A salute to Earth Day; 6 tips to help our planet
Carmen Hughes
Image source: Louis Maniquet
It’s Earth Day. An important recognition that we are all intricately connected to the health and welfare of our planet and its complex yet fragile ecosystem. We must all contribute in whatever ways possible to protect and sustain the planet for our own welfare and that of future generations. Here are 6 tips we can consider adopting to take care of our earth.
Sustainable Diet. Join the millions who are expanding their diet to include plant-based foods. Grocery stores are seeing an explosion in demand of tasty plant-based foods like Beyond Meat, The Impossible Burger, and Memphis Meats. Consuming fewer farm animals is a responsible, easy step that many are already taking. In particular, livestock such as cows and pigs are particularly taxing on our planet as they emit methane, a potent greenhouse gas that contributes to global warming. According to the Food & Agricultural Organization, methane, while less prevalent in the air than carbon dioxide, is 23x more potent as a heat-trapping gas.
Conserve Energy: walk, bike or use public transportation. When things return to normal, we can rely more on public transportation instead of our automobiles. Collectively, cars and trucks account for nearly 1/5 of all U.S. emissions, which comes to approximately 24 pounds of carbon dioxide and other global-warming gases for every gallon of gas. The U.S. transportation sector, which includes automobiles, trucks, planes, trains, ships, and freight, produces almost 30% of all U.S. global warming emissions.
Curb Consumption. Historically, American consumerism is symbolic of our culture and a stamp of the country’s success. Unfortunately, the U.S. has laid a path for all developing countries to emulate. As consumers, we can seek out and purchase products or services from certified B Corporations, like Patagonia, that commit to social and environmental values as part of their charter and brand mission.
Avoid Plastic. Plastic constitutes approximately 90% of all trash floating on the ocean’s surface, with 46,000 pieces of plastic per square mile. Plastic in the ocean breaks down into such small segments that pieces of plastic from a one liter bottle could end up on every mile of beach globally. We’ve all seen the devastating pictures of mountains of plastic, garbage and debris littering our beautiful oceans. New York, California, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Maine, New York, Oregon and Vermont have banned single-use plastic bags and we applaud these environmental laws. As consumers, we all have choices on purchases non-plastic based water bottles, vegetable bags, etc. Let’s continue to be sensitive and reduce our reliance on and purchases of plastic-based products.
Population control. To combat overpopulation, have fewer children or none. By 2040, there will be 9 billion people who will need to rely on our diminishing resources amid the ongoing climate crises. Population control is an important consideration to ensure quality of life for our offspring.
Cherish our Water. There are also lots of things you can do to help keep our water clean as well as protect storm drains that feed directly into our oceans. To protect our drinking water, avoid dumping old medications and toxic chemicals such as paint, used oil, chemical cleaners, or other questionable household products go down the drain. Did you know by capturing running water to warm it up for daily showers can yield 2 gallons of water per person? For a family of four that is about 250 gallons of water saved per month.