5 Things You Can Do To Save The Earth (Besides Recycling)
Let’s face it, guys: the Earth is slowly dying and it’s up to us to change that. We all know that recycling will help, but it’s not enough to save the Earth. Some scientists say we only have 30 years to turn things around or the Earth is going to become too hot to live on, and that was 2 years ago. So we have to start now.
Global warming is affecting everything right now, but mainly the weather. In Boston, we had a 70-degree day, followed by a 30-degree and snowing day, followed by a 60-degree day. That shouldn’t be happening in April, but it is because the Earth is getting too warm. Too much carbon dioxide is going into Earth’s atmosphere and creating a hole in the ozone layer.
But we can fix this. We can do these simple things, which will help reduce the amount of carbon dioxide that is being released into the atmosphere.
1. Bring A Reusable Bag
Plastic grocery store bags are harmful to the environment. They can get stuck around an animal’s head, or the animal can eat it. Even the paper bags aren’t really biodegradable. It can still take years for them to break down and become the dirt. Animals can still eat paper bags and have just as much trouble as plastic bags.
The best solution is to use reusable cloth bags. Every grocery store sells them, most for $1. They are a lot more environmentally friendly, and they don’t get recycled or thrown into your backyard once a week on recycling day. They get put into your house and reused every time you go to the grocery store. The cloth bags also can be filled up more, so it would take fewer bags for your shopping list. It’s a win-win for the environment and for you.
Let’s all use reusable cloth grocery bags, and we’ll save the Earth together! Or we can at least start to help save the planet we live on.
2. Use A Reusable Straw
Plastic straws are the worst thing ever. You can’t recycle them because they’re made out of plastic that doesn’t decompose, so they need to go in the trash. And most of them don’t even make it to a landfill. They blow away and land in a forest or in the ocean somewhere, harming small animals trying to eat them.
Straws aren’t even that necessary, but if you like using them to drink your iced coffee or whatever you drink, get a metal straw. Those can be reused and cleaned between each use. They are much safer for the environment and they don’t fall apart in your drink like paper straws do. They won’t find their way into an animal’s throat and kill them, so that’s a good thing.
This may be simple, but it’s an effective way to help save the Earth with us. This is a good start to a much bigger task as our end goal!
3. Compost
Composting seems a little weird because everyone always says to finish all the food on your plate, but then they say to throw whatever you don’t finish down the compost. But it is a good thing to do. If you don’t have compost in your kitchen sink, you can just make one in your backyard and throw all your leftover food in it.
The leaves, sticks, and grass from when you cut your lawn can all go in the compost, as well. You can either use a bucket to throw everything into, or you can just find a spot on the grass in your backyard to use. It doesn’t matter because worms will break down your food and leaves either way. It is very good for the environment to have your own compost.
This is another easy way to help save the Earth, but it is important to have one. Composts are very useful to us, even if we don’t fully understand them.
4. Turn Out the Lights
There are several reasons this should be at the top of your list of things to do to protect the Earth. The first reason is that it stops us from enjoying the night sky. Having outdoor lights on doesn’t allow us to see when there’s a meteor shower or even if we want to check out the constellations, we can’t with lights on.
There are also a lot of nocturnal animals that are affected by the lights. That owl you hear every night is used to having no lights on. So when you put that light on, it’s blinded and can’t see. The bat in your backyard uses echolocation to see because it’s blind. The light waves from the outdoor lights mess with the echolocation and mess the bat’s timing up.
So turn off those outdoor lights and help save the Earth and the animals. This works for indoor light you aren’t using right now, too.
5. Buy Products In Bulk
This is another tip that seems a little weird, but it does help, trust me. Normally you don’t think to buy products in bulk because you only buy what you need. But if you buy each thing individually, there’s a lot of plastic packaging that comes with it. And as we mentioned earlier, plastic is not good for the environment.
It seems like buying in bulk is more expensive than just buying what you need, but it actually ends up being cheaper. Most of the time when you’re paying for a product, you’re paying for the plastic wrapping anyway. Since there’s less plastic wrap on items in bulk, the price would be cheaper in the end. You also don’t have to go to the store as much if you buy in bulk.
This is a fantastic way to help save the Earth, and it is very easy, too. Just make sure to use your cloth grocery bags when you buy in bulk.
