I think humanity is the most wonderful thing that can exist. Just imagine that we are people and we are able to walk, see, feel, smell, breath, think, swim. We can travel everywhere we want to, we can access every little piece of information that exist.
Even though we have a lot of opportunities, we have some duties we must respect as well. We are not the only ones that live on this amazing planet. We have animals, insects and plants that we can and must protect. Also, we are responsible for teaching little kids how to take care of the world we live in.
These days, we have a lot of issues we need to take action against. For example, global warming is not a thing we hear in a random conversation, but it’s something that each and every one of us should think of.
Global warming can affect food production, can destroy natural habitats that belong to animals, can make sea levels rise so much, that they can even cause catastrophic disasters, such as flooding across the globe.
In order to keep living the way we want to, we need to take action and to start analyze our behaviors. That’s why, today I want to talk to you about some ways we can save our planet. Taking care of our home is not just a responsibility, but a necessity as well.
Let’s begin.
1. Start Conserving Water
You know when people say that small gestures make such a big impact.
That’s the case when we talk about Earth as well. For example, if you brush your teeth two times a day and you keep the water running, you’re wasting 8 gallons of water. That’s insane if you think about it!
In a four-person household, in which each member brushes their teeth two times a day, you waste 32 gallons of water daily. Don’t forget that also adds to your bill!
Another example can be a leaky faucet. If you don’t fix it, you might be dripping even 90 gallons of water daily.
Also, forget about drinking bottled water. You can go purchase a filter tap and you’ll also save a ton of cash, while you’re saving the planet.
Win-win!
2. Leave The Car Home
How many times did you tell yourself that you are not able to hit the gym? Either you’re too busy in the morning or too tired in the afternoon. I have an option for you! Leave the car home and start walking, biking or taking the public transport!
If your work isn’t that far from home, you can choose walking there or ride a bike. This way, you’ll reduce pollution, while you will also burn some serious calories and get your cardio in. If these methods are not suitable for you, you can always use the public transportation.
Also, if you can’t leave your car at home, at least try and limit the time you use it. For example, if you stay off road two days a week, you’ll reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 1,590 pounds. That’s incredible!
When you decide to go somewhere by car, try and complete all of your errands on the same day. You’ll get things done faster and you’ll help the planet breath!
Sometimes, even a car off the road can make a big difference.
3. Switch to LEDS
Compact fluorescent light bulbs (CFLs) can last 10 times longer than incandescent bulbs. Plus, they use minimum two-thirds less energy, but they have some problems, such as being hard to dispose or having mercury.
This is where LEDS come in handy, because they can emit light in a narrow band wavelength, which makes them extremely efficient.
Go to the shop and buy some LEDS. They may seem more expensive than incandescent bulbs or CFLs at first, but the truth is that LED bulbs can last up to 25,000 hours, compared to the 1,000 hours that the incandescent ones provide.
Go Get Those LEDS!
4. Plant A Tree
According to a United Nation report, “Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change”, it is thought that an additional 2,5 billion acres of forest worldwide can help limit global warming to 2,7 degrees Fahrenheit by 2050.
In order to help, each person could plant one or two trees. One little tree can absorb CO2 at a rate of 13 pounds per year. When the tree reaches 10 years old, his carbon storage function hits the maximum capacity and it can absorb 48 pounds of CO2 per year.
In addition to that, trees can also remove other toxins that live in the air, such as nitrogen oxides, small particles and sulfur dioxide.
Just do it. Plant a tree. You can even give it a name.
5. Remove Plastic From Your Life
You won’t believe when you read this, but some statistics show that people from all around the world buy 1 million plastic drinking bottles every minute. That’s insane! Also, they use almost 5 trillion single-use plastic bags every day.
I guess we are addicted to plastic and unfortunately, just about 9 percent of this large amount of plastic gets recycled.
At least 8 million tons of plastic end up in the ocean every year. Poor marine creatures!
We can all contribute and break this bad cycle! We can opt for reusable glass water bottles, filter taps we can use at home, glass containers for food. When we want to buy groceries from the store, we can replace those plastic bags with fabric bags. We can even put them in our bags and use them only when needed.
At the end of the day, we are all in this TOGETHER! You can’t just do everything I’ve told you not to and expect the world to be a better place.
If you want a safe, clean, environmental friendly and happy life not just for humanity, but also for each and every creature that lives on this planet, you need to take care of what you do.
We all need to do little things each day, in order to save this planet. We don’t have to take everything for granted, but realize that we are lucky we have Earth and start doing things that may seem hard at first, but are efficient.
You know what they say, keep calm and start saving the planet!
Happy Earth, happy humans!
