Happy World Environment Day! This year's theme is: 7 Billion
People, Consume With Care.
World Environment Day is the opportunity for everyone to
realize the responsibility to care for the Earth and to become agents of
change. The well-being of Earth as a whole, humanity and our economies, depend
on us managing our planet's natural resources responsibly. People are consuming natural resources far
beyond what the planet can sustainably provide. Many of the Earth’s ecosystems
are nearing critical points of depletion or irreversible change because of
issues like our planet's high population and economic development. Earth's
population is expected to reach 9.6 by 2050. The U.N. reports that at the
current rate of population growth coupled with consumption patterns, humankind
will need three planets to sustain itself by the year 2050.
The health of our future is scary and the task of moving
towards a sustainable future is daunting, but there are small action we can all
take on personal levels that will help the planet as a whole in a big way! Here
are 6 small actions you can take.....
By avoiding your car for two days a week, you can
individually reduce greenhouse emissions by approximitely 1,590 pounds per
year. Imagine if just half the population did this!
-Walk or ride your bike instead.
-Simply carpool to work once during the week then carpool
with friends to the beach on the weekend. -Skip the car altogether and walk to
the dry cleaner, the drugstore and to lunch instead.
-Consider combining your errands into one day and leave your
car at home the next.
2. Be water conscious
-Use your dishwasher instead of hand washing dishes. Believe
it or not, it takes much less water to run a dishwasher. Just make sure that it
is full before running it!
-Cut 5 minutes off of your shower time, which will save
around 20 gallons of water in one go!
-Turn the water off while you brush your teeth- I know, it's
old news, but you'd be surprised how many people don't.
-You can go one step further by setting aside water you have
used to cook with (boiling vegetables or pasta maybe) and using it to water
your plants, instead of just pouring it down the sink.
-Take your car to car wash, which actually uses less water
than it would be you to wash it using a hose. If you need to wash it yourself,
use a sponge and a bucket of water instead of letting the hose run.
By not eating meat for just one day a week, you (as one person!) can save 84,000 gallons of water, 245 pounds of grain used for feed for livestock, 7,700 square feet of rainforest, 15.5 gallons of gasoline and a lot of animals, EVERY YEAR! It's also just much better for your health!
4. Think about paper
-Use recycled paper- that includes writing and printing
paper, toilet paper, napkins and paper towels. Recycled paper takes 75% less
air pollution and 35% less water pollution to make.
-Go "paperless"! Billions of pieces of mail are
thrown away each year, wreaking havoc on the environment. Call your insurance,
credit card and other companies who send you bills the mail and ask them to
stop. Simple view your bills online instead.
-Ask companies that send you junk mail, including credit
card offers and magazines/catalogues, to stop! CatalogChoice.org will actually
do the work for you. Simply sign up and they will ensure that you stop
receiving mail that you don't want.
5. Avoid disposable items
-Avoid using things that you use once and throw away.
-Buy rechargeable batteries instead of regular ones that you
throw out when they're dead. Not only do battles take up landfill space because
they cannot be incinerated, but they also leak harmful chemicals in the
environment.
-Don't use things like plastic coffee stirrers at home or
when you're out at the coffee shop. How wasteful to use something for 2 seconds
then throw it in the garbage.
-Use reusable grocery bags and water bottles! Plastic take
100 years to decompose in the environment and
also releases harmful fossil fuels and toxins into the air during
production.
6. Don't use pesticides
...or herbicides or manmade fertilizer in your yard. These
chemicals kills thousands of birds and other animals and millions of bees every
year!
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