Earth Day is an international day celebrated around the world to pledge support for environmental
protection.
Mother Earth is clearly urging a call to action.
Nature is suffering.
Forest fires, heat records, and acid rain just to name a few.
There are several things that you can do to help restore our earth.
Here are some examples for you to think about.
Reduce the amount of meat that you eat.
Cattle, sheep, and livestock have a huge carbon footprint.
What is a “Carbon footprint”?
The term carbon footprint is how much carbon goes into the air because of something done
by people … or that is not done by nature.
We can reduce methane emissions by eating more plant-based foods.
What is a plant-based diet?
A plant-based diet includes vegetables, fruits, whole grains, legumes, seeds and nuts.
How will this help?
Methane is emitted during the production and transport of coal, natural gas, and oil.
Methane emissions also result from livestock and other agricultural practices.
For example, every time a cow burps or passes gas, a little puff of methane wafts into the
atmosphere.
Reducing the amount of meat, you eat will help decrease the amount of gas released into
the atmosphere.
Eating plant-based foods will help use global farmland more efficiently.
Shop locally.
Always try to buy food that is local and in season.
On average, imported food travels 2500 km before it reaches your plate.
Avoid food with unnecessary and excessive packaging.
Our landfills and oceans are becoming more and more clogged with plastic bags, food containers,
disposable coffee cups and more.
It's clear that the convenience of food packaging is outweighed by the waste and pollution that
the packaging leaves behind.
Consider whether or not the things that you are buying have an effect on deforestation
and endangered species.
Plogging.
The word plogging is the activity of picking up litter while jogging.
The name comes from Sweden, but the act of combining sports with caring for your environment
is something we can do worldwide.
Not only is it healthy for the environment, but it’s healthy for you.
Recycle.
To rinse, or not to rinse your recyclables.
That is the question.
And if you do need to rinse, what about “sticky” stuff like salad dressing that clings to the
sides of the container?
A quick rinse is fine - You don’t need to scrub those plastic and glass containers with
soap and water to make them clean enough to eat off of.
But taking a moment to give them a rinse, will ensure that they end up getting processed.
Don’t just throw them into the trash … Recycle.
Save water.
Shorter showers save water and the energy it takes to heat that water.
It may not seem like much if you cut down gradually, but by the end of the year, the
total amount of energy and water saved is huge.
Of course, everyone enjoys a long shower.
But a minute a day will make a huge difference.
Take full advantage of daylight hours.
If you can, get up earlier and make good use of daylight hours.
When you're in bed earlier, you'll need less lighting and overall you save on energy consumption.
Take a moment to think about what steps you can take to restore our earth.
We are all in this together.
Let’s each do our part.