Changing the world is as simple as changing the products you buy. Now, depending on your personal financial situation, you may not have access to certain things that are better for the environment, but for most people it is not that hard or complicated to switch from a person who produces roughly four pounds of trash a day and contributes to greenhouse gas emissions daily, to a person who is more environmentally conscious. This article was written in light of watching this video, which I highly recommend watching.
For those of you who care about our planet, let's get to rescuing it!
1. Declutter.
Get rid of excess. Do you really need nine different colors of nail polish? I personally don't paint my nails that often, so I got rid of all but one colors of nail polish. I gave them to my little sister who is always switching up her nail colors. Do some research on a minimalist lifestyle and the KonMari method of cleaning your material possessions. Once you simplify what you own, you can begin to donate items to people who need them more than you, (which they will be buying package free!) and you can begin to realize what products you're buying that are not environmentally friendly. Be sure to recycle what you can and to only throw away things you absolutely cannot figure out how to get rid of. I called Simple because their packaging of my face wash didn't have the recycling symbol on it. While I waited on hold for quite some time, I was met with a friendly representative who informed me of the type of plastics my face wash bottle was made of, and I could then figure out what to do with my product once I ran out. It's much simpler to properly dispose of clutter than many believe.
2. Research Zero Waste alternatives for your lifestyle.
For people who still live at home with parents who, like mine, don't care much about the environment or would be reluctant to adopt a new lifestyle, this one can be a bit trickier. Do your research on bulk food stores near you and farmer's markets as well. When you buy foods, try to buy foods with as little packaging as possible. Also buy groceries using reusable bags instead of plastic bags. Say no to straws at restaurants. Bring your own water bottle with you, even to buy coffee (tell the barista to put it in your cup!). No matter what, aim to switch to a lifestyle where you consume more fruits and veggies that are grown locally and package free. The growth of fruits and veggies requires significantly less land, and if you are able to buy local, you can cut down on the emissions produced to ship foods. There are so many other aspects of the Zero Waste lifestyle, and I highly encourage you to look into Zero Waste hygiene, recreational activities, transportation, and just about anything you could thing of.
Again, fruits and veggies take so much less land to raise, but also the growth of plants in general can cut down on CO2 emissions. The video I linked above does a really great job explaining the science behind why a whole foods, plant based diet is healthy. That being said, simply being vegan isn't enough to save the planet. I've been eating vegan popsicles that produce waste, vegan beef tips that come in Gardein plastic packaging. That's certainly not helping the environment, so it's important that I emphasize the whole foods, plant based diet. If you want more hard science on health benefits of that diet, Dr T Colin Campbell wrote a book called The China Study and also has two documentaries on Netflix called Forks Over Knives and PlantPure Nation. You'll notice he specifically does not call himself vegan- veganism is more about compassion than health or environmental benefits.
4. Volunteer.
Volunteer for local farms by planting. It's a great way to appreciate the nature we still have, while we have it. Climate change is happening now, and projects like The Community Harvest Project in my county are opportunities to embrace nature and to really understand the life of the plant foods we eat before that drastically changes.
Another way to volunteer is to pick up trash! DoSomething.org has tons of great ways to volunteer, as well as great rewards. Volunteer with friends, with your sports team, for the turtles (graphic video on the dangers of plastic for turtles), and/or for halloween. Do it all, why not? There are tons of other ways to volunteer and help save the planet, all it takes is a bit of research!
