how to make an impact on earth day and for years to come
Earth Day is coming up on Friday, April 22. A couple years back I shared this Jane Goodall quote that really brings the point home, "You cannot get through a single day without having an impact on the world around you. What you do makes a difference, and you have to decide what kind of difference you want to make." Earth Day was started as a call to global environmental awareness and led to the creation of the US Environmental Protection Agency and the passage of the Clear Air, Clean Water, and Endangered Species Acts. Although we as individuals may not have the means to enact such a large scale change, we can impact the world around us, and as Jane mentions everything we do makes a difference. Small, simple changes in our everyday can make a huge impact. Earthday.org has some great ideas to get us all started on this greener path. The list below can help with some additional guidance.
- Limit animal consumption in your diet. For those on the fence about becoming a vegetarian or wanting to learn more about the impacts of animal agriculture on our environment I highly recommend the documentary Cowspiracy. I wrote an article about this doc here.
- Walk or ride a bike instead of driving. Another benefit of going outside and moving is that it will also reduce your stress and improve your mood. We call that a win-win.
- Stop using disposable plastic. Bring reusable shopping bags to the grocery store, eat food with non disposable silverware, and fill up a reusable water bottle.
- Shop locally. Head to a farmers market instead of the grocery store when possible. Local businesses require less transportation which means less pollution, plus they are usually smaller which equates to less land consumption.
- Recycle. This is a straight forward one. It is so easy to do, and yes that one piece of paper makes a difference.
- Use less water. Collect rain water, take shorter showers, and/or plant drought tolerant plants. Did you know Americans use 5 times more water than Europeans and that about 95% of the water that enters our homes goes right down the drain?