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An eco-friendly way of life is not about changing the entire world overnight. It is about becoming aware of your own wasteful ways and then helping others become aware of theirs. After awareness comes the process of adopting slightly different ways of doing some daily tasks. When you do these things, you are keeping your environmental bank account full. When you go one step further and help others do them too, you are an activist and big changes can happen.

evh-3RM1
Every year thousands upon thousands of tons of electronics, from air conditioners to smartphones, are thrown out. This adds up to huge amounts of waste which has to be managed, especially for smaller countries like Korea. Is it possible that electronics waste is actually a resource? Like a mine in the ground, many people are beginning to think of electronics waste as "urban mines" because of the amount of gold, silver, copper, plastic, and steel that is waiting to be used again. To manufacture electronics products, resources such as gold, silver, copper, glass, plastic, and steel must be mined, purchased, or produced. As resources become harder to get, urban mines may become a more economical solution. About one ton of rock must be dug up in a mine to get around five grams of gold; however, one ton of mobile phones may contain around 300 grams of gold, in addition to other recoverable materials. The potential value of urban mines increases when resources become expensive and waste is not recycled. Although electronics waste may be seen from an economic point of view, there is another side to this story: the environmental issue. Recycling electronics waste can lower ecological damage from traditional mines and decrease air pollution from transporting materials over long distances. Moving forward does not always mean making new things; sometimes looking at an old problem from a new perspective is the simplest solution.

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I was thrilled when my cousin, Suji, invited me to Italy, a country in southern Europe that looks like a boot. She had a few days off from studying music in a conservatory, so we could spend a week together in Rome and Venice. I had never been abroad by myself, and I was a bit worried, but after the long flight for twelve hours, I was pleased to be greeted by my cousin at Leonardo da Vinci International Airport in Rome. Since Italy is seven hours behind Seoul, I was quite exhausted and sleepy when I got there. However, I forced myself to stay awake to begin my trip in earnest.

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Rome was like a giant museum to me. We began our sightseeing at the Colosseum. Nowadays, we can only see a part of what was once the greatest structure in the ancient world. It amazed me to think that people could build such a structure without modern construction equipment. The Colosseum has eighty arches through which about fifty thousand people could go in and out in fifteen minutes! As I reached the top of the stairs inside, I looked down and I could almost hear the cheer of the crowd.

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Suji and I walked along a path leading away from the Colosseum and heard the sound of falling water. We knew instantly that we were near the famous Trevi Fountain. Legend says that a single coin thrown into the fountain will ensure a return to Rome, a second coin will bring true love, and a third coin marriage! I threw one over my shoulder, wishing a return to Italy someday. I found it interesting that even on the other side of the world, people still wish for simple things like happiness, love, and marriage.