April 22 is Earth Day. It’s a day to think about the Earth, how important our only home is to us, future generations, and all the plants and critters that inhabit the planet with us. It’s a day to appreciate Mother Earth, and also to plan for caring for the Earth. I think it’s also a day to celebrate the growing awareness and action to take better care of the Earth and all the inhabitants. Let’s look past the pessimism and gloom about the future to celebrate the growing number of initiatives and actions to help care for the earth. More governments, companies, and individuals are taking action, however large or small, to reduce their impact on the earth. Everyone I know has implemented small (or not so small) changes in their lifestyle to live more sustainably. Ever more people are interested in learning how to live more sustainably and care for the earth and its inhabitants. So don’t let the doom and gloom hold you back from being part of the solution. Big things or small, they all count. Pick something that works for you and celebrate Earth Day!
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Most of us live in areas with a “throw-away culture”. Single-use items are everywhere, and it is generally easier (and frequently cheaper) to replace an item than to fix it. Unfortunately, many consumer items are actually designed to be difficult or impossible to repair. Significant resources are used to create, transport, sell, and dispose of even simple items. Once an item is thrown away, its component materials are no longer available and eventually, the earth’s resources will be used up. And there is no “away” for our trash. We just hide it in landfills, where it is out of sight but can still create significant problems for the earth. Every time we repair an item and continue to use it, we are helping the earth. A little research can help you repair many items (or find a business that can perform the repairs). CAUTION: do not attempt to fix items that use electricity, natural gas, propane, or hazardous chemicals unless you have appropriate training. If you make a mistake, you could start a fire or injure or kill yourself or others. And always unplug an electrical item before working on it. Now that we’ve covered the safety concerns, let’s talk about repairs. The article at the link provides lots of links to information to help you repair many of your own items, including clothing and some electronics, appliances, and furniture. Sometimes you can hire someone who can fix these items for a reasonable price.
https://www.vox.com/even-better/23945009/diy-fix-your-stuff-clothes-furniture-electronics-appliances This article from the Guardian is a good summary of the reasons to cut back your consumption of animal protein and increase your plant-based protein. There are many reasons why you may not want or be able to adopt a completely vegan diet, and that’s okay. Just replacing a few meat-based meals each week with plant-based foods will make a difference. Or, as the article suggests, use half meat and half plant-based protein in a favorite meat-based recipe. It might be helpful to think of meat as a condiment in a plant-based recipe. Explore the wide variety of international recipes using beans and other legumes, nuts, and high-protein whole grains.
https://www.theguardian.com/wellness/2024/mar/14/how-to-eat-enough-protein If you think about it, doing laundry is more resource-intensive than it first appears. Doing laundry uses energy to get the water to your home, energy to run the washer and dryer, and energy and resources to produce all the laundry products. Whether you have home laundry appliances or use a laundromat, you can employ techniques to reduce your environmental impact. And if you’re buying a washer or dryer, do some research so you can buy energy and water efficient models with only the features you need.
“Baby steps toward sustainability” I found a good article that discusses several ways to save energy (and money) in your home. Many of these ideas apply to renters as well as to homeowners.
https://www.nrdc.org/stories/how-save-your-energy-bills Implementing small sustainability lifestyle changes can save you money while the changes also help the planet, making them a double win. Here are a few ideas to get you started. If you look at your daily activities, I’m sure you will find a lot more.
One of my most faithful readers pointed out that she frequently feels guilty when she reads some of my blog’s sustainability suggestions that will not work for her. That is sooooo not the intent of this blog. This blog is a menu of suggestions that you can follow if you want to. Please, no guilt! The title of my blog is 3% sustainability. What this means is that if a large number of people reduce their impact on the earth by 3 % (or hopefully more), all those little things will add up and begin to make a difference. Changing by 3% will not solve the environmental problems facing the earth right now, but each small thing we do can be the seed for other beneficial changes. None of us can make all of the changes suggested by this blog, but most of us can reduce our impact on the earth by 3% without making huge changes in our lives. I do not implement every suggestion in this blog. I implement those that work for me and continue to look for other changes I can make. Mobility, geography, medical issues, personality, living situation, and similar factors will affect which ideas work for each of us. Rural locations do not have public transportation. A person in a wheelchair cannot use the stairs instead of an elevator. Few people are able or willing to be fully vegan, but you can incorporate one or two plant-based meals into your weekly menu. If an idea does not appeal to you, you are unlikely to make that change, so pick ideas that do appeal to you. Evaluate if some of your daily actions can be modified to be slightly more sustainable. And give yourself credit for the changes you have already made. To help remind readers that this blog is meant for sharing suggestions for small changes, my posts will now end with “baby steps toward 3% sustainability”.
“Baby steps toward 3% sustainability” In a recent post, I linked to a video of a TED talk that includes discussion about how climate action can be “contagious”. In the video, the speaker says that once a few people in a neighborhood install rooftop solar on their homes, many other homeowners quickly follow. This illustrates the power of providing a GENTLE example of sustainability actions you’d like to promote. When dealing with individuals in your life, strident demands may cause these individuals to dig in harder against the action you want to promote. Quietly but visibly performing these actions is more likely to interest people in trying the sustainability activity. If you do this often, in many different settings, you may start a trend that spreads beyond your individual influence. I have been trying to start the trend of taking a reusable container to restaurants for my leftovers instead of using the disposable container provided by the restaurant. So far, most people who see my container like the idea, but then don’t remember to bring a container. I remain hopeful, though, that eventually I will start a trend. Maybe some of you will decide to help start this trend. Pick an action you want to encourage and see if you can start a trend.
A few weeks ago, I was going through the back of my clothes closet looking for clothing to donate. I found two items that I’d forgotten I had that were very nice and very similar to items of clothing that I intended to shop for. This led to three sustainability thoughts.
Wow, I just listened to an awesome TED talk about how to get people engaged in solving climate change. The speaker discusses the psychology of why people are not engaged in finding solutions, and then the psychology of how to re-frame discussions on climate and potential solutions to climate change. His information makes a lot of sense to me and also inspires me to continue to do better. Please watch the whole video at the link below.
https://www.ted.com/talks/per_espen_stoknes_how_to_transform_apocalypse_fatigue_into_action_on_global_warming |
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