At the start of January, people typically make resolutions about health, money, and relationships, with the mindset of "new year, new me." In 2022, maybe we can add environmental goals to the list.
Old Practice: Use plastic bags.
New Practice: Reusable bags.
Old Practice: Buy individual plastic water bottles.
New Practice: Drink from a reusable bottle and conserve water.
Old Practice: Pollute water with plastic microfibers.
New habit: Switch up your washer settings (Clothes made of synthetic materials like polyester, nylon, and spandex release microfibers in the washing machine, which make their way into the world's oceans. That's bad news because sea life may consume those plastic fibers, and that can have a potentially "toxic impact" on the food chain, based on what experts know about microplastics.
New Practice: To keep the initial shedding to a minimum, use the cold water setting when washing clothes).
Old Practice: Use rush shipping for your online purchases.
New Practice: Focus on sustainable shopping. Can you be an advocate even as a consumer to say, 'I want to buy this from you, but I don't want all this packaging. Do you have a better option?
Old Practice: Eating meat every day of the week
New Practice: Vary your diet and explore plant-based foods. You don't have to cut meat entirely out of your diet to make a difference. Start small and try to eliminate meat once a week. Too much meat consumption is not good for the environment because the production of lamb and beef generate high levels of greenhouse gas emissions.It's also a fun opportunity to explore recipes.
Composting is nature’s way of taking waste and turning it into nutrient-rich soil that makes a great amendment to your garden soil (especially if you are square foot gardening) or mixed into a potting soil.
Old Practice: Throw away your food
New Practice: Start a compost pile in your backyard or consider a compost bin. If you'd prefer the scraps far away from home, research drop-off sites in your area or sign up for services that do the composting for you, such as Compost Now.
Here is a link for
Greener Living
https://www.epa.gov/environmental-topics/greener-living |
