Each year on or around April 22, the entire planet celebrates and honors Earth Day. As a movement that started by one single person over 40 years ago, Earth Day is still a very important day across the world with even more emphasis on saving our planet in the recent years. If you look around you – and we’re not even thinking about what we see in the media – you already notice the trash that is laying on the ground when you walk to your nearest Starbucks or in the grainy sand at your local beach. Whether or not you believe in reducing waste around the world, our planet is in dire need of some help and care.
There are hundreds of ways of helping our planet and it can start with just one single act. Encourage your children to learn about being stewards for our planet so that they can help our Earth for their children, their children’s children, and all future generations. The single act of kindness towards Earth can be as simple as reducing your purchases. Or bring reusable bags when you go to the stores. Or turning off all electronics for an entire day. These single solitary acts can lead to even bigger rewards as the years go by. Imagine how much waste you can cut at home and in our landfills! And imagine the electricity bill you’ll save and the single plastic bags will eventually be diminished around the world. In California, there is a law that removed single use plastics at commercial stores so it’s up to you to help reduce waste where you live!
This year’s focus around the world is: End Plastic Pollution. That could be anywhere from your home, to businesses, to the ocean. As it is, our oceans across the world is vastly filling up with trash. The oceans connect all of us – humans and sealife and if we don’t do something soon, our ocean will become one giant waste dump. Consider this –* “Plastics now pollute all dimensions of our oceans from the sea surface to the seafloor, on remote beaches and in Arctic sea ice. The impact ocean plastics have on marine species is well documented, but increasingly scientists are concerned about the potential threat of plastics to species at the top of the marine food chain: humans.”
According to Earth Day Network – *Plastic items can make their way to the ocean in a vast number of ways. Some plastic items are simply thrown away in open spaces or streets and carried through storm drains and waterways into the ocean. Other items may fall out of garbage trucks or may be dumped into improperly managed landfills, some of which spill directly into the ocean. Hundreds of small cities and towns do not have any waste management infrastructure, and people are forced to dump their waste in open spaces. You may ask what’s wrong with a small piece of plastic ending up in the giant ocean. Well, the direct result of this poor management is the accumulation of millions and millions of tons of plastic floating around the world’s oceans. If nothing changes, by 2050 there will be more plastic in the oceans than fish (by weight). This plastic has very damaging effects on the fish and other organisms that call the ocean home. That six-pack ring you threw away can go on to harm sea creatures in several different ways.
So you ask yourself, “why” should I be concerned with all this waste around the world? Well, if us humans continue to consume and waste more than what we singularly need, consider the millions of people that live on this planet and what that impact will be in the future. Landfills have already been filling up and new ones are opening up to contain all the waste that can’t be depleted. What if a landfill opens up in your neighborhood? That probably wouldn’t be so great with all the bad smells and garbage laying around the area. But you never know – that could happen.
So this year, and every year after, do one kind thing for our planet and go from there. Below are some tips on being Earth-Friendly:
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Before buying anything new, ask yourself if you can use something else you already have instead.
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Select products without plastic packaging.
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Avoid fabrics with plastic microfibers, such as nylon and polyester.
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When at a restaurant, ask that no straw be brought out with your drink. If dining out, say no to disposable silverware.
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Put your produce in reusable mesh bags.
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Make a plan for how you’ll reduce, refuse, reuse and recycle all the plastic in your life.
We are all living on this planet and we are all stewards of Earth. Whether you are 5 years old or 80 years old, you can do your part in helping the environment. Remember that it takes one single kind act to help make this planet more beautiful and more habitable – for all of us.
For more resources, please check out these earth promoting sites: http://deliciousliving.com/green-living/have-eco-week#slide-0-field_images-306031; https://earth911.com; https://blog.veestro.com/how-to-make-the-most-of-earth-day/
Happy Earth Day!
Sources: *Nicholas Mallos, Ocean Conservancy. *Earth Day Network
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Please read the labels and ingredients carefully and follow all manufacturer’s instructions (if any). The products selected for the giveaway were generously donated by the companies/PR to help readers learn more about their products. The winner’s choice in using/consuming these products are entirely up to the winner and will not hold the author and her family liable nor the companies/PR liable. These products are made with non-toxic ingredients but always be safe with what you use and consume.
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