Ten Ways YOU Can Help Save Our Earth
In celebration of Earth Day, I like to reflect on my own impact on the earth and assess what I can do to 1) lessen my impact and 2) replenish what I have taken. The first is much easier for me than the second and reminds me that we are much like parasites, taking of the Earth, but not giving back. I have planted trees and plants, but don’t feel like I’m doing enough in this area. And, I certainly know we, as a human race, are not doing enough to replenish the earth’s natural resources.
That brings me to how we can all work to lessen our impact on the earth. There are MANY things each of us can do. Some are more difficult than others; but some are also very easy. Below are some of my favorite ways to contribute to lessening the impact we have on our Earth. Remember this Native American Proverb, “We do not inherit the earth from our ancestors; we borrow it from our children.”
Use eco-friendly cleaning and personal products – Everything you use gets into our water supply and then into the earth. Chemicals in cleaning products are the worst and actually contribute to the die-off of flora and fauna and tip the balance of our ecosystem.
Consume less cow – Did you know cows great more “emissions” (CO2) than cars? Livestock, as a whole, are responsible for 18 percent of greenhouse gasses. Livestock also produces more than 100 other polluting gases, including more than two-thirds of the world's emissions of ammonia, one of the main causes of acid rain. Cows also take a considerable amount of water to raise them to maturity. It takes 990 liters of water to produce one gallon of milk!
Buy organic – Organic foods don’t contain synthetic pesticides or herbicides that pollute the earth and damage our ecosystem.
Reduce water usage – This is a big one and there are several ways you can do this as follows:
Install a water reduction kit in your showers.
Replace your toilets with “low-flow” ones.
Brush your teeth without running the water.
Scrape your plates well before rinsing and putting in your dishwasher. Best to not rinse at all, if your dishwasher can manage the job.
Turn water off in between use instead of letting the water run.
Use foaming soap, which washes off more quickly, therefore using less water.
Create a xeriscape landscape, which uses less water.
Replace your lightbulbs – Replacing lightbulbs with compact fluorescent or, better yet, LED, considerably reduces energy consumption.
Recycle and reuse – This is a concept that has been around for years, yet so many people still don’t see the need. It takes considerably more resources to create something from scratch as it does to reuse the material AND that material doesn’t end up in our overflowing landfills.
Avoid using plastic water bottles – Americans throw away 50 million plastic water bottles every year! Instead of plastic, use stainless steel or glass.
Turn off your computer at night – You can save about 40 watt-hours per day by doing so!
Use reusable bags for shopping – Once you create the habit, you’ll bring them wherever you go and help save the earth from being littered with plastic bags.
Buy local – Produce travels hundreds, if not thousands of miles to get to your local grocer. Reduce greenhouse gasses by buying local and support your local community!
