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On April 22nd, we celebrate International Earth Day. Earth day is not only about posting the tropical beaches and the snowy mountains we went to via social media, but it is also about acknowledging that we are only given one planet. Our generation has to be even more mindful of the pollution we cause because we will face the consequences the longest. Nature is beautiful, so we need to take care of it and make sure we protect it. Here are some easy tips you can keep in mind to help protect the planet.
Reduce Pollution from Motor Vehicles
Reducing pollution from cars can be achieved by carpooling with friends. Thankfully, many Lake Forest students are already doing that. The next step you can take is turning off your engine when parked. Mostly, drivers should try to avoid consuming excessive gas by minimizing the amount of time spent on the road. Also, taking a bike is an even better, greener option and a fun activity at the same time.
Reusing
One can easily reuse by using a water bottle, reusable lunch boxes, or beeswax wraps. In addition, you can use cloth towels (instead of paper towels), sustainable makeup removers, jars, grocery bags and many more. As a society we should avoid using disposable products or objects and invest in things that are more durable.
Thrifting
Thrifting is similar in nature to the idea of reusing, but it is even more fun because you can find cool pieces of clothing while lowering the overall amount of waste being diverted to landfills. Fashion is one of the biggest categories of waste, so we need to reduce excessive consumption and production.
Make Homemade Products
We should focus on making food at home instead of buying processed, packaged snacks. Not only do they arguably taste better, but they are also better for your health, for the planet, and in the long term it can also be advantageous for your wallet.
Another option could be to buy in bulk – avoiding individually packed products. Some stores offer snacks that you can store in jars and boxes that you bring yourself, and you buy the products by weight.
Garden
My favorite eco-friendly activity is gardening because it has so many benefits. First, it helps to diversify nature and embellish the landscape. Gardening is also a healthy activity because it makes you spend more time outside; it is so gratifying when the harvest is successful and you get delicious products that are so much more nutritious than products bought in stores that are full of pesticides. Products in stores are packaged in so much plastic and have to be transported, both of which are damaging to the environment. Transportation is one of the biggest factors that contributes to climate change. It is crucial to know where your products are from and how they were made.
Consume less water
My grandmother always says that water is blue gold. Water is a valuable natural resource that we should not waste. It takes a lot of energy to clean water and make it drinkable. Wasting water contributes to water scarcity and damages aquatic life and ecosystems. To avoid wasting too much water, try shortening your daily showers. It may sound very difficult to do, but it becomes natural and a habit. The recommended time is between five and ten minutes, but over ten minutes showers are too excessive in terms of water conservation.
Another way to reduce one’s consumption of water is to turn off the water when washing, and turning it back on when soap needs to be rinsed. Additionally, using soap instead of shower gel in plastic containers helps reduce waste.
