What can YOU do?

Haze has a massive effect on many people in many countries, either directly or indirectly. There are many people who live worse off than most of us and the haze only makes their situation even worse. However, there is no reason for the process of burning down the rainforest to continue like this.

It is time to step up.

There are many ways a community can help to stop, or at least lessen, the haze. And thinking about it, it really just starts with one person.

These are some simple things we could do:

• Check the back of product packages

 Rainforests are burned down to create space for palm oil plantations. Palm oil is used a lot in different types of foods. A lot of them we consume without thinking twice about it. But it's easy. Just reading the ingredients list will show if a product uses palm oil.

World Wildlife Fund

• Donate to organizations

 Animals and people alike lose their homes when the rainforests are burned down. Luckily, there are a
lot of organizations dedicated to help either the animals or the refugees. Donating to these organizations can change the lives of many refugees and help them get settled elsewhere. Organizations like World Wildlife Fund (WWF) help to protect animals and also do their best to help the environment. If many people support their efforts, then it could help. UNICEF also does work to help people relocate and deal with the haze.

• Spread the message!

Not a lot of people are aware of the problem haze is causing. People living in countries where the haze has no effect probably never heard of this problem. Others might have briefly heard about it and then forgotten about it.  Spreading the message will teach many other people about haze and its dangers. If everyone would do it, then other people also can't ignore the problem and will start getting involved.

There are many other ways to send a message to lessen the haze, these examples are just the gist of it. One of the most important things to remember in a campaign such as our battle against haze is that we can't do this alone.

If just one person were to do all of these things for the rest of their life, it still won't have any impact on the haze. Only if a whole community, multiple communities in fact do these simple things, then we can make a difference.

For all of us.