Happy Earth Day! Did you know that Earth Day wae just a grassroots political concept? The Idea was proposed by environmental Activist John McConnell in 1969. This caught the eye of Wisconsin senator Gaylord Nelson who is known as the founder and held the first Earth Day on April 22, 1970. This is thought to be the birth of the “going green” movement in The United States.
We’ve all grown used to the idea of “going green” but how can you actually get started? Here are our favorite little changes you can make today to reduce your carbon footprint.
Eat More Plants
Not only is eating vegetables great for your health, it also is great for the health of the planet! Did you know that it requires anywhere between 2,000 and 8,000 gallons of water to produce only one pound of beef? Only one gallon of cow’s milk requires 1,950 gallons of water to produce. Not only that, the animal agricultural industry creates more greenhouse gas than all the trucks, cars, planes, and trains in THE WORLD. This is all according to a recent study conducted by UC Davis.
If making the jump to vegan or vegetarian is too much, we suggest cutting out animal products at least one day a week. “Meatless Monday” is becoming widely popular and is an easy but effective switch. To put this into perspective, if every person in the U.S skipped eating animal products one day a week, it would be the equivalent of taking 7.6 million cars off the road.
Compost
The average U.S. household produces 650 lbs of organic trash a year, but most of that is landfilled. It is a common thought that if food waste ends up in the landfill that it will still be able to return to the earth. However, that is almost never the case. Landfills are not designed for decomposition, so the food scraps end up just sitting in the landfill creating methane gas. Methane gas is, on average, 30 times more powerful than other greenhouse gasses.
How can you avoid this? Start composting! If you have a garden you may already be familiar. Composting is the cheapest and most effective way you can fertilize your garden.
Shop Secondhand
We are already starting to see the effects of the fast fashion industry on the environment. Since the COVID-19 pandemic began in the US, we have seen a drastic rise in the sales of clothing, while also seeing a decrease in the life of these clothing items. This means that more clothing than ever before is ending up in places like our landfills. By shopping second hand, you can help start to chip away at the 92 million tons of clothing related waste that heads to landfills each year.
Conserve Energy and Water in Your Home
Energy usage in the home accounts for roughly 20% of all greenhouse gasses in the United States. Cutting down on energy and water usage in the home will not only be great for your wallet, but also for the planet.
Try switching your light bulbs to LED bulbs or ones marked with the energy star logo. You can also try turning off the running water when not in use. An example of this could be turning off the sink when brushing your teeth, or turning off the shower while lathering your hair. Check with your city and see if they offer any renewable sources of energy. This could be solar power, wind power, or hydropower.
Recycle
It is said that roughly 80% of the items currently in our landfills, could be recycled. Isn’t that crazy that just simply sorting our trash could have a huge impact?
Did you know that just because you put something in the recycle bin, it doesn’t always make it to the correct place? Make sure that you look at the recycling label on packaged items to see the correct way to recycle. You can look at your city/states website to see the instructions for corresponding label. Make sure you always rinse out food containers before recycling, in order to make sure they are successfully recycled.
We wish you a very “green” Earth Day 2022! Make sure to let us know if you found these tips useful, and if you have put any into practice!
