Join The Green Eco-Friendly Movement

Going ‘green’ has become a growing movement as people become more aware of their impact on the environment. Nowadays around 2/3 of Americans prefer eco-friendly brands when shopping with many willing to pay more for recycled products. Of course, it’s not just shopping behavior. In general, around 70 percent of Americans believe that fixing the environment is more important than economic growth.

While the biggest impact will require leaders from around the world working together to create laws and regulations to protect the environment, that doesn’t mean you can’t help make a difference. While your individual contribution might not seem like much, when millions of people work together to reduce their carbon footprint, it will definitely make a difference. So what steps can you take to be more eco-conscious?

Plant Trees

Trees are essential for survival. It provides us with oxygen, clean air, and fruits. It also helps prevent soil erosion and acts as both a home and source of food for many creatures. More importantly, trees also double as a carbon dioxide sink as they use it to make oxygen. In total, forests absorb around 7.6 billion metric tons of carbon dioxide a year, which is around 1.5 times more carbon than the US emits annually.

If you own a home, you should consider planting a few small trees around your house. When deciding what tree to plant, always go with species that are native to your area. If you have to plant non-native trees, do your research and avoid invasive species. You should ask a local horticulturist or landscaper for more information or you can simply do a quick google search to see what trees you should and should not plant.

Not everyone has the space or time to plant and care for a tree. In those cases, you can choose to donate to certain foundations such as the nature conservancy or similar organizations who will plant a tree on your behalf. In certain cities, you can also apply to plant trees near your apartment building or be a tree steward and take care of local trees, trails, etc. Want to make it even easier? You can change your search engine to ecosia and they will plant a tree approximately every 45 searches you make. Since its inception, the search engine has planted around 110 million trees.

Conserve Water

While water might cover 71 percent of the earth’s surface, only 0.3 percent of the water available is fresh water. Even then, much of the 0.3 percent that is usable is not attainable as the majority is found underground as soil moisture and aquifers. This becomes an issue as water is necessary for all living creatures to survive, including humans. As climate changes across the world, many places are being hit with severe weather systems that lead to extreme droughts or flooding. Both of which can lead to life threatening issues.

There are many ways you can conserve water, but the easiest include taking shorter showers, finding and fixing any leaking pipes, turning off the water while you brush your teeth, and using water saving appliances. If you want to go a step further you can look into recycling your grey water and collecting rainwater. Both of these might require approval from your local HOA or environmental agency, so make sure to contact them ahead of time before you start installing the systems yourself. Once you do get the go ahead, make sure you follow the specifications as noted.

Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle

You might remember hearing about the three R’s of conservation - reduce, reuse, and recycle. Nowadays, many people are on the recycle bandwagon, but you really want to reduce and reuse first. That doesn’t mean you shouldn’t recycle. It just means that it should be the last priority of action that you take.

In order to truly improve waste management, the first thing you should do is reduce the amount of ‘stuff’ you consume. That includes clothes, packaged food, gadgets, etc. The more things you buy, the more waste you produce. By reducing the amount that you consume, you’ll have much less to throw out. When possible, avoid single use items and purchase items you know that you will use for a few years instead of something you will throw out in a couple of months. That means buying quality items. They might end up costing you more in the short-term, but you’ll spend less in the long-term since you’ll only have to buy that item in a few years.

Next us is reuse. As the name suggests it’s all about using items for a different purpose instead of sending them to trash. So instead of tossing those ripped shirts, turn them into rags to dry off your dishes or to scrub the floors. Milk jugs and egg containers can be reused as planters. If you’re really creative, you can turn tissue boxes and other items into amazing crafts like dollhouses, collages, and so on. The possibilities are endless. If you have kids, you can turn reusing items into a fun family activity.

If you can’t reduce or reuse, your last option before the landfill is to recycle an item. Today, recycling has become far more efficient and you can recycle more items than ever before. If you've never recycled before, you’ll have to make a conscious effort not to just throw everything into the trash can. In general, you can recycle clean paper items, most plastic items, glass bottles, and aluminum cans. Some department stores have recycling for clothes so if you have items you can no longer wear, you can drop them off.

Change Your Travel Habits

Driving and flying are two areas where you can make a huge impact by following environmentally friendly practices. Whenever possible, opt for public transportation instead of driving your own car. Many large cities offer some kind of train or bus system. It might seem daunting at first, especially if you’re just a tourist, but you’ll ultimately save yourself money and time by taking these options. Another great option is biking or walking to your destination. Not only does it reduce your carbon footprint, these activities can also keep you healthy.

Of course, not everyone has the luxury of going without a car. In these cases, you’ll want to limit the amount of time you’re going back and forth as much as possible. If you have to go out to run an errand, try to schedule other plans so that you can travel to multiple places at once instead of taking multiple trips back to your home and to the other destination.

When going on trips, try to choose the most fuel-efficient option. Flights produce the most emissions per mile traveled out of all the various transportation options. Sure, it might take you longer to get somewhere by train or car, but you won’t create as much greenhouse gas emissions. If you have to fly, book economy as that is much greener than business and first class. This might sound counterintuitive as you’ll be on the same plane, but since there are more people in the economy section the greenhouse gas emissions are spread out between more people.

Buy From Local Farmers

Food accounts for around 10-30 percent of a household’s carbon footprint. The majority of food emissions come from production with only five percent coming from actual transportation. While this number might seem small, any reduction can help reduce your overall carbon footprint. More importantly, buying locally has health, economic, and environmental benefits. By shopping local, you are supporting small farmers in your area, which allows them to continue working and providing fresh produce to your region. In the US alone there are 273,000 small farms across the country that range in size from 1-9 acres. Many of these farmers are barely making ends meet and the number of small farms continue to decline year-over-year for a variety of factors including imported produce, decreased commodity prices, severe weather, and changing farming technology. Buying local helps keep these rural communities afloat.

Of course, there’s also an environmental impact. Many small farmers tend to use less pesticides and preservatives as their produce isn’t traveling far. This also means the produce tends to be fresher as they can be delivered to a store or customer when they are ripe. This leads to better nutritional content and overall flavor.

Buying local also means that you’re promoting genetic diversity. Many large-scale farms grow certain genetic strands of produce. Many small farmers will plant different heirloom plants or try out different strains, thus preserving genetic diversity. Similarly, a variety of animals can be raised on small, local farms which can help enhance the biodiversity of the area and offer more options to the customer.

Reduce Use of Harmful Chemicals

We use chemicals in our everyday lives and not all are harmful to the environment. However, there are many that we use that can be hazardous both to the environment and to ourselves. Chemicals like paint, oil, ammonia, and others can cause pollution both in the air and water if we don’t properly use and dispose of them. Often, these chemicals can seep into the groundwater, which can pollute the local water supply. If you use a well, you can put yourself at serious risk if you just toss your toxic chemicals in your backyard.

For household cleaners and even paint, there are many companies that are offering more eco-friendly options. While these tend to cost a bit more than standard supplies, they are more environmentally friendly and better for you and your family’s health. If you do have to use harmful chemicals, make sure to properly dispose of them at a toxic waste site.

Composting

If you’re into gardening, you’ve probably heard of composting. It’s essentially a natural process where you recycle organic matter and turn it into fertilizer. Even without your help, composting happens all the time when plants die in the wild. However, you can create your own compost by using vegetable scraps, leaves, and paper products. You’ll have amazing fertilizer for your lawn and garden and you’ll reduce the amount of garbage that goes to landfills, it’s a win-win.

For the most part, composting is easy, but you do need to keep a few things in mind. In order to have a successful compost, you need to have a good carbon to nitrogen ratio, generally one-third green and two-thirds brown materials. The brown material provides carbon and comes in the form of dried leaves, peels, sawdust, coffee filters, corn stalks, etc. The green material includes food scraps, lawn clippings, kitchen waste, and green leaves. Too much nitrogen will lead to much slower composition. The addition of bulkier carbon-rich items lets oxygen penetrate and nourish the organism that resides in the compost. If your compost smells bad, add some brown materials to it.

While you can compost most things, there are a few things you should avoid including:

Meat, bones, or fish scraps
Perennial weeds or diseased plants
Pet manure
Banana peels, peach peels, and orange rinds as they may contain pesticides
Black walnut leaves
Polluted sawdust (sawdust with machine oil or chain oil residue)

If you don’t have space for a compost, check to see if there are places where you can drop off your organic items. Some major cities have composting services where you can simply bring your scraps to designated areas. Other areas might have compost bins at the local gardening center. Check around to see if your area has any of these services. If not, why not get your local council involved and start a compost collection center?

Purchase Recycled Goods

Today, almost everything at stores comes prepackaged with at least two layers. If possible, you should try to reduce how much packaging you use, but it’s not always possible. When you can’t avoid packaging, try to buy products that are made of recycled materials. Many companies will tout how much of their product is made of recycled materials, but you can also check online to see if a product is made of recycled materials or not. You can even purchase jackets made of recycled materials!

In addition to purchasing recycled goods, you can also improve your own skills at repairing. Instead of throwing out those ripped jeans or rusted cars why not make it a project to try and fix it? Thanks to the internet, you can fix and/or recycle almost everything. Instead of immediately throwing something out, see if you can transform that item into something else.

Stop Littering

9 billion tons of litter ends us up in the ocean every year and around $11.5 billion is spent each year to try and clean it up. Littering is a global epidemic caused by a number of reasons. In many places, waste management is scarce or non-existent. Large cities like New York City have litter issues because there just aren’t enough trash cans and pickups to accommodate the millions of people who live and work in the area.

That’s not to say litter is inevitable. It just requires more diligence and awareness. A great way to get people to stop littering is to educate them on the drawbacks of litter. Not only does it affect the overall beauty of the city, litter can also attract unwelcome pests. In cities, it can also lead to major traffic issues especially when tossed on train tracks. Of course, you might need to push for more garbage cans around the area as overflowing trash cans can lead to litter. So even if everyone properly disposes of their garbage, it can still end up on the streets if the area isn’t being kept clean.

Help Protect Wildlife

You don’t have to become a park ranger to help protect your local wildlife. There are many ways you can get involved whether you want to be more active or not. One of the easiest ways to help protect wildlife is to donate money to wildlife foundations. Just make sure to do your research to make sure you are donating to a reputable organization.

If you want to play a more active part in protecting the wildlife, you can work directly with the local forest department to help protect animal habitats. How you can help depends on the department’s needs. It might be something as simple as cleaning up any litter in the parks and beaches or maybe planting trees. Whatever the case, you can find many ways to volunteer your time to help protect wildlife habitats.

Use Canvas Bags Instead of Plastic

Many states have banned the use of plastic bags so you’ll either have to bring your own bag or pay an additional fee for paper bags. While most paper bags are made from recycled materials and can be reused or added to your compost, it’s always better to reduce your overall waste and opt for reusable bags instead. There are plenty of canvas bags to choose from in a variety of sizes and styles.

Besides being eco-friendly, canvas bags are also budget friendly and space savers. Yes, there’s an upfront cost to buying the bags, but since many grocery stores are charging between 5 to 10 cents per bag, you’ll end up saving money in the long run when you purchase reusable bags. As well, since canvas bags tend to be larger than standard plastic bags, you only need to have a few at home hanging on a hook instead of the multiple bagfuls taking up space in your pantry or under your kitchen sink.

Borrow Instead of Buying

Many people so used to just buying something when we need it, the concept of borrowing an item never really crosses their mind. Unfortunately, that means the item that they purchased ends up collecting dust somewhere in a garage only to be thrown out during spring cleaning or after a move. Before you decide to buy something, stop to consider how often you will use it.

You can borrow a lot of items either from your neighbors, family, friends, or even some businesses. For example, if you are a photographer, you might want a certain lens for a shoot, but you don’t expect to use that lens on a regular basis. A quick google search will pull up multiple companies that offer lens and even camera rentals. The same goes for power tools. Some hardware stores will loan out equipment and as long as you return it in the same condition as before, you won’t have to worry about any penalty fees. There are many other options now for borrowing pretty much anything that isn’t disposable.

Go Paperless

The average adult receives around 41 pounds of junk mail a year. Add onto that paper bills and statements and you probably end up with at least 45-50 pounds a year. That’s a lot of waste!

Thanks to the wonders of the internet, you don’t have to receive your bills and statements in the mail anymore. To reduce paper waste, go digital. You can easily access most of your statements online either from your desktop or smartphone. It’s more convenient and better for the environment.

Help Join The Movement and Make an Impact On Protecting The Environment

As you can see, there are many ways you can change your habits to become environmentally friendly. Many of these changes are small, but they add up if you incorporate all of these tips to your life. When incorporating these eco-friendly tips in your everyday life, start off with one thing at a time so you don’t overwhelm yourself.

We all have a part to play in protecting the environment. While the greatest impact will happen when governments start enacting rules and regulations protecting the environment, our individual actions can also help in the long run. By changing simple habits, you can lead a greener and eco-friendly lifestyle.

Lisa Czachowski is a professional social blogger and has worked on several online publications including Citrus Sleep. Lisa is an experienced content writer and copyeditor. You will find many of her works throughout CitrusSleep.com that cover a wide array of subjects including sustainability, natural, sleep products, health, fashion and many more. She is passionate about what providing as much information as possible on products you bring in your home and what we wear.

Follow Lisa at Lisa Czachowski