Many of us believe that we can’t make an impact in the world to protect the earth. But it’s important to realize that we have an impact on the world every day, whether you like it or not.
Here are 10 simple things. YOU can do to save your money, protect the earth and help preserve our natural resources and ecosystems.
Don’t worry, they don’t take much time at all!
- Reduce, Reuse and Recycle
- Join Cleanup Volunteering
- Educate others about the importance of our nature
- Buy Energy Efficient Products
- Use less water
- Don’t send chemicals into our waterways
- Save energy with reusable water bottles
- Use bicycles and Walk More.
- Stop using plastic bags
- Plant a tree!
1) Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle
Waste reduction is one of many ways you can help slow climate change.
Reducing what you throw away—whether it’s food, plastic bags, clothes, or other material.
That means fewer materials need to be mined from the Earth and manufactured into new products.
Reduce waste at home by composting food scraps, for example, or refusing a paper bag when you shop at a grocery store.
Recycling also helps reduce greenhouse gas emissions, as it keeps trash out of landfills.
Recycling aluminum cans saves 95 percent of the energy used in production compared with making them from scratch.
We can recycle other materials again and again like plastic bottles and paper.
Each time becoming a new product that requires less energy to produce than if we made it entirely from scratch.
Reusing items is another great way to help slow climate change.
Instead of buying a new water bottle every time you leave your house, bring one with you or buy a durable one that you can use over and over again.
2) Join Cleanup Volunteering
If you live near a beach, river, stream, or other natural environment that needs cleaning up, most municipalities offer help.
There are usually a lot of volunteers needed for these projects and it’s good exercise.
Not only are you being good by keeping your environment clean but you’re also helping your local community get rid of the trash.
The trash could have been harmful to fish and other animals if they had ingested it. It’s a win-win!
3) Educate others about the importance of our nature
A clean and healthy environment is an essential component of our lives.
If we all take part in protecting it, we can help ensure that our children and grandchildren will enjoy its beauty for years to come.
You can start by educating others about how important nature is—and why they should care about keeping it around.
For example, you could volunteer at a local park or join a community organization dedicated to conservation efforts.
Another great way to get involved is by spreading awareness on social media.
In fact, many people have found success with crowdfunding campaigns specifically geared toward preserving natural resources.
And if you’re interested in getting paid for your time?
Consider working as a consultant or starting your own consulting business.
Many businesses are always looking for ways to be more environmentally friendly!
4) Buy Energy Efficient Products
Before you buy anything, look for its Energy Star rating.
It’s an easy way to make sure you aren’t buying something that will be bad for your wallet and bad for your environment.
For example, a refrigerator might be Energy Star certified if it uses 20 percent less energy than other products in its class.
So not only will you save money on your energy bill, but you’ll also help reduce greenhouse gas emissions and fight climate change.
5) Use less water to Protect the Earth
By using less water, you help reduce your personal impact on streams, lakes, and rivers.
You’ll also save yourself money on water bills.
There are a few ways you can reduce your water usage:
Use a low-flow showerhead or faucet aerator – A five percent decrease in flow rate leads to a 20 percent decrease in energy use.
Take shorter showers – If each of us took just one minute off our daily showers, we could save more than 25 billion gallons of water per year.
Wash only full loads of laundry and dishes – The average dishwasher uses more than three gallons per load; washing by hand uses even more.
For the sake of the environment, fix leaks promptly – leaky toilets can waste up to 200 gallons of water per day.
Do it before it becomes a problem. Take shorter showers!
6) Don’t send chemicals into our waterways
If you live near a river, lake, or ocean, you’re part of an ecosystem.
So consider these words from Robert Frost when it comes to protecting our waterways: I hold water in my hand, and I feel its total mystery! And then I let it go—and I’m nothing again.
We need those rivers and oceans and lakes to be here today and tomorrow.
So take steps now to keep them healthy for all generations to come.
Keep your chemicals out of our waters! The easiest way to avoid releasing chemicals into local streams and rivers is to use natural cleaning products at home.
Make your own cleaners with vinegar, baking soda, lemon juice, and other safe ingredients.
They’ll work just as well as their chemical counterparts — plus they won’t hurt fish or wildlife if they end up in a nearby stream.
And you can hire a skip container for your waste to dispose of efficiently.
7) Save energy with reusable water bottles
It might sound like a minor change, but drinking from a reusable water bottle instead of plastic means less waste—not only for you but for everyone.
In California alone, 38 million water bottles are tossed in landfills each year.
That’s an awful lot of plastic that could be saved from entering our planet’s ecosystem!
When shopping for your reusable water bottle, look for something BPA-free with no chemical coatings that could leach into your drink.
8) Use bicycles and Walk More.
Even if you live in a big city, chances are you don’t need your car for most daily errands.
Skip making unnecessary trips by taking public transport or walking instead of driving when possible.
Choose a bike as your main form of transportation: Biking is cheap, fun, and healthy.
You can save money on gas and insurance while also saving time and reducing wear and tear on your car. Plus, it helps reduce pollution!
9) Stop using plastic bags to Protect the Earth
Estimates suggest that around 1 trillion plastic bags, we are producing globally each year.
Of those, North Americans alone use around 300 billion.
Disposable plastic bags—whether they’re used to haul groceries home from your local supermarket or line trash cans at a family barbecue—are made from petroleum, which is a nonrenewable resource that contributes greatly to global warming and other environmental problems.
10) Plant a tree to Protect the Earth!
Planting a tree is one of those small, easy changes that make a huge difference.
It’s estimated that if every person on Earth planted just one tree, we could add nearly 400 billion trees to our planet!
Trees clean our air and water and store carbon dioxide, which reduces global warming.
Even planting an indoor plant—like a snake plant or bamboo—in your office will help purify and filter your air quality.
And you don’t have to go overboard: Just by adding a few plants around your home or office, you can make a big impact to protect the earth.
11) Share this article with everyone you know!
This seems like a no-brainer, but sharing articles is one of those things that we often forget to do.
If you read an important news story or other useful information online, pass it along on Facebook or tweet about it on Twitter.
Your friends will appreciate your thoughtfulness and learn something new at the same time.
When they share with you, you’ll feel even better about participating in making a difference for our planet!
Conclusion
It’s easy to feel powerless against challenges like global warming, ocean acidification, and other big environmental issues.
But these challenges affect everyone in many ways; you have as much power as anyone else to make a difference.
Take steps at home or at work—at every opportunity—to reduce your own impact on nature.
And share that knowledge with others who might not know how they too can help sustain our planet for future generations.
