Today, April 22, 2020 celebrates the 50th Anniversary of Earth Day! Earth Day was established in 1970 as a way for Americans to come together and speak out about concerns of pollution to our planet, as well as to begin action for changing our ways so that we can protect and preserve it. In fact, the first Earth Day on April 22, 1970 was so successful, that by the end of the year, the US established the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to create and implement laws to protect the Earth. But you don't have to join the EPA to save the planet...here are 5 easy changes that everyone can make to help our environment today!
1. Eat less meat and dairy- When people talk to vegetarians or vegans, an immediate response is often, "I could never do that". While the thought of eliminating animal products from your diet may seem difficult or unnatural, even reducing your consumption of meat and dairy can make a huge impact on the planet. An estimated 200 million animals are killed every day on land (meaning this doesn't include fishing) throughout the world. That is over 730 billion animals per year, which is over 9 times the amount of humans on the Earth. What must be considered before these animals are slaughtered for food, is what goes into raising them. It takes a lot of land, water and grain to raise farm animals. According to this article by the HuffPost, it takes 1847 gallons of water to produce 1 pound of beef! This is compared to the 302 gallons of water it takes to produce one pound of soybeans. To put that in perspective, the CDC estimates that 5000 children die every day from not having clean water, while we are feeding it to cows, pigs and chickens that we will use for meat. Raising livestock also requires the animals to eat a lot of grain and produce, which is grown by using many pesticides, hurting the environment. This article by Scientific American states that, "the production and distribution of 20 common agricultural products found that red meat such as beef and lamb is responsible for 10 to 40 times as many greenhouse gas emissions as common vegetables and grains". By committing to even one day per week of eating no meat or dairy, you will be helping the environment reduce greenhouse emissions, and we can also provide more food and water to those who need it most. In fact, the EWG states that, "If everyone in the U.S. ate no meat or cheese just one day a week, it would be like not driving 91 billion miles – or taking 7.6 million cars off the road." So hop onto Pinterest and check out some meat-free recipes to try. Your planet will thank you.
2. Reduce your use of plastics- By now I am sure we have all seen the pictures of "plastic islands" floating in our rivers and oceans. We have seen sea life found dead with plastic in their stomachs. I am sure it won't surprise you to hear that a plastic water bottle takes up to 450 years to decompose in our landfills. And yet, while most of us know these things, we still use plastic on a daily basis. While there are some items which require the safety and durability of plastic, such as some medical products, there are many ways that most of us can reduce our plastic use. Invest in some reusable shopping bags which you can leave in your car and pull out when you get to the grocery store, instead of using plastic grocery bags. When shopping, try to find plastic-free alternatives, such as glass bottles, meat and dairy wrapped in butcher paper instead of plastic, or refillable containers for bulk items such as flour, rice, beans, etc. Chose home items such as tooth brushes, clocks and furniture made out of wood or metal over plastic. If all 7.8 billion people in the world do a little bit to reduce our own plastic use, the reduction of plastic waste on the planet would be great.
3. Use less paper- Call me old school, or a hopeless romantic, but even in today's technological world, I love the feeling of writing things down on paper. I have journals and notebooks and working in education, we use a lot of paper at school. But we can all do our part to reduce our paper use, saving trees (our major source of oxygen!) in the process. Take little steps to reduce your paper use, such as signing up for paperless billing for services such as cellphones or utilities. Make use of technology, such as making a your grocery list or your notes on your phone or computer instead of a piece of paper. Eliminate your use of paper towels or paper plates by using washable dishes and napkins. While these are simple changes, they add up over time.
4. Drive less- The average American household has 2 cars. There are about 250 million cars registered in the US- a country that has 310 million people. And while the use of hybrid and electric cars has risen, only about 540,000 electric cars were not the road in 2016...that is less than 1%. By reducing our driving (like many of us have been doing now, while much of the country is shut down due to covid-19) we will reduce the amount of pollution being put into the atmosphere, as well as using less energy and petroleum to get around. Try carpooling to work, take public transit, or bicycle whenever you can. If your family can get by with having only one vehicle, not only will you be helping the environment, but you will also save a lot of money on insurance and gas!
5. Reduce and reuse- the EPA estimates that the average American produces 4.51 pounds of waste per day! This includes all garbage, from the food your throw away to the old couch you take to the dump. In a modern world where it is often easier to go buy something new than to fix something that is broken, that is a choice many of us make. But by reducing the amount of things we buy, the food we waste, or the items we replace, we are helping the planet by reducing our landfills. Try to give away things you no longer need, rather than throwing them away. Look for local people who can help repair things like your washing machine, or a broken toy, rather than throwing it away. Compost your food waste and recycle everything you can. And when you can, buy things that are used from thrift stores or consignment shops, so that you aren't consuming more. Look for ways that things can be repurposed, such as cutting up and old t-shirt to make cleaning rags, rather than throwing it out.
I hope that these tips and tricks will inspire you to make changes in your life to help the environment. We are all imperfect and it is not up to any one of us to save the world on our own...but if we all commit to making some small changes, oh what a difference we can make together. Please take some time today to smell a flower or watch the sunset and appreciate all the Earth provides for us...it's the only Earth we have. 💚
