As Americans, people feel like they have to be independent. Accomplishments are respected when done on their own. This is partially due to the competition of the free market economy and the cultural determination to be the best. But science tells us that collaboration, not competition, benefits society and individuals the most. The Ahlahasa wants to use that knowledge to encourage students to work together to make ALHS beautiful. 

The broken window theory states that if something looks broken, you will treat it as broken. Small things, like one broken window in a neighborhood, will lead to bigger issues and more broken windows. This applies to school too. If we invest the time into cleaning up the outdoor spaces of the school, it will benefit all of us. 

On a larger scale, this can apply to Earth. If people see our planet as dirty or polluted, they will treat it as dirty and polluted. And if people continue to have that mindset, the state of planet Earth will worsen and deteriorate. But if we all work together and remember that it is our responsibility to preserve and clean up the Earth, we can help prevent further damage to our planet. 

As people we have the privilege to live on a planet that is filled with wildlife and enriched with resources. Therefore it is our responsibility to take care of it and pick up after ourselves. 

People have taken resources and polluted over many years, but we need to recognize that we are responsible for the state of the planet.

One belief shared by most people is that someone else will come along and do what others are not willing to do. An example of this is plastic in the ocean. If one person out of a hundred is reducing the amount of plastic they use, it will not make as much of a difference as opposed to a hundred out of a hundred people reducing plastic use. Today 33 billion pounds of plastic enter the oceans every year. This issue could improve if everyone in the world would recognize and actively help the environment by reducing or eliminating waste and plastic use.

On a smaller scale, in Albert Lea our community has taken action to better our environment. Some of these actions include town clean-up days, lake clean ups, the Blazing Star trail being cleaned and encouraging people to reduce waste.

Usually every spring the city of Albert Lea hosts a spring lake pick-up day. This year it is being held on April 26. This is a great opportunity for the community to grow together while helping the environment. 

Even though you may be unable to help volunteer, you can still do small things and encourage others to do the same. Such as limiting plastic use, picking up outside if you see trash and choosing to ride a bike instead of driving to reduce air pollution. If every student at ALHS did something to help our environment or picked up in our community it would make our town cleaner and overall improved.