Over 45 years ago today, Earth Day began and people around the world came together to campaign for the protection of our environment. More than 6 million Canadians participate in Earth Day activities in their community to help do their bit to prevent climate change and take action to lessen our footprint on the Earth happy new year wishes for lover. This day is a great reminder of how small actions can make a huge impact, and together, we can make a difference in making our planet a more sustainable place.
Doing your bit doesn’t require a huge effort, so here are 4 simple things you can do this Earth Day!
Consume Less
There’s nothing wrong with consumption – we all need to consume to survive. But it’s when we over-consume that problems arise. From cutting down on food consumption and reducing waste, to consuming less fuel by walking instead of driving, to thrifting our clothing and cutting consumption linked to the fashion industry, there are tons of ways that we can consume less. When we over-consume, this leads to the unnecessary destruction of rainforest, use of fossil fuels, and increase of greenhouse gases in our environment. Small changes can help us to consume less and make a huge difference to our planet.
Carry A Bag For Life
When you buy your groceries from the store, do you use a reusable bag or do you pay the 5c charge and opt for plastic? We often forget about the impact of plastic bags on the environment, but Earth Day is a great prompt to kick that nasty plastic bag habit! Plastic bag production requires huge amounts of energy and materials, and when they do finally end up in landfill sites, they take centuries to break down. They’re also incredibly harmful to wildlife, as animals like turtles accidentally swallow plastic bags and mistake them for food. Keep a small reusable bag in your car or purse all the time so you have it handy when you need it.
Recycle
Recycle points are more available to us now than ever before. If you live in a condo, no doubt there will be multiple recycling bins for your cardboard, paper, glass, aluminum, containers and everything else. Recycling is the easiest thing you can do to help preserve our environment and it requires minimal effort. Start by keeping a recycling box in your pantry or garage and separate your glass bottles, paper/cardboard and trash. As you get into the habit of recycling, consider composting old food so you create as little waste as possible. Recycling helps to reduce the amount of waste in landfill sites, minimize pollution caused by waste and reduce the use of precious raw materials.
Buy A Reusable Water Bottle
Think about it. If you buy 1 water bottle a day from the store, you will use roughly 360 water bottles per year. Imagine how many that equals in a lifetime? Water bottles are the new plastics bags – they’re everywhere. Water bottles aren’t biodegradable so they create roughly 1,500,000 tons of waste per year. Plus, some bottles leak plastic chemicals into the water so it’s not recommended that you reuse them, which only means more waste! Tackle this problem by buying a reusable water bottle and cutting out your use of plastic. It’s a simple change but can make a world of difference.
What steps are you taking this Earth Day? Let us know in the comment box below, or find us on Facebook!
