Earth Day: A Practical Guide and Resource
Did you know that Earth Day has been around since April 22, 1970?
Unfortunately, if we as a collective, don’t smarten up we are in big trouble and really we have no one to blame but ourselves for destroying this beautiful planet.
The last thing I want to do is get on my soap box and start wagging my finger at people. My intention is to help people realize there are always things we can do to help.
I want to break this huge topic down to 3 sections:
Our diet
What we buy
What we do
Diet: Probably the most impactful change we can make for both the environment and our health.
Did you know that agriculture contributes more to greenhouse gases than the entire transport industry?
Unfortunately it’s true. Scientists are suggesting that one of the most effective ways to reduce greenhouse gases is to eat less meat. Even switching to 1-2 meals a week to plant based will make an impact, small changes can compound into a large effort, you can do small things and still make a huge difference.
Enjoying more plant based meals can be easy, my website has several meal ideas/recipes and the number of plant based products on the market now is quite incredible. When I became vegetarian (1993ish) there was only 1 company making plant based products, we have come along way, people! Thank goodness!
Another thing consumers can do is be mindful of GMO foods, primarily corn (and all of its products like corn starch, corn syrup, corn oil etc), soy and potato. Yes, most of these crops are grown for food for livestock but if you eat that meat you are also ingesting GMO foods. Be aware of where your food comes from and how it is grown. Always look for organic options for these products.
Palm oil production contributes to deforestation as the demand for palm oil increases. Here is a fantastic resource to learn more about how palm oil affects our world. Palm oil is in many things including our toiletries, packaged foods and detergents. Be aware of what is in your food and the products you use. The best approach is to ensure the palm oil that are being used are ones that are approved by Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO). Here is another fantastic resource for palm oil.
25-30 % of our food is lost to waste globally and greenhouse emissions associated with this loss is as high as 8-10% of all global emissions. I strive to not waste any food, buy only what you need. Meal planning can help organize the week’s meals and shopping.
What We Buy: Vote with you dollars. Support those awesome companies doing everything they can to do their part for the environment.
Support your local farmers market and farmer. Without them we are in trouble.
Focus on reducing rather than recycling.
But, recycling is good, its no big deal to use that single use water bottle. Ya, sorry to say but that’s not good enough. 86% of plastic actually ends up in landfills. Learn more about plastic in our oceans and how our bad habits are affecting the environment.
Instead of using plastic wrap and sandwich bags there are really great companies making reusable products to replace single use plastic. My favourite is a Vancouver Island company Goldilocks, I have no affiliation, I just really like the products.
What We Do: Small changes in our day to day can also add up to big impacts.
Plant a small garden to help the bees and the inscects that we rely on for pollination.
Don’t rake/blow your leaves in the fall. The leaves that fall provide an ecosystem to many critters and it is best to leave the leaves alone.
Educate yourself, there are many great documentaries like “Cowspiracy”, “Earthlings”, “The Game Changers”, “Food Inc”, “What the Health.” many of these can be found on streaming services.
Support companies that give back: Ten Tree is a fantastic company that plants 10 trees for every purchase, I have bought many items from this company and their clothing is very comfy! Conscious Step is my favourite place for socks, fits well, good quality and they have really fun designs. You an choose what you want your donated dollars to go towards, saving the kolas, helping provide clean water, giving school books to those who need them, the list is quite extensive. Everyone in my family has a pair of these socks! Large companies like Patagonia give back as well, they recycle many materials when they can, use Fair Trade cotton and are apart of many environment organizations and Alliances.
I hope this inspires everyone to make small and consistent changes in our day to day life that can impact the environment in a meaningful way. If you have questions or want to share how they help the environment please reach out.
