Earth Day 2019 – Current Environmental Issues and Ways You Can Help

Earth Day is an important day to remember how great a gift our planet and her beauty is. Although I think of every day as a chance to make my life more sustainable, I know most people do not live that way. I hope this post will educate you and help you live a more eco-friendly life!

Current Environmental Issues

1. Air Pollution – Animal agriculture releases almost one-fifth of the world’s greenhouse gasemissions. Read more about this issue here.
2. Ocean Pollution – 80% of marine pollution comes from land-based sources. Read more about this issue here.
3. Global Warming – The United States comes in second only after China in global-warming pollution, producing 16% of all global CO2 emissions, despite making up only 4% of the world’s population. Read more on this issue here.
4. Plastic Pollution – There’s enough plastic in theocean to circle the Earth 400 times. Read more about this issue here.
5. Overpopulation – There are 3,000 births every 20 minutes and a subsequent loss of 27,000 species of plant and animal life. Read more about this issue here.

What You Can Do To Help

1. Reduce meat and dairy consumption, implement meatless Mondays, try eating more plant-based meals throughout your week.More ways to help here.

2. Properly dispose of your trash by learning to recycle and compost correctly. Look up what is accepted in each category on your city’s website (e.g. Seattle:http://www.seattle.gov/utilities/services/recycli ng). More ways to help here.

3. Tips to reduce carbon footprint: choose energy- efficient appliances, LED lighting, turn heat off when you’re not home, eat locally-grown and organic food, use what you already have before buying more, support clean energy sources, walk/bike/take public transportation/carpool when you can

Calculate your carbon footprint here.

4. Tip to reduce plastic use: stash reusable items everywhere – car, bag, desk.

More ways to help here.

5. Adopt instead of having your own children or choose to not have kids.

Read more on the general topic here.

Read about whether you should be having kids in the age of climate change here.

Some EASY Ways to Be More Green At The Office

• Make Ecosia your default web browser. Ecosia uses the profits from searches to plant trees. On average, it takes around 45 searches to plant a tree. You can install the web browser by going to www.ecosia.org and clicking “AddEcosia” in the top right-hand corner.
• Skip the disposable kitchen items and bring your own reusable ones (water cup/bottle, plates, utensils, etc.). Compostable plastics really aren’t better for the environment. They break down into smaller pieces (microplastics), allowing them to get into the food chain earlier. The end result is more plastic toxins in your seafood.
• Pay attention to the signs on the compost and recycling bins and make an honest effort to properly dispose of your waste.
• Ditch the plastic-lined tea bag wrappers (not recyclable or compostable) and keep your own stash of loose leaf tea and a strainer in your desk.
• Skip the tiny coffee creamer cups and bring your own large jug – it will last you longer and reduce plastic waste, plus you can recycle it when it’s gone.
• Before throwing used sticky notes in the recycling, tear off the sticky part –it’s not recyclable.
• Bring your own lunch and snacks to reduce take-out and vending machine packaging.

Some EASY Ways to Be More Green At Home

• Watch environmental documentaries (there are several good options on Netflix right now: A Plastic Ocean, Before The Flood, MissionBlue, and Chasing Coral)

• Buy recycled toilet paper (I like Trader Joe’s) and help save the largest forest in the world, the Canadian Boreal Forest. Read more about it here.
• Reduce your plastic use (100 ways here)
• Sign up for a free recycling program through Terracycle for hard-to-recycle items such as toothpaste tubes, personal care product packaging, and snack packaging here.
• Opt for reusable towels and rags instead of paper towels whenever possible
• Ditch toxic chemicals in most common household cleaners and either make your own (lots of DIY recipes on Pinterest!) or buy non-toxic ones.