The earth is a scary place.
The unknown depths of the sea could strangle and suffocate you. At any time, a fire could ignite and burn you to a crisp. The ground could shake, open, and swallow you whole. A coconut could fall from a palm tree and kill you with one clunk.
But, do you know what’s scarier? Not having earth at all. Yes, life on earth can be devastating. Natural disasters affect close to 160 million people a year, but dumping 1.5 million pounds of garbage into the ocean every hour certainly isn’t helping. Every year, 1 billion birds and mammals dye from plastic ingestion, and 3 million kids under the age of 5 die from pollution. The floating island of trash in the Pacific now stretches over 600,000 square miles. That’s more than twice the size of Texas, and it’s growing every day.
Today – Earth day – is not about scaring you (although I may have done a good job doing that so far). It’s about demonstrating support for environmental protection and drawing attention to one most ignored concepts in the modern world – pollution. You may have already bought a reusable straw and water bottle because your Facebook feed told you to. But, there’s more you could be doing. Simple changes to the way you consume could help the earth a great deal. You can’t do everything, but you can do something.
Three simple ways to help the environment:
1. Thrift shopping
Every garment purchased second-hand is one less produced, which is important because regardless of material, the production of clothing is costly to the environment. Fast Fashion (brands like Forever 21) is the second largest polluter in the world. 90% of dye houses and textile factories release their waste directly into local fresh water in developing countries. The fashion industry is responsible for 10% of the total carbon emissions in the world. And, because the clothing is made with such cheap material, 150 billion pieces of that clothing end up in landfills each year.
Thrifted clothing is cheaper, usually higher quality (hey, it made it far), and offers more room for uniqueness. I recently bought 20 items at the thrift store for $18. It will be much harder to find someone wearing the same thing as you as thrifted clothing rarely comes in multiples. And, it’s a fun challenge to re-interpret old styles in a contemporary way.
2. Conscious consumption
Of course, the most effective way to reduce waste, environmental destruction, and pollution is to simply buy less. Can you retrofit or repair something you already have? Avoiding single-use items is a step in the right direction. You can cut out water bottles, plastic ware, non-reusable bags, and switch to reusable alternatives, but you should also keep in mind what those alternatives are made with. Look for sustainable materials such as bamboo, straw, cork, and wool, among others.
3. Just pick it up
As a hiker, paddle boarder, and just a plain-old lover of the outdoors, I believe the easiest way to have the greatest impact on the environment is to just pick up trash. Whenever I go out for an adventure, whether it’s a hike, bike, or float down the river, I try to collect as much trash as I can. Why? Although the plastic has already been used and will be disposed of somewhere, you can help do so more safely.
Removing litter from wilderness trails benefits both animals and humans. Not only is litter unsightly, but it also poses a danger to animals that may ingest it. And, by removing litter from mountain environments, we can ensure that it doesn’t end up in our oceans. So, when you go out to enjoy nature this Earth day, bring a reusable bag, and go for a trash treasure-hunt!
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