Are you worried about the health of the Earth? Do you want to do what you can to save her? Of course, bombarded every day with all this unpleasant news about global warming, sea pollution and endangered animals, we don't really know where to start. It even seems that the actions of individuals make no difference, but there are actually many ways to help out. Here are some tips to change your personal habits and educate others to take action to protect the environment.
Steps
Part 1 of 5: Saving Water
Step 1. Moderate your water consumption in your home
Wasting water is one of the main ways in which humans compromise the health of the planet. You can start taking some steps right away to avoid squandering this resource. If you live in an area prone to water scarcity, saving water is even more important for safeguarding the local environment. Consider the following tips and try to act accordingly:
- Check and repair any water leaks, as a dripping tap can increase water waste;
- Install water-saving devices on taps and toilets; even a low-flow shower head could be a great start;
- Do not wash the dishes with the tap running, but use a method that limits the consumption of water for washing dishes;
- Close the tap that supplies water to the washing machine to avoid any leaks, it does not need to be always open;
- Replace old toilets with newer ones equipped with water-saving systems;
- Washes and dries only when the load of laundry and dishes is at its maximum, as the half load involves waste of water;
- Don't use too much water to water the lawn;
- Don't leave the tap running while brushing your teeth.
Step 2. Decrease the use of chemicals
The chemicals used for cleaning people, homes, cars and many other everyday objects end up in the sewer system or, in the worst case, are absorbed directly by the soil and then contaminate the groundwater. Since there are many purposes for which aggressive chemicals are used, waterways are inevitably becoming polluted with consequent damage to aquatic life forms. Since chemicals are also harmful to humans, try to reduce their use in the following ways:
- Know that there are alternative solutions to household cleaning detergents that are free of harmful substances. For example, by using a mixture of white vinegar and equal parts water, you can clean just about anything. A combination of baking soda and salt is also cheap and effective, but use it in moderation.
- When you have no viable alternatives to harsh detergent, determine the minimum amount you need to sanitize effectively and use it every time you need to clean. By using only the minimum amount needed, you will help reduce pollution and save money.
- Instead of using chemical-rich shampoos and soaps, try making soap at home.
- Instead of using pesticides and herbicides, find a natural way to get rid of weeds and pests.
Step 3. Properly dispose of toxic waste
Paints, engine oil, ammonia and various chemical agents should not be poured down the drain or directly into the earth because they infiltrate the subsoil and end up contaminating the groundwater. Learn about guidelines for disposing of chemical waste and hazardous substances.
Step 4. Help track down water pollutants
Everyone can do a lot to keep the water clean. Businesses and industries are often primarily responsible for water pollution. To safeguard the waters of our planet, it is necessary to show one's civic commitment and find a way to solve the pollution problem upstream.
- Join an environmental group that works locally to decontaminate water, be it rivers, lakes or seas.
- Contact those who represent you politically to suggest a concrete solution to safeguard water from chemical contamination.
- Volunteer to help clean up beaches or riverbanks.
- Encourage others to engage in the struggle for the reclamation of local water supplies.
Part 2 of 5: Preserving Air Quality
Step 1. Decrease your electricity consumption
Coal and natural gas are the most used energy sources to produce electricity. The combustion of these substances has a huge impact on air pollution globally. Reducing dependence on electricity is a great way to make your contribution to the preservation of our planet. Here's what you can do:
- Use solar energy to heat your home and water.
- In the evening, turn off electricity-powered appliances when you finish work.
- If you have a central air conditioning system, do not close the air ducts in unused rooms.
- Lower the thermostat on the water heater to 50 ° C.
- Fully lower or unplug the water heater when not in use for extended periods.
- Turn off the lights even when you are out of a room for a short time.
- Program the refrigerator temperature to 2-3 ° C and the freezer temperature to minus 17-15 ° C.
- When the oven is in operation, do not open the door unnecessarily: the internal temperature drops by several degrees every time you open it.
- Clean the dryer filter after each load so that it uses less energy.
- Do your laundry with warm or cold water instead of hot.
- Turn off lights, computers, and other appliances when they're not in use.
- Use compact fluorescent bulbs to save money and energy.
- Plant trees to protect your home from the sun.
- Replace old windows with energy-saving fixtures.
- Adjust the internal temperature of the house according to the season: it does not need to be too low in summer or too high in winter.
- Improve the thermal insulation of the house.
Step 2. Use the car and plane less often
Another major source of air pollution that promotes global warming are emissions from cars, trucks, planes and other motor vehicles. The production of the means of transport, the fuel needed to run them, the combustion that disperses enormous quantities of chemicals into the air and the construction of the roads all play a part that aggravates the problem. If you can reduce the use of the car and the plane, you will make a contribution to protecting the environment.
- If you can, walk or cycle instead of driving. Study the cycle paths of your city and use them!
- If you can't cycle or walk to work, share the car with other colleagues.
- Have your car checked regularly for exhaust emissions.
- Do not neglect the maintenance of the machine. Buy radial tires and check the pressure regularly. Paint with brushes or rollers instead of using spray paints to reduce harmful vapors.
Step 3. Buy local products
By buying zero kilometer products, you fight air pollution in two ways: you don't go too far to get what you need and the products don't travel too many kilometers to reach you. By making smart choices about where food, clothing and other goods come from, you can make your contribution against air pollution.
- Shop at the market and buy food produced as close to where you live as possible.
- When shopping online, pay attention to the path that the items you intend to order must take before they arrive at your home. Opt for products that don't need to be transported over long distances.
- Pay attention to where the clothes, electronics, furniture, and other household items you own are made. Whenever you can, buy locally produced merchandise.
Step 4. Eat locally sourced vegetables and meat
Intensive farming practices are not only harmful to individual animals, but also dangerous to the planet. Industrial agriculture generates air and water pollution. On an individual level, you can help solve the problem in the following ways:
- Increase your consumption of vegetables. It is a simple change that encourages giving up the products of industrial agriculture.
- Wondering where the meat comes from.
- Buy only locally sourced meat, produced by small farmers.
- Avoid eating beef. Cows are a major source of air pollution due to their emissions of methane, a dangerous greenhouse gas, and other pollutants. Try to reduce your consumption of beef by opting for other qualities of meat.
Step 5. Become an environmentalist
Identify local groups actively fighting air pollution and try to join their activities. By educating yourself and making others aware of this problem, you can make a more important contribution than you would by simply changing your lifestyle.
- Join a tree planting group to help purify the air.
- Become a cycle activist. Make a commitment to ensure that your city has safe cycling routes.
- Contact local rulers to discuss particular issues affecting your region. For example, if there is a factory that emits pollutants, put all your civic sense into play to stop them.
Part 3 of 5: Safeguarding the Soil
Step 1. Produce less waste
Everything you throw away and put in the bin is collected by the garbage service and taken to the landfill. Everything that becomes garbage - plastic, paper, metal and other materials - has probably been manufactured with unsustainable practices that affect the health of the earth. By creating less waste, you can decrease the damage. Try making these changes:
- Buy products that you can reuse. For example, choose glass containers instead of thin plastic ones.
- Do not use plastic bags, but of fabric.
- Keep in good condition and repair long-lasting products instead of buying new ones.
- Avoid buying items packaged with multiple layers of packaging when only one would be enough. About 33% of what we throw away is made up of packaging materials.
- Use reusable plates and tableware instead of disposable ones. Store foods in reusable containers instead of wrapping them in foil or cling film.
- Buy rechargeable batteries for the devices you use often.
- Copy and print on both sides of the paper.
- Reuse envelopes, binders and staples.
- Use e-mail and sms instead of writing paper.
- Use recycled paper.
- Mend your clothes instead of buying new ones.
- Buy used furniture. There is a very rich and varied parallel market where you can find much cheaper furniture than new ones.
Step 2. Prepare what you need yourself
When you cook at home or make cleaning solutions, you naturally produce less waste. Ready-made dishes in single portions, bottles of shampoo and shower gel can really turn into mountains of garbage! Here are some things to do manually:
- Food. If you are really ambitious, try raising some farmyard animals! Otherwise, try your best to cook at home. Purchase ingredients in bulk to reduce waste from packages and boxes.
- Body products. Shampoo, conditioner, creams, toothpaste and so on… you can make them with your own hands! At first try to replace something, but over time try to accomplish almost everything you need. Tip: Coconut oil is a great substitute for face creams, conditioners, and cleansers.
- Household cleaning products. Using natural substances, you can get everything from detergent for washing windows to cleaning the bathroom or oven.
Step 3. Make compost
It is an excellent way to reduce waste and improve the health of the land you live in at the same time. Instead of throwing leftovers in the trash, put them in a garden compost bin or pile them up manually. After a few weeks, you will have rich soil that you can spread over the grass or use to grow a delightful vegetable garden. The earth will be healthier and invigorated thanks to your efforts.
Step 4. Plant trees without cutting them
Trees limit soil erosion and are part of the ecosystem. By saving them, you will protect not only the earth, but also water and air. If you have space in the garden, consider planting them to improve the future of the place where you live.
- Do some research to figure out which trees are best suited to your environment. Go for native species.
- Choose tall, leafy trees.
Step 5. Combat low cut deforestation and the mining industry
These practices destroy and impoverish the soil making it inhospitable for the growth of plants and the shelter of wild animals. Join an environmental group fighting for local nature conservation against land-damaging industrial practices.
Part 4 of 5: Contributing to Wildlife Protection
Step 1. Make your property a wildlife haven
All animal species, from birds to deer and insects, have lost much of their natural habitat due to the presence of man. Surely you have seen birds bathing in oil-contaminated waters or deer roaming the urban suburbs because they have nowhere to go. If you have a small piece of land, try to accommodate animals that need help. Try to make it a hospitable place in the following ways:
- Plant shrubs, flowers, and trees that attract wildlife.
- Set up a bird feeder and water trough to supply them with food and clean water.
- Let snakes, spiders, bees, bats and other creatures live. Their presence indicates that the ecosystem is in good health.
- If you have space, install a beehive.
- Use cedar flakes or herbs in place of mothballs.
- Do not use chemical pesticides.
- Humane capture of parasitic animals and insects instead of using rat poison and insecticides.
- Use the electric lawn mower or the scythe instead of the petrol lawn mower.
- If you go hunting, respect endangered creatures. Do not waste the meat of the animals you have hunted.
Step 2. Try a vegetarian, pescetarian, or vegan diet
In this way, you will not only have a positive effect on reducing greenhouse gas emissions, but you will also be respectful of animals. Did you know that 3 billion animals are killed in factory farms every day? The simplest way to protect them globally is to follow a meat-free diet.
When you buy eggs, choose those produced in organic farms on the ground. Make sure the package says they come from hens raised in healthy, humane conditions. You can find them in most grocery stores
Step 3. Choose fish caught with sustainable fishing gear
The seas are becoming depopulated due to wild fishing and pollution. Almost 90% of the largest marine fish have disappeared. You can offer your contribution to protect marine life forms by eating only seasonal fish, caught with sustainable fishing techniques and gear.
Step 4. Respect the animals
Numerous animals are considered parasites even if they do not harm anyone. In general, the needs of wild beasts are underestimated because they live in places out of sight of man. As dozens of species go extinct every day, the fauna needs all the help it can get. Try to pay more attention in the following ways:
- Do not trap or kill moles and marmots. They can cause little trouble in the garden, but they play an important role in the ecosystem they live in.
- Do not bother the animals that live in their dens built in the woods, towards the beaches, in swampy areas and so on. When hiking, follow the default route so as not to damage their natural habitat.
Step 5. Educate your pets
If you have a cat that can get in and out of the house, try to keep it with you. In other words, if you are inside, keep it inside. If you are out, let him out. Keep an eye on it as our feline friends are the main cause of the deaths of numerous small creatures. Of course, it is only natural that they kill mice, birds and small animals, so don't punish your cat for bringing you a trophy, just try to be more careful about the small wildlife that live in your vicinity, especially if there are species in the area. danger.
- You can also help contain the effects of cat hunting by volunteering at an animal shelter that deals with stray cats.
- Never punish your cat if she has killed an animal because it is part of her natural instinct.
- In case your furry friend lives outdoors, you can check out this article if you want him to become a domestic cat.
Step 6. Try to protect the habitat of the animals
Whether you want to save a particular species or all those in danger of extinction, know that there are groups of animal rights to which you can devote time and energy.
Part 5 of 5: Save Energy
Step 1. Use solar energy for outdoor lighting
It involves using lights with batteries that are recharged by exposure to the sun.
Step 2. Use the sun to heat the water
Consult a company that manufactures solar thermal systems. This is a much more accessible technology than people think.
Step 3. Install a low-voltage motion sensor night light in the bathroom
Strong light can be annoying at night when you get up to go to the bathroom, so it's best to use a less powerful light to save energy as well.
Step 4. Install a water recycling system in the shower
The water is filtered and goes to fill the toilet flush.
Step 5. Save energy at school
The building and school equipment can require enormous energy consumption. There are many ways to help lower it, including by leaving lights off when not needed, holding discussions on various ways to save energy, finding solutions that can decrease the use of heating, cooling and so on.
Advice
- Take the aluminum bottles and cans to an ecological island. Depending on the municipal waste disposal program, you may receive something in return, such as discount coupons for shopping.
- With recycled materials you can make many useful things, such as storage boxes and gift boxes.
- If you have any trees you love and need to be out of the house for some time, ask a neighbor if they can take care of them so you don't cut them down.
- Buy grocery bags made from recycled materials to reduce plastic waste.
- Based on your age and experiences, ask an adult to help you recycle. Create a project to involve the whole family. In this way, you will contribute to saving the environment and the health of the community.
- Take the bike to go to school, work or wherever you have the opportunity! It is an exceptional means of transport that significantly reduces CO2 emissions.
- Put the glass in the appropriate containers, use the garden waste to make compost, recycle your clothes and paper and ask everyone (friends and family) to help you!
- If you are a man, don't be shy when you have to go to the bathroom! Urination is a natural function, so if you are in a public restroom, keep in mind that the urinal is much more efficient and environmentally friendly than the toilet.
