Are You Doing Your Part For The Environment?

It is clear to most people now that the climate emergency is exactly that – an emergency. If you have been thinking that you should probably try to improve the way in which you live in order to help the world recover, you are not alone. We all have these good intentions, but it can be challenging to actually try to turn them into a reality, even if you know that it’s exactly what you need to be doing.

In this post, we are going to take a look at some of the most important things that you could be doing to help the environment along. Any of these are worth trying to take on board, whether or not you have done so already.

Fly Less Frequently

The single biggest thing an individual can do is to fly planes less frequently. If you tend to go jet-setting every year, you might want to keep this down to a minimum. Perhaps you could do one plane trip a year, or even once every other year? Alternatively, you could consider taking a holiday in a different kind of way, such as holidaying in your home country, or taking a boat to a nearby country. The less you fly, the less your carbon footprint is, so this is definitely something to think about.

Go Vegetarian

If you are not already vegetarian, you might want to consider changing that as soon as possible. After flying on planes, the biggest impact an individual has on the planet comes through what they eat, so by simply changing your diet you could help the world to recover. It might seem like a big sacrifice to make, but the truth is that you could end up benefiting personally from this change as well – vegetarian diets are often healthier, and they are a great way to lose weight and keep it off for good.

Reduce Surplus Food

It’s not just about what you eat, but how much you eat. If you tend to be a little wasteful with your food, then that is probably going to affect how much of an impact you are having on the world. In fact, not many people realise that it is equally as important to reduce their surplus food as it is to eat the right foods. Use all of the food you buy in one way or another, and make sure that you are buying less in the first place if you tend to have a lot left over.

Limit Your Family Size

A huge driver of the eco collapse we are witnessing is overpopulation, so committing to having fewer children, or even no children, can be a remarkably powerful thing to do for the planet. Of course, this is a challenge for many people, and you might feel the biological tug far too strongly to do it. But if you are capable of it, it is something that is really going to make a huge impact, and you do have control over it for the most part.

Run Your Business Sustainably

If you run a business, then this is a fantastic opportunity for you to do your part for the environment. Many businesses are starting to appreciate just how important it is to do their part, and for one thing you are going to find that people generally respect the business more this way too, so it can be beneficial for profits as well. There are many ways to run your business more sustainably, from partnering with the right people to watching your supply chains carefully, and all of it is going to make a difference.

Use Renewable Energy

With carbon being the primary cause of the greenhouse effect, anything you can do to use less carbon is going to be a good idea here. That means switching from the old ways of heating your home and water to using modern, renewable forms of energy instead. There are many of these to choose between, but two of the best are wind and solar. A simple search for solar installers near me should bring up some teams who can help you to start using solar in your home. Or you can simply switch out to a green provider who uses sustainable energy.

Buy Organic

From food to shampoo and even furniture, going organic can really make a huge difference in the long run. Non-organic products of many kinds are often full of all sorts of chemicals and artificial additives, many of which are usually harmful to the environment. That means that when you discard that product, or its packaging, you are potentially furthering the poisoning of the planet considerably. Buying organic will ensure that you are not adding to that problem anymore, and you’ll often find the quality of the product is better too.

Avoid Single-Use Items

In general, a good rule of thumb when you are trying to be more eco-friendly is to primarily use items which are reusable. Many items are not, and these only end up adding to landfill and causing more damaging and harmful waste. So, you should try to avoid single-use items wherever possible, especially when it comes to something like plastic. Single-use plastics abound, and it can take a lot of strength and hard work to avoid buying them, but the results of doing so will be quite profound, so it is definitely something that you are going to want to consider.

Don’t Buy Bottled Water

The bottled water industry is one of the most harmful in the world. The plastic that goes into making those bottles accounts for a huge proportion of the world’s plastic usage, so if we were to all avoid using bottled water, this would lead to a significant improvement. Even if the bottles are made from recycled plastic, it is best not to have it made in the first place, so do all you can to avoid supporting this industry. Simply carry your own reusable bottle of water with you wherever you go.

Charge Your Laptop Sparingly

Some of the simplest changes we can make come down to looking more closely at how we use energy in our own homes. If you often charge your laptop overnight, for example, then this is using up a lot of energy that you are not really needing to use. It is best to be a little more sparing when it comes to charging your computer. Even though modern chargers stop charging once the battery reaches 100%, they are still providing some power throughout and after that point, so it’s best to avoid that practice if you can.

Print As Little As Possible

There used to be talk of the paperless office in the 80s – and now, we look to be finally getting towards that, or as close to it as possible. Thanks to the fact that it is easier than ever to view documents digitally quite clearly, you rarely need to actually print something out on paper. Of course, from time to time, you will need to. But as long as you are keeping your printing to a minimum, that is going to help a lot. Be sure never to print merely for the sake of it.

Plant Native Plants In Your Garden

If you have a garden, you should do all you can to ensure that it is working well within the local ecosystem, adding to the natural biodiversity of the area as best as possible. One of the essential rules you should follow in order to make sure of that is to plant only plants that are native to the part of the world you are living in. These plants are best for the local area, and will help to promote the ecosystem in a much healthier way.

Walk

Walking to your destination more often is a simple way to help the world and the environment – while also ensuring that you are keeping yourself fit and healthy, which is also hugely important! Just switching out your daily commute in the car with walking can really help you to feel better in yourself, and to feel as though you are helping the environment too – both of which will be true if you do indeed make this change. This is definitely something you should think about if you currently drive a lot.

Shop Locally

The less we all support huge multinational corporations, the less we are voting for a world where the environment is given second place to profit. The simple act of choosing the shop locally more often can help you to do your bit for the environment, even though it is a very easy change to make. Seek out more local independent shops, and you will find this a lot easier on the whole.

There you have it – if you can do any of these things, or a combination of them, you are going to be helping the environment in a much more powerful and altogether better way. This is something we should all be aiming to do.