- Apr 22, 2020

Happy Earth Day!

The greatest threat to our planet

is the belief that

someone else will save it."

- Robert Swan

Happy Earth Day my friends!

Today and everyday is Earth day in our household. We are always looking for ways to help our planet Earth in our day to day routines. There are so many things you can easily do to help reduce your overall waste, help the nature around you, and overall improve our ecosystem. Every small thing you can add into your daily routine does, and will make a difference. We, as the human race, has to make the decision to do better for our planet. Through reducing, reusing, and recycling, we can make a difference. Supporting local businesses, farmers, growing wildflowers, planting treats, and reducing our own carbon footprint, are many things we can be doing. I could touch on sooo many things, and could go on for days about each topic, so I am going to try and keep things short and summarized for you. If you want to learn more, just contact me and I would love to chat with you more!

History of Earth Day

“Earth Day was a unified response to an environment in crisis — oil spills, smog, rivers so polluted they literally caught fire. On April 22, 1970, 20 million Americans — 10% of the U.S. population at the time — took to the streets, college campuses and hundreds of cities to protest environmental ignorance and demand a new way forward for our planet.”

The first Earth Day in 1970 launched a wave of action, including the passage of landmark environmental laws in the United States. The Clean Air, Clean Water and Endangered Species Acts were created in response to the first Earth Day in 1970, as well as the creation of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Many countries soon adopted similar laws.”

Read more Here: https://www.earthday.org/history/

Why do we need to focus more on reducing our waste over relying on recycling?

Though recycling is a great step and something that we all should practice on a daily basis, it is not something that we should rely on to keep things from ending up in the landfills. Only 9% of the recycled material is actually recycled. The rest ends up in landfills and waterways. That means that 91% of that material ends up contributing to the greenhouse gases.

The amount of waste that humans produces has increased by almost 10,000% in the last 100 years. The majority of that waste has ended up in landfills, leaching out methane and other toxic gases, and in our oceans and waterways.

When recycled material is not recycled properly, it can contaminate the entire lot, and will have to ultimately go to landfills. According to waste360.com, China turned away 22,000 shipping containers filled with US recyclables due to contamination. This causes the material to end up in the landfills. The average recycling rate in America is only 34.7%. On top of that only about half of Americans feel they have access to recycling options, and lack of recycling knowledge.

Lastly, everything just cannot be recycled. So the best thing we can do is focus on reducing our overall waste.

Consumerism and how we can make a difference

When we buy something we are supporting a business to continue making that product. What we invest our money into, businesses will follow, to support that continued investment. We need to be working on consciously buying. This means asking yourself, do I really need this? Can my old item be repaired and reused? We are told that we always need more. More shoes, more clothes, the latest technology, more gadgets, more, more, more, more. The more we buy, the more that will ultimately end up in the landfill.

We need to focus on buying less and buying quality products. Switch from disposable to reusable, make the effort to repair something instead of just throwing out and buying the newest item, see if you can make something yourself instead of buying out of convenience.

Let's support those businesses that are actively trying to reduce their packaging waste, designing products that are non toxic for the environment and ourselves, and reducing their carbon footprint.

Next time you go to buy something, ask yourself, do I really need this and do I already have something that I can use?

Other Impacts that can be made to help the environment

On top of being aware of our waste and reducing it, learning to recycle properly, reusing/repairing things we already have, there are many other things we can do to help our environment.

Many things like supporting local businesses, growing your own little garden, planting wildflowers and trees, carpooling or biking, start a compost bin, and supporting local farmers who are practicing organic/regenerative farming, will make an impact on our environment.

Did you know that 30.6 million tons of food waste ended up in the landfill in 2017. Only 2.6 million tons were composted. By composting we are creating the right environment for foods and organic materials to decompose and create a wonderful fertilizer for our gardens and soils while eliminating the methane gas they would otherwise produce in the landfill.

How does planting native wildflowers benefit me or the earth? Wildflowers provide food and

shelter for many animals and insects which in turn provide food for birds, bats, reptiles, amphibians, etc. This is all apart of the life cycle. These pollinators and bees are so important for the human race. They are vital for three-quarters of the worlds food crops. In addition to that, wildflowers help keep the soil healthy. They spread their roots and stabilize the soil preventing nutrients from being washed away.

What small things can I do to get started?

So what can we do? Below are a few things that I believe are simple things we can do to help make an impact.

Reusable (non plastic) water bottles
Buy in bulk (and use old glass containers, jars, etc.)
Reusable shopping bags and produce bags
Replace single use items with reusable (coffee cups, plastic silverware, razors, shopping bags, sandwich bags, napkins/paper towels, etc)
Join a CSA (community supported agriculture) with a local farmer
Shop at a local farmers market vs large chain grocery stores
Plant native wildflowers and trees (contact your local Extension office for more info)
Carpool
Reduce overall consumption
Buy glass over plastic
Switch to no packaging items when its time to replace a product, like shampoo bars, dish soap bars, brushes instead of sponges, etc.
Make your own cleaning supplies ( I will share a post on how I do this!)
Educate yourself on proper recycling

Though it may seem overwhelming and sometimes really inconvenient, we have to focus on the importance behind our actions. We are destroying our planet, and we are the only ones that can fix it. We do not want to leave this mess for our children to fix and ultimately pay the price for. The things we do today will impact the future of this Earth. We have to do better, together.