Every day millions of single use paper and styrofoam cups end up in the garbage. It is estimated that it takes more than 6.6 million trees to feed America’s annual paper cup habit. Reusable cups are affordable and come in all shapes and sizes. Use a reusable cup.
Join A Car Coop
Car sharing is economical, cuts greenhouse gases and eliminates unnecessary car trips. Most car co-op members choose to drive fewer miles than traditional single use car owners. Less cars on the road means less greenhouse gases emitted and a direct reduction in air pollution. Sierra Club USA explains that “…the average car emits about 6.3 tons of CO2 over a year — and the average SUV or pickup emits around 8.2 tons.” Car co-ops offer a range of vehicle options including trucks, compact cars and often hybrid or electrical car options.
Support Meatless Mondays
Meatless Mondays is a global campaign to encourage people to make a weekly sacrifice for the planet by cutting down on greenhouse gas intensive meat from our diets. North Americans, with some of the highest meat consumption on the planet, can directly reduce their personal carbon footprint (and alleviate animal suffering) by cutting down on meat (cow, chicken and pork) consumption. Visit: http://www.meatlessmonday.com/
Eliminate Your Lawn
It is a shocking fact that grass is America’s biggest irrigated crop. But the bad news doesn’t stop there – lawns cover more than 41 million acres, 30,000 tons of pesticides are used on American lawns each year and every day more than 5000 acres of land is converted into grass, according Gimme Green, a film about America’s obsession with lawns. Consider removing your lawn and replacing it with drought resistant plants or food gardens.
Install A Low Flow Shower Head
Low flow shower heads use an estimated 50% less water than a traditional shower head. “Older shower heads have flow rates of up to 20 litres per minute. Low-flow shower heads use between 5.6 and 9.5 litres of water per minute,” according to One Million Acts of Green. Installing a low flow showerhead directly reduces your household’s water footprint and your water bill.
Refuse Junk Mail
Unbelievable, but true, an estimated 100 billion pieces of junk mail are delivered in the United States each year, which comes out to 848 pieces per household according to ForestEthics’ Junk Mail’s Impact On Climate Change report. It takes more than a 100 million trees to make junk mail each year and 44% of that junk mail goes straight into the landfill unopened. Join the US Do Not Mail campaign or the Canadian Red Dot campaign to put an end to junk mail
Eliminate Electrical Waste
Do you really need an electric cheese grater, hand lotion warmer, automated can opener and electric knife? We can do all these things manually and it is up to each person on the planet to take responsibility (particularly in North America) to eliminate unnecessary waste and frivolities. Once we cut out the little things we can eliminate the larger items like heated driveways, those multiple plasma TVs that talk to themselves most of the time, vampire electronics that never get used – like the microwave or breadmaker, And did we mention those heated sand beaches? (Yes, these things really do exist at luxurious resorts).
Host A Clothing Swap
Go through your closet and find clothes in good quality that you no long wear. Call a few friends and instruct them to also go through their closets and find unused clothing items. Set a date for your Clothing Swap. Have all your friends bring their clothes and swap their old threads for some new ones. A simple way to get new clothes, change your wardrobe, avoid the shopping mall and best of all, it is easier on the planet. And remember that each pound of non-organic cotton harvested used an estimated 1/3 of a pound of chemical fertilizers and pesticides.
Buy Bulk
Individual packaging creates a lot of waste. Buying bulk toilet paper, laundry soap, dish soap, and all food items eliminates unnecessary packaging. Most health food stores or lifestyle markets offer extensive bulk sections. Try to use biodegradable bags, reusable containers or reuse an existing plastic bag when shopping for bulk.
Laugh, Sing, Dance, Pray
If we are all connected, and connected to every living thing on the planet, maybe we should consider being a bit happier. Laughter, singing, dancing and praying all activate the pleasure center in the brain that results in the production of dopamine and opioids. Both are directly related to happiness, feelings of well-being and pleasure. It stands to reason, the happier the people, the happier the planet.
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