Earth day is everyday for me. As a conservation scientist, I constantly have the state of the planet on my mind. I know we all look at the planet we live on differently. We appreciate different aspects of the planet and we do different things to contribute to the health of the environment.
Today is the 50th celebration of Earth day as a national holiday and in honor of this, I’m going to be sharing 50 (yes 50!) things you can do to help the enviroment and protect this beautiful Earth we live on!
- buy groceries with less packaging
- don’t put your produce in produce bags at the grocery store
- bring your own reusable grocery bags
- reusable water bottle
- store your leftovers in glass containers
- use reusable beeswax cling wrap
- metal straws
- reusable silicone storage bags instead of Ziplocks
- buy food from your local farmers markets
- buy food that is in season in your area
- cut red meat out of your diet
- substitute one meal a week for a vegetarian meal
- use as little electricity as possible
- properly recycle your batteries and ink cartridges
- buy from thrift stores
- donate your torn/non useful clothes to a textile recycler
- always donate old, quality clothes
- buy clothes on poshmark
- buy from sustainable clothing brands
- don’t buy greenwashed products
- try to buy organic as much as possible
- grow your own veggies/fruits
- buy clean beauty products
- don’t use plastic based floss or toothpaste
- buy containerless beauty products (like shampoo bars!)
- use natural material toothbrushes
- try to unclog your drain manually before dumping chemicals down it
- use natural cleaning supplies
- buy compostable cleaning wipes
- use rags instead of paper towels and just wash them
- use public transport as much as possible
- walk places as much as possible
- bring your own cup to get coffee
- travel less on planes
- consume less dairy
- get books from the library instead of buying them everytime
- compost your uneaten food
- collect rainwater to water your plants
- stop using K-cups and get a reusable one
- dye our stained, old clothes so you can keep wearing them
- use less water from your faucets
- hang your clothes to dry
- meal plan to reduce food waste
- donate to a food kitchen
- can/freeze food (especially if you grew or bought too much)
- go paperless for your bank, credit card, insurance, bills, etc
- pick up trash outside (yes the stuff that’s not yours)
- recycle your plastic bags from the store
- use energy efficent light bulbs
- properly recycle your old cell phones and chargers
I was actually kind of shocked how easy it was for me to think of 50 things, but honestly it took a long time for me to learn many of these. My advice to you guys on this Earth day is do what you can, learn as much as you can, and be mindful that we only get one lifetime on this one planet. We need to make the best decisions possible for us and generations to come.
Cheers.
Clark's Remarks 