As (hopefully) everyone knows, this Monday was Earth Day. Earth Day is a holiday that has been celebrated since 1970 in over 193 countries. The purpose of it is to bring attention to the fact that we need to work together to take care of our wonderful planet by doing things such as reducing our carbon footprint. (For those who don’t know, a carbon footprint is the amount of carbon dioxide and other carbon compounds emitted due to the consumption of fossil fuels.) However, posting a picture of your most recent tropical vacation on Instagram with a caption saying “Stop using straws to save the turtles” isn’t enough. We should be treating every single day as if it’s Earth Day, and here are some easy way how to make a difference:
1. Cut down on energy
Saving energy is one of the easiest ways to reduce your carbon footprint. Flip the switch and turn your lights off when you leave the room, only have on lights that you need, unplug unused appliances, etc. And that’s not the only benefit of turning the lights off, you’ll save money on your bills as well! While ideally everyone would cut down their energy use to the bare minimum, it’s okay to take baby steps, every little bit helps!
2. Use energy efficient light bulbs
Another easy way to cut down on energy is to use a more energy efficient light bulb. CFL and LED bulbs not only use less energy but they last longer too! And since they last longer, you’ll save money since you don’t need to replace light bulbs as often.
3. Eat less meat
As weird as it may sound, cutting back on your consumption of meat can really make a huge difference in reducing your carbon footprint. More than 30% of the surface of the Earth is being used to raise livestock. To put that into perspective, Russia, the largest country in the world, takes up approximately 11% of the world’s landmass. According to a United Nations study, “the livestock sector accounts for 9 percent of CO2 deriving from human-related activities, but produces a much larger share of even more harmful greenhouse gases. It generates 65 percent of human-related nitrous oxide, which has 296 times the Global Warming Potential (GWP) of CO2.” To put that in simpler terms, cutting back on your consumption of meat will help reduce the overall emission of GHG gases.
4. Recycle
Reduce. Reuse. Recycle. Absolute number one rule of being more environmentally friendly is to recycle everything you can. It’s super important to consider what trash can be saved from going into landfills.
5. Use a reusable water bottle
In the United States alone, over 1,500 plastic bottles are thrown away every SECOND, and 38 billion are sent to the landfill each year. Using a reusable water bottle is one of the easiest ways to reduce the number of water bottles wasted each year, and therefore reducing a huge number of the plastic that is wasted each year. If you’re carrying around your own reusable water bottle, you’re also more likely to to stay hydrated since you always have water with you.
6. Use a canvas bag
Another huge issue concerning plastic is plastic bags. Everybody knows about turtles eating plastics bags after mistaking them as jellyfish and dying. Many areas are cracking down on this issue by banning plastic bags and replacing them with paper ones, but best way to be environmentally friendly when it comes to bags is to just buy and carry around a canvas bag when going shopping. Most big stores sell their own reusable bags for as cheap as $1 or $2. If you do have any plastic bags, be sure to reuse them! They work great as trash bags for mini trash cans.
7. Walk
Driving is not eco-friendly and heavily adds to you carbon footprint. The most eco-friendly way to travel is to walk, so walk at every chance you get! And if you can’t walk somewhere, carpool or take public transportation to reduce how many vehicles are on the road. Walking is also a great way to get exercise, so you benefit from it as well.
8. Reduce water waste
Reducing water waste is also a super easy way to help the environment. Take shorter showers, turn off the sink while you’re brushing your teeth, and don’t waste drinking water. If you live in an area where the tap water isn’t safe to drink, buy a water filter to use to fill up your reusable water bottle!
There are hundreds of ways that you can work to help save the environment and reduce your carbon footprint. While being informed is the first step, the most important one is to take action. Because of human-induced warming, temperatures are continuing to rise past earth’s natural point. This results in the altering, and in extreme cases, destruction of some ecosystems, which goes on to cause irregular migration cycles and messes with food sources for many animals. In the end, not being environmentally conscious affects everything, and it’s important to stay informed and actively work together to save our planet. If you’re interested in seeing how much climate change and our carbon footprints are affecting the planet, I recommend watching some documentaries such as Netflix’s “Our Planet”.
Just remember everyone: treat everyday like it’s Earth Day, and actively work to try to reduce your impact on the planet, every little bit matters.