One of the most popular beliefs that I hear when I have conversations with people about the environment is along the lines of, “I am just one person. Changing my habits will not significantly impact the planet.” But, I am here to tell you every little bit counts! And we all need to be conscious of our habits and how they are affecting the planet, because we have not done a great job, as a whole, of taking care of our home.
According to the United Nation’s Climate Report, we must transform our society to be sufficiently more sustainable by the year 2030 or we face temperatures rising 2.7°F, even up to 10°F throughout the next century. And although three degrees seems insignificant, it is more than enough to cause natural disasters globally such as floods, wildfires, droughts and so much more. If that isn’t enough to make you sick to your stomach, by 2050, demand for food will be 60% higher due to the population expecting to reach ten billion, pollution and water shortages.
Now is the time to change our habits, because 2030 will be here before we know it. From trash in the oceans to climate change, here are a few ways that we can help.
1. Bring your own produce and grocery bags to the store
One great way to use less plastic is to bring your own produce bags and grocery bags to the store. I cannot find the exact produce bags that I use, but here is a similar option. As for grocery bags, you can really use any kind of reusable bag, but I have accumulated a few of the target totes over the years that can be bought for less than a dollar.
2. Eat more produce
Have you ever walked down the produce aisle at the grocery store and wondered why are whole fruits and vegetables packaged in plastic? The point of the skin on fruits and vegetables is to act as its own plastic wrap! When you buy the pre-cut versions that are in plastic tubs, it’s also way more expensive and it goes bad quickly. So, be mindful of what your produce is packaged in, and try to buy whole fruits and vegetables
3. Eat less meat, or even become vegetarian or vegan
Until a few years ago, I was not aware of the impact meat has on the ecosystem. I had never learned about the amount of water and food it takes to produce meat compared to the amount of meat that you are getting from the animal. I highly recommend watching “Bill Nye Saves the World” on Netflix because I think he does a great job explaining why this is an issue. It is an issue because diets that are rich in meat are thirty times more demanding than a plant protein diet is on the environment, and it differs for each animal, cattle being the most demanding.
4. Buy a reusable water bottle
I know right now that it is ~easy~ to stock up on plastic water bottles to keep in the fridge, BUT you will be spending so much more money purchasing packs of plastic water bottles than you would by buying a reusable water bottle. Plus, with buying a reusable water bottle, you can find a cute one that you will be excited to use and excited to ditch the plastic ones.
5. Cut back on the amount of water you are using
This can actually be a lot easier than it sounds once you are aware of how often you leave the water running. A few ways to cut back are to turn off the water when brushing your teeth and while washing your face, and turn it back on only when you need it.
Pro tip: If you have plants, put a bucket in the shower to catch water as the water is heating up and use it to water your plants! Then you won’t be able to forget to water them either. Let’s be real… it happens to the best of us.
6. Start a compost bin in your apartment
Composting is a great way to reduce your impact on the environment by returning nutrients to the soil. While most people believe that throwing food scraps into the trash is not a problem being they will decompose. But when organic matter is in landfills, it produces methane which traps heat making landfills a huge contributor to human-caused greenhouse gas. I recently started composting after having wanted to forever. I thought it would be extremely hard to do in an apartment, but if your city has a compost drop off site, it is actually super easy. All you have to do is buy/find a small pail with a lid that fits in the freezer. Then, you just collect food scraps such as fruits, vegetables, coffee grounds, etc. and bring the bin to your local compost facility when it is full or once a week.
7. Drive less
This one is great because most students live near campus. There are also a lot of students who struggle to find time to do everything they want to do in a day – one of those things being working out. If you live close enough to campus, ride your bike to school or walk. This is the perfect way to fit exercise into your busy schedule and reduce your greenhouse gas emission.
8. Hang dry your clothes instead of using the dryer
I actually love doing this, and rarely use my dryer anymore unless I’m washing linens and towels. After your clothes come out of the washer, hang them up in your closet with enough space around them to dry. If you have a folding drying rack you can use that too, but it’s honestly easier just to hang them up and be done with it. Hang drying is such a great option because you’re saving electricity but you are also saving your clothes because they will not be getting worn out in the dryer.
9. Pick up trash
It’s that easy! Maybe even get your friends together on a nice day and see who can collect the most garbage.
10. Educate yourself
There are so many resources out there to learn more about our beautiful planet and how we can reduce our environmental impact! I am very passionate about our planet and I hope this encourages you to do some research of your own! Below are a few great resources to check out:
The EPA is an excellent resource to start learning about the environment and ways that you can help.
National Geographic has its own page for articles on the environment that provides a wide variety of topics globally.
As I mentioned earlier, Bill Nye has his own Netflix series called “Bill Nye Saves the World”. He talks about a lot of really relevant topics such as climate change, overpopulation, GMOs and much more. And as always, makes a super interesting show.
Here are a couple of blogs I recommend as well:
https://www.goingzerowaste.com/
http://trashisfortossers.com/a-guide-to-reducing-your-waste-in-college/
I hope after reading this you are inspired to take matters into your own hands and do your part to tackle the issues our planet is facing. Even by choosing to start by making small changes in your habits can really add up if we all work together.