If you have been following the news you may probably have seen that The Amazonian Rainforest has been burning at a record rate this month. So far almost 73,000 fires have been detected this year. The Amazon Rainforest is located on South America. It is responsible for producing 20% of the world’s oxygen making it the lungs of our beautiful planet. It’s basically a big hydraulic motor that brings balance to our life and planet. The connection to climate change is a circle. The fires cause gas emissions at an accelerated rate, this makes the temperature around the world go very high. This brings droughts more often and hotter temperatures for a longer period.
These past few weeks have been really eye opening for me. I find myself anxiously thinking of ways to help, things within my reach. After all I’m a student with a major debt, living at the capital of the island; which means money and time are very limited. After doing some research I found some ways that are going to help not only me, but my family, my wallet and most importantly my beautiful Planet Earth. I must say it is a slow start, but a start nonetheless. A new way of life doesn’t happen overnight, it takes time, compromise and patience. I am going to share with you 10 ways that have been the first steps I have taken as a starting line.
- I started with planning my hours when going different places. Being at San Juan makes traffic a nightmare so I have tried to plan my hours so I don’t get stuck in traffic. Cars emit gasses that are harmful, so the less time you are stuck in traffic, the less emotion of gasses, the better it is.
- Instead of buying bottled drinks, buy a reusable cup/tumbler/cooler. Use water fountains to fill them, when going out on a girl’s night use a reusable cooler for those drinks.
- Buy a water filter for your house/apartment.
- Start using reusable metallic straws or biodegradable ones. (little secret I got mine at Me Salve and at Always 99).
- Recycle your plastics, carton and paper.
- If you have an A/C and cannot change it to an Inverter (like myself) establish some hours for when its going to be turned off and on.
- When going shopping use reusable bags and only shop what you really need!
- Start thrift shopping. You can find some amazing hidden gems.
- Buy plants for your house and if you can plant some plants.
- If you see some trash pick it up, cleaning and taking care of our planet is a social responsibility.
There are so many more, I have shared just a few. I invite you to try them. The time is now to start, not later. Our world needs us and it is our responsibility.