good work of Mikey Microbe’s Action Team. In particular, communicate with people who own land that has been polluted, government leaders who are responsible for cleaning up the environment, and engineers who work on projects to remediate polluted sites. Make sure they know that the right blends of beneficial microbes can help clean up pollution in soil and water.
THIRD: Action
The best action is to continue educating yourself and others, and continue communicating what you’ve learned with people who work to clean up pollution in soil and water. When you hear about a place that’s polluted, you might want to write a letter to the Governor of the state or province, or the Mayor of the nearest city or town. Remember, Mikey Microbe’s Action Team members are always courteous and polite, and work really hard to get their facts straight. In your letter, you might suggest that they consider microbial bioremediation to clean up the polluted soil and water at the source of pollution, using pay-for-performance contracts, to make sure the job is done quickly, safely, and as inexpensively as possible.
You can make a difference. You can make your voice heard. You can inspire others to help Mikey Microbe and the Microbial Action Team. To join the Action Team, just send Mikey an email with a message that tells why you want to join the team. We’ll send you an FREE email newsletter about Mikey Microbe and the Microbial Action Team, with tips for helping the environment by making small changes that collectively can make a big difference.
