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Saving Mother Nature Through Telecommuting
It is a long known fact that automobile emissions are among the main contributors to air pollution. Rush hour traffic, in particular, contributes more to pollution as slow movement in traffic implies an increase in fuel consumed and polluted gas emitted. This results to contaminated air that brings negative consequences to the atmosphere.
Pollution and global warming are two serious and growing challenges the world has to face today. And as inhabitants of the world, we must take our part in addressing these environment problems as it is us who will greatly be affected. Telecommuting, a new form of work arrangement, may be the solution to the challenge of pollution and greenhouse gas emissions.
Through telecommuting or telework, an employee works from home and delivers work output electronically. This implies that travel to and from work is eliminated and time consumed under heavy traffic is evaded. When more businesses adopt this work arrangement, we can expect significant reduction of traffic congestion and air pollution.
When transportation to and from work is lessened, pollution from excessive carbon dioxide is significantly reduced. Note that carbon dioxide is produced from fossil fuel burning, cement production for building and road construction, and highway expansion. Now when fewer people need to commute or travel to and from work, there will be a reduced need to build new roads, or increase capacity of existing highways, and maintain existing roads; and of course there would be a significant reduction in toxic gas emissions. Elimination of these industrial developments would help reduce air pollution.
Telework then counteracts the negative and harmful effects of travel-related pollution. Aside from reducing the transportation-related expenses, other energy and external costs are also decreased since the company need not include office space and equipment acquisition and maintenance, personnel training and human resource management, and other business fundamentals that require budgeting.
Research papers and studies from different environmental organizations and business groups have concluded that telework or telecommuting programs bring huge potential in lowering both external and energy costs thus proving a favorable effect to the employees, employers, and the society as a whole. Perhaps working from home can become our own little way of helping save Mother Earth. After all, we live in this world and we owe it to ourselves that we breathe in only healthy and clean air.
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