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By Ananya Gondesi, The Youth Outlook Staff Writer
Sustainability is a huge issue in today’s world. With climate change and global warming
becoming more destructive than ever, it is becoming evident that it will have a big impact on our future. As our world becomes warmer and our environment is more ruined, everyone can take small steps at home to help the environment. This article will provide you with ten suggestions that you can take to ensure that you are working towards a better future for the generations to come.
Tip #1: Use a reusable bag at the grocery store
According to plastic.education, “Plastic bags are non-biodegradable, use crude oil and natural gas to manufacture, and require even more fossil fuels to ship.” You’ve probably already heard this one, but it can make so much of a difference. Plastic can take years to break down, and it’s dumped into the ocean, harming the wildlife. If you eat fish, chances are you could be eating a fish that ate the same plastic that you dumped into the ocean because you used a plastic bag instead of a cloth one. Plus, reusable bags are a lot more durable, and you won’t have to pay for plastic bags. Since some stores charge extra for plastic bags, you can use reusable ones to save money They also cost money to clean up. California “spends $25 million to send plastic bags to the landfill each year. And that doesn’t include the $8.5 million spent on removing plastic bags from the streets.” Overall, it’s easier for all of us to just use reusable bags.
Tip #2: Use a reusable water bottle
The more we can use it again, the better. As mentioned above, plastic has horrible effects on the environment. Although it may be convenient for packaging and other things, “People are exposed to chemicals from plastic multiple times per day through the air, dust, water, food, and use of consumer products.” Because we choose to use single-use plastic bottles, it in turn affects our health because we cannot put in effort to reuse one bottle. If we are able to use reusable water bottles, we save so much plastic going into the ocean. “Americans throw away 35 billion plastic bottles every year.” If we were able to just use an aluminum or glass water bottle, we would be able to save so much. VSCO girls were right, using a reusable water bottle does save the turtles(and every other type of species in the water).
Tip #3: Save electricity and water
More electricity used equals more fossil fuels burning. I’m sure you have read about the effect on fossil fuels on the environment, and it is brutal. Burning fossil fuels can lead to deadly things like acid rain. So, if you’re not in a room, turn the lights off. There are even lights for sale that will turn off automatically to conserve energy. Don’t leave the TV on if no one is watching it and don’t leave your charger plugged in unless something is charging. Basically, try to reduce the amount of energy you are using in a day.
Water is also something that we must conserve since some energy is used when distributing the water. Do not leave the tap on while you are brushing, try to take shorter showers, and think about drinking tap or filtered water rather than bottled water(discussed above). You can also keep the tap off when you are not using it, and so on and so forth. There are so many more resources on electricity and water conservation, and I’ll make sure to put the links in the sources.
Tip #4: Carpool as much as you can, or walk, use public transportation, or go on a bike
It’s no surprise that cars are very bad for the environment because of how much fossil fuel they burn. But sometimes cars are the most convenient option to get to work, especially when it’s not close to public transportation. You can carpool with a colleague or someone you know, and that way you lessen the amount of trips you need to take, therefore reducing the amount of pollution you release into the air. Using public transportation can help too. Although it still produces pollution, it’s better to have 25 people taking a public bus than 25 people taking their own car. Plus, it’s cheaper. Or you can just walk or bike to your work or school. It’s a nice little work out, and it also can help you stay out of traffic and other things that can inconvenience you in a car or on public transportation.
Tip #5: Try to take advantage of the internet as much as you can when it comes to work
When I say this, I’m referring to online tools such as google drive. To prevent printing out paper and other things, you can create google docs online and just share them with others via email. Most schools have now switched to providing chromebooks to kids all over the country. As one of those kids that have received one of those chromebooks for the past 3 years, we have saved SO much paper by doing stuff online. Plus, it won’t be lost and you can delete it at any time you want.
Tip #6: Buy local food so we can save the energy from transportation
Most of the food in our stores is from outsourced food that is grown or processed elsewhere through trade. These items travel by planes, ships, etc. These are the main things that produce pollution into the air. Plus, buying them when they are locally grown or even growing them at home is better, since it most likely won’t be a GMO and won’t have pesticides and herbicides. It’s overall more healthy and better for the environment.
Tip #7: Make a little compost bin at home
Compost is basically old food scraps used to enrich soil and help your plants grow. It helps prevent all of the wasted food from going to landfills. According to epa.gov, “Food scraps and yard waste together currently make up more than 28 percent of what we throw away, and should be composted instead. Making compost keeps these materials out of landfills where they take up space and release methane, a potent greenhouse gas.” All of this shows that composting is a small step to not only help your at-home garden but also help reduce waste. This can help grow vegetables that you can eat at home, so it does two jobs in one.
Tip #8: Keep your clothes for a little bit longer; Avoid buying from unsustainable brands
Fast fashion is a new type of fashion. Brands used to take a long time to design and craft clothes. Now, brands like Zara and H&M rip-off designs from smaller brands and manufacture clothes constantly. To keep up with new trends, they continue to manufacture different clothes. These clothes are made completely unsustainably, and they are usually dumped after they are used. According to Impakter.com, “Among the environmental impacts of fast fashion include the depletion of non-renewable sources, emission of greenhouse gases and the use of massive amounts of water and energy.” These resources are incredibly important to the environment. I’m not saying don’t buy from those kinds of stores; I’m saying keep them longer and try to reduce the amount you are buying. Thrifting could really help out, too. Plus, it’s a lot more affordable.
Tip #9: Take advantage of libraries instead of using streaming or buying books
Streaming uses a lot of data, meaning a lot of electricity is being used. Books use a lot of paper. Although it’s nice to hold a book in your hand, so it might be better to go to a library. Usually, libraries only have a small fee to join, and once you do there are lots of things available--all for free! The card usually lasts for a long time, and you can get as many books, movies and TV shows as many times as you want. This conserves energy, paper and even money in the long run.
Tip #10: Sign petitions, donate and make your voice heard. Awareness is key!
We all know that in light of recent events in this country, we are all a little more motivated to work towards a better future with activism. Throughout these last 3 months, we’ve been constantly donating, signing petitions and protesting. All of these things are incredibly important to do in the coming years so that we can work towards a more sustainable tomorrow. Share your ideas, your ways of being sustainable and pass them on to others. Just getting one person to stop using plastic water bottles is a big deal! We need to continue to spread the word to make sure that everyone is collectively taking a step together in the right direction. With small steps from everyone in the world, we can collectively take a big step for the Earth.
Sources:
https://plastic.education/benefits-of-using-reusable-shopping-bags/
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2002/aug/22/worldsummit2002.earth21
https://www.ehn.org/plastic-environmental-impact-2501923191.html?rebelltitem=2#rebelltitem2
https://utahrecycles.org/get-the-facts/the-facts-plastic/#:~:text=Americans%20throw%20away%2
035%20billion,is%20always%20preferable%20over%20plastic.