Hey Nerds,
Happy 50th Earth Day!
Fun Fact: Did you know Earth Day started in the United States? In 1969, John McConnell proposed a day to honor the Earth at a UNESCO conference. The first Earth Day was held in the US on April 22, 1970 thanks to Senator Gaylord Nelson. (Learn more here.)
We have one Earth and we all have a responsibility to take care of her. Regardless of whether you are a full-blown conservationist or someone who just wants to do your part in small, everyday ways, we can make a difference.
Why should we care? Think of this-plastic in the ocean breaks down into microplastics. Microplastics look yummy to fish, so they eat it. And fish look yummy, so we eat them. And then we eat our own trash and that’s…not yummy. That’s just one example of, frankly, gross byproducts of our reliance on single-use plastics.
So what can we do?
- Replace single-use plastics with reusable versions: this includes sandwich bags, straws, shopping bags, food storage containers, water bottles, and much more. Now I get there are some genuine medical reasons why some people may need things like plastic, bendy straws. If you have a genuine need, you do what is best for you. But there are many people out there who can make small changes to reusable products without impacting their quality of life. My favorite nerd and I have used reusable water bottles at college sporting events for easily 5+ years. Every year the events staff tries to tell us we can’t bring them in and I fight tooth and nail to ensure that we can bring in our water bottles to fill at water fountains and water stations rather than continue to purchase bottled water. It’s small, but we’re doing our part.
- Consider making your home a smart home. This includes smart thermostats, such as Nest, that can adapt to your schedule, has an Eco mode, and shows you a handy green leaf when you have set your AC/heater to a temp that is helping the environment. Even just an adjustment of a couple of degrees can do the trick.
- Buy used clothing! The fast fashion industry is incredibly destructive due to fabric production. Synthetic fabrics take roughly 342 million barrels of oil to produce! Don’t believe me, watch Hasah Minhaj’s Patriot Act episode on fast fashion on Netflix. It’s mind blowing. What can you do instead? Shop at Goodwill, eBay, or ThredUp. You’ll upcycle clothing already produced rather than buying new clothing. This helps reduce the demand for new items, decreasing production, and helping keep clothing from ending up in landfills. Plus these are all great options for when you Marie Kondo your home and have clothing of your own you wish to discard.
- Don’t unnecessarily water your yard. I know we all want a green, luscious yard. We want our neighbors to think we care about curb appeal and for our home to look good. Let’s make smart choices about how we water our yards. You don’t need to water everyday, especially if it rained. There are also better times to water (spoiler alert: it’s early in the morning) to ensure water gets to your grass’ roots. And not all plants need the same amount of water. Your flower beds don’t need the same amount of water as your yard,
These are some pretty basic ideas, and obviously there are many other things you can do to help us save our one planet. You may find the idea of reducing your meat consumption appealing or reducing your dependence on a vehicle by riding a bike or taking public transit. There’s also the debate of the actual eco-benefits of electric vehicles. Or you could take the incredibly simple step of not throwing trash out your car window…just saying.
Let’s aim to do just one thing within your power to help preserve the Earth for our future generations. They’ll thank you.
Cheers,
Head Nerd