This year doesn't feel like much of a celebration, but rather, an urgent wake-up call. Our home planet, our Earth, is in big trouble The Earth is sick mostly due to human overpopulation and practices.
Global warming has resulted in devastating droughts in some places and record rainfall and snowfall in others. Glaciers are melting and sea levels rising. Oceans are warming. More species are threatened with extinction. Climate change is resulting in an increasing number of people leaving their countries due to failing food production and poverty.
We as individuals cannot stop or reverse climate change. But we can do something.
The Farmer’s Almanac suggests the following 10 things you can do on Earth Day to help our planet:
- Support the bees by planting pollinator-friendly plants
- Pick up the trash in your neighborhood
- Go to a park and explore nature
- Plant a tree
- Plant wildflowers and plants native to where you live
- Reduce, reuse and recycle
- Stop using chemicals in the garden
- Conserve water and practice mindful use of water
- Think about your diet and prevent the wasting of food
- Get your friends, family and kids involved.
Here are a few things I do to help our planet.
- Make changes to your daily habits.
- I keep reusable shopping bags in my car so I don't have to use flimsy, single-use bags.
- I limit my showers to 10 minutes.
- I turn off lights when I leave a room.
- I recently traded my car (which got 31 mpg) for a hybrid vehicle that around town get 55 mpg.
- I recycle everything that is recyclable where I live.
- I set my thermostat to 56 degrees F at night during the winter.
- My sprinklers are set to run early in the morning to avoid evaporation.
- I refuse to buy anything made from any endangered species.
- I try to avoid any food product that includes palm oil.
- I donate or give away things I no longer want or need to keep them out of the landfill. I recently jointed my local Buy Nothing group and have found new homes for an ironing board and iron, stationery and other items.
- I switched from plastic to bamboo toothbrushes.
- I stopped buying liquid laundry detergent and now use detergent sheets that dissolve in water. No more plastic detergent bottles.
- I now use bar soap rather than shower gel in plastic bottles.
- I bought a razor with replaceable blades rather than tossing disposable plastic razors into the landfill.
Big business and governments, as the largest creators of pollution and users of fossil fuels, must step up. It will take all of us working together to save our planet.
Great reminders of the simple things we can all do to help! Thanks for posting!
ReplyDelete