If you're looking for ways during the coming year to reduce your impact on the planet and live more sustainably, this guide has some useful ideas. First on the list is reducing your energy consumption. This means doing things like turning off the lights when you leave the room, adjusting the thermostat to be closer to the outside temperature when you're away from the house, opening windows instead of using the air conditioner, hanging clothes to dry instead of using the dryer, and so on.
Another thing you can do is buy local food. Transporting food requires fossil fuels, and food shipped from another part of the country, or even another part of the world, uses a lot more fossil fuels for transportation than food grown locally. When possible, buy foods from your local farmers' market.
Third, try to avoid using single-use plastics that you throw away after only one use. When you buy something, consider how long it can be used and whether you'll throw it away when you're done using it. Replace these products with renewables if possible.
Another thing you can do is buy local food. Transporting food requires fossil fuels, and food shipped from another part of the country, or even another part of the world, uses a lot more fossil fuels for transportation than food grown locally. When possible, buy foods from your local farmers' market.
Third, try to avoid using single-use plastics that you throw away after only one use. When you buy something, consider how long it can be used and whether you'll throw it away when you're done using it. Replace these products with renewables if possible.
Also, plant seeds to grow your own food. You don't need a farm to do this; you can plant the seeds in a corner of your yard or in a pot on the windowsill. Also, be sure to recycle (and reduce and reuse, for that matter). Also, be sure to buy products that contain "post-consumer" recycled materials, which are materials that have been recycled by consumers via a recycling service for individuals (as opposed to by manufacturers before the material is ready to be sold to customers, which is "pre-consumer" recycled material). Also, be sure to resell and donate items you no longer need.
Drink from your tap to reduce the amount of bottled water you buy. More than 1 million tons of plastic bottles enter the waste stream every year, and buying fewer plastic water bottles can help reduce the number that get sent to the landfill. Also on the topic of water, try to limit the amount of water you use. Do things like installing water-efficient toilets, adding aerators to your sink faucets, setting up sprinkler systems so that they only cover the lawn and not any paved areas, etc. A couple final tips are to find alternatives to using your car, like walking, biking, or taking public transportation; and buying fair trade products, which were produced using sustainable practices and which the workers were paid a fair price for.
I hope these tips are helpful. Reducing our impact on the environment is hard, and none of us are ever perfect, but these are at least a few beginning tips.
Drink from your tap to reduce the amount of bottled water you buy. More than 1 million tons of plastic bottles enter the waste stream every year, and buying fewer plastic water bottles can help reduce the number that get sent to the landfill. Also on the topic of water, try to limit the amount of water you use. Do things like installing water-efficient toilets, adding aerators to your sink faucets, setting up sprinkler systems so that they only cover the lawn and not any paved areas, etc. A couple final tips are to find alternatives to using your car, like walking, biking, or taking public transportation; and buying fair trade products, which were produced using sustainable practices and which the workers were paid a fair price for.
I hope these tips are helpful. Reducing our impact on the environment is hard, and none of us are ever perfect, but these are at least a few beginning tips.
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