Simple Changes for Earth Day
Earth Day (April 21st) is just around the corner. There are simple things you can do to help the environment. Small changes can make a big difference when done on a global level. Recently I wrote a post about Earth Hour, which is a precursor to Earth Day. For Earth Hour my house powered down between the hours of 8:30-9:30. We turned off lights and powered down to do our part. I realize not everyone can cut the power for an hour a day. That is where these simple changes can come in.
Bring your bags…
We all have those reusable bags hanging around our house. Collect those bags and put them in your car. I do most of my shopping at ALDI so I need to bring my own bags. I even have a market basket I carry them all in. Get in the habit of bringing your own bags. It is estimated that 4 trillion plastic bags are used worldwide annually. Only 1% of plastic bags are returned for recycling. Americans throw away 100 billion plastic bags annually. That’s about 307 bags per person! All that waste can be eliminated by switching to reusable shopping bags.
Switch to LED…
Incandescent light bulbs waste a huge amount of energy. They get scorching hot, and as they age they start to buzz – both signs of inefficiency. The heat can get dangerous, burning skin or material that comes into contact with it, and they need replacing every couple of years. LEDs, on the other hand, are much cooler to the touch, don’t buzz, and last for up to 25 years, creating much less plastic waste. They also use 75% less energy, meaning fewer fossil fuels are burned to power them and lower energy bills for you.
Ditch the water bottle…
Humans buy about 1,000,000 plastic bottles per minute in total. When I grew up we never had plastic water bottles. We drank out of the hose or the stream. I know we were made of thicker skin back then. For some reason, we have gotten into the habit of single-use plastic water bottles. I know there is an ease for a take and throw bottle. However, Americans purchase about 50 billion water bottles per year, averaging about 13 bottles per month for every person in the U.S.! Even if the water in your house is not sufficient then purchase a water filter and refill those reusable bottles. It will be cheaper in the long run!
Reduce, reuse, recycle and REFUSE!
Do you really need a bag to carry out one item? Even if it is a paper sack. Refuse. Pick it up with your hands. Do you really need one more pen or sticker or mug from the latest conference? All these trinkets and bobbles are piling up in our houses. When we no longer want them they end up in the landfill. Refuse!
Earth day is a great cause.
Oh yeah , good old human trash , causing problems absolutely everywhere. Even killing us , but we are not doing almost anything about it . Sad
Couldn’t agree more
These are options that can really make a difference when most people change their habits, and not that hard to do. I try to be conscious of anything I can do, small changes are not insignificant. Knowing you are helping our precious earth will help you to care more, and want to learn more, too. Encourage others in your orbit!
I love earth day.
Changing some of our habits can really make a difference. Our country has recently banned the use of plastic straws. Yayyy!
We must change our ways or else we wan’t have any more habitable planet , at least not habitable for us
We should think of Earth more then just one day in a year