Happy Earth Day! Today, we’re feeling inspired to take extra care of Mother Earth. After all, it’s our home, and now especially, it needs our help.
It’s easy to feel helpless when thinking about climate change and the massive changes that need to happen to turn things around – but try to fight that feeling! There are so many things each of us can do that can have a big impact.
Here are five small things that you, (yes, you!) can start doing today that over time, will help us all have cleaner water and air, and less waste.
- Ditch single-use plastics whenever possible. Did you know only about 9% of plastics are recycled? Crazy, right?! Even if they have the triangle logo, many products aren’t able to be recycled, so your best bet is to simply avoid using them. Try reusable sandwich bags or storage containers, use a refillable water bottle when you’re on the go, and carry a reusable straw in your purse so you don’t need a plastic one (sad but true, there are an estimated 8 billion plastic straws on the world’s coastlines!).
2. Use your feet. Whenever you can walk, cycle or take public transportation instead of driving, do it! You’ll save money and gas, and put less pollution in the air. And when you do pull your car out of the driveway, try to batch errands to minimize your time in the car. Remember when we only went to the grocery store once a week during the pandemic? We can do it!
- Embrace your green thumb. Planting trees can help remove carbon dioxide from the air (a big part of what’s causing climate change). So add some more greenery to your yard, join a volunteer effort to plant trees in your community, or donate to organizations that are helping to add more trees around the world. One we love is The Nature Conservancy, which has a goal to plant a billion trees around the globe!
- Go paperless. In addition to planting trees, you can save them too by ditching paper towels for reusable cloths, using bamboo toilet paper instead of traditional rolls, and keeping documents on your screen instead of printing whenever possible.
- Get your thrift on. Textiles (clothes, shoes, and accessories) are the No. 2 largest polluting industry in the world, after oil and gas! So when it comes to clothes and other home goods, buying thrifted or used items is much better for the environment than buying new (bonus: you’ll save money too!). And when you’re done with an item, make sure to donate or recycle it so it doesn’t join the billions of pounds of clothing that end up in landfills every year.
This planet is the one thing each and every one of us have in common, and need. Let’s take better care of our Mother Earth!
XO,
Emily and the EveryDay Happy Team
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Quote du jour
“Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.” — Margaret Mead
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