What is P2?
P2 is short for Pollution Prevention. It is the practice of reducing and removing pollution at the source. That means, not creating as much waste to begin with. With less waste to begin with, there will be less waste-and less pollution-to remove at the end. The less pollution we have, the better it will be for the overall health of us, and the environment.
For more information about P2, please visit EPA’s website.
What is West P2 Net?
West P2 Net, is short for West Pollution Prevention Net. It is meant to be a resource for providing information for pollution prevention, and the effects of pollution. It is open to anyone who wishes to help make an impact and help reduce waste, pollution, and better our environment. Currently, our focus is to act as a resource for individuals at home.
West P2 Net, currently, will concentrate on helping prevent water and air pollution. Air and water are two essential resources that all living beings need; we need them, and so do our children and grandchildren. By getting as many people involved as possible to reduce pollution at it’s source, we can help. Through education, we can help people make informed decisions. These informed decisions will help fulfill our goal of reducing pollution.
How will informed decisions make a difference? Once informed, people will be more conscience of how their personal choices can negatively affect the environment in which they (and their loved ones) live in.
Example of How West P2 Net Can Help Reduce Water Pollution
For example, let’s talk about pesticides and how they can be harmful. Harmful pesticide, designed to kill living things, are currently in widespread use. In agriculture, is where they are used in great volumes. That’s a problem we’d like to be able to reach out to in time. But, as of now, with our focus being on the individuals living at home, let’s concentrate on that.
Even though the average home owner garage door spring replacement isn't using large volumes of harmful pesticides to combat pests that may target crops, they are still using pesticides nonetheless. This is now becoming an even greater concern and it will continue to grow into a larger issue in the near future. Due to the internet and the boom of eCommerce, the average person is now able to purchase pesticides that are much more concentrated. Previously, consumer level pesticide products were less concentrated. That’s not to suggest the less concentrated pesticides were any less harmful or had fewer impacts on pollution and the environment. All that means is, with more concentrated pesticides in use today, they become an even bigger problem.
Before, synthetic pesticides created to kill insects by attacking their nervous system were generally available to the average consumer in concentration levels of 10% or less. Currently, products these types of insecticides can be easily purchased in concentration levels as high as 40%. While the manufacturers and other pest related resources claim they are not harmful to humans when used accordingly, there is no known proof of their claims. Also, these higher concentration products are specifically manufactured for use by professional. They were intended to be used by professionals who had the proper equipment and training to properly use, handle, and dispose of the pesticides. The average consumer cannot adequately use, handle and dispose of them properly because they lack the proper training and they do not have access to the appropriate equipment.
Pesticides when used indoor can often be disposed of improperly by dumping them into the home’s plumbing system. This allows the chemicals to make it’s way back to our natural waters. When used improperly outdoors and when dumped outside, they chemicals can not only make their way back to our natural water sources, they can also harm the surrounding environment as well.
Improper handling and disposal of pesticides will not only cause pollution to our natural waters and the surrounding environments, it can and will also can harm to us, and our loved ones. By helping teach the average consumer (the individual) how to become aware of the impacts of their choices, the next time they find themselves in a situation where they may be considering using a harmful pesticide, they will give thought to a more Eco-friendly solution that will have less harmful impact to the planet.
This is one small example of how West P2 Net can help reduce pollution. It is meant as a brief summary of the what our efforts can achieve. To find more information about other potential causes of pollution and possible remedies that we, the individuals at home, can do to help reduce and prevent pollution, please refer to the many resourceful information on this website.
How You Can Help
Do you want to help make an impact; by helping reduce and prevent pollution to our water, air, and environment? We’re glad you want to help make a change, and there are several ways you can help.
- Tell your friends about West P2 Net. Ask them to give us a visit at www.westp2net.org. The more visitors we get, the higher the chances they will take a few minutes of their time to become more informed of the impact they make.
- Share any helpful information you might have that we are lacking on the website. Submit a helpful article, or tip about pollution prevention via our contact form. The more information we have to share, the more helpful we can become, and the bigger the impact we can make towards helping reduce waste and pollution.
- Share any helpful case studies, or additional resources you might know of that will help us fulfill our mission.
- Most important of all, remember what you’ve learned here. Next time, think about how your decisions might negatively impact our environment. Take a step back and consider how a different decision might be better for preventing pollution, and helping make our home, planet Earth, a better and safer place to live-for a long time.