Every day when people wake up, they have the option to do the right or wrong thing. To some, that means choosing between telling the truth or lying, but to others, this means choosing to help protect the Earth or add to the pollution. Oftentimes people think that protecting the Earth means simply recycling or driving their car less, but there is a lot that can be done if people really want to change the planet and make it not only safer but healthier for everyone who is alive. Not everyone has made the decision to do their part and help protect the Earth, but that doesn’t mean you and your family have to follow their lead.
All that is required is an action to achieve a certain goal. Below listed are 50+ actions that one could take to save the planet and protect Mother Earth. Each action is simple and straightforward. Most of them won’t require you to spend extra money. And the money saved can be used to offset the cost that is required to complete an action. For e.g., you can save money by carpooling, and the saved money can be used to buy a hybrid car, which in general is a bit expensive. Together with our collective actions, we can make this planet a better place to live.
To waste, to destroy our natural resources, to skin and exhaust the land instead of using it so as to increase its usefulness, will result in undermining in the days of our children the very prosperity which we ought by right to hand down to them amplified and developed.
~ Theodore Roosevelt
51+ Surprising Ways Your Family Can Save Planet
Here are 51+ easy things that you and your family can do to save the planet and protect Mother Earth.
1. Plant a tree: Trees are able to provide both food and oxygen, so planting one can help keep the air clean and supply your family with some of your favorite fruit.
2. Carpool: Carpooling helps decrease the amount of pollution that is put into the air. If possible, you and your family can find people to ride and from work or school instead of driving your own vehicle.
3. Ride bikes: Riding bikes does not pollute the air the same way driving a car does and allows everyone to get much-needed exercise. This mode of transportation can be used during the week, as well as on weekends.
4. Do recycle: Recycling will conserve landfill space.
5. Take shorter showers: Taking shorter showers and cutting back on the amount of water used yearly reduces runoff and wastewater that runs into the oceans and pollutes them.
6. Use reusable shopping bags: Plastic bags are not environmentally friendly, so people should consider using a reusable shopping bag, so they do not have to keep using and throwing away plastic bags.
7. Use non-toxic chemicals: Toxic chemicals are harmful to oceans and the animals that inhabit them. By switching to non-toxic chemicals, waterways and animals will be less affected.
8. Use energy-efficient light bulbs: These light bulbs reduce the amount of greenhouse gas emissions that pollute the air. Buy compact fluorescent light bulbs. They last eight times as long and use a fraction of the energy.
9. Use both sides of your paper: People tend to use one side of their paper and then throw it away, but they should consider using both sides. This will reduce the amount of paper that is thrown away every year.
10. Avoid the use of water bottles: Since the plastic from water bottles is not recycled, more waste is found in landfills.
11. Buy and eat local: Most food is transported by truck or plane, so there are greenhouse gases released into the air the further your food has to travel. Buying local will reduce the amount of gases released into the air.
12. Use rechargeable batteries: Reduces amount of hazardous waste found in landfills.
13. Walk as much as you can: Walking to work or school has the same impact on the environment as biking. Fewer gases pollute the air, so people are able to breathe easier and enjoy fresher air.
14. Grow your own veggies: Planting a vegetable garden means you won’t have to use your car to buy them, and no one will have to use their car to transport them.
15. Do compost: Composting is easy and helps save space in landfills every year. It also makes a fertilizer that is great for your garden, lawn and plants.
16. Keep with car maintenance: If you decide to keep your car, it is wise to maintain it. Any issues you experience with your tires can decrease fuel economy and increase pollution.
17. Drive slowly: Driving fast will use more gas, and constant braking can decrease your car’s fuel economy, which will cause pollution.
18. Don’t let your faucet run while brushing your teeth: This is something a lot of people do, but should they stop, they can save gallons of water every year.
19. Go to a car wash: When washing your car at home, you may be using more water than necessary. Let the experts handle the washing and cut back on water usage.
20. Avoid products with microbeads: These products may benefit your health, but they harm many animals because the plastic beads get into the water and supply and negatively impact fish and other wildlife.
21. Take advantage of online payments: Making payments online reduces paper waste and greenhouse gas emissions.
22. Wash your hair less: This will cut back on water usage and the amount of harmful chemicals that get into the waterways.
23. Use a dishwasher: Dishwashers use less water, so there are thousands of gallons saved every year.
24. Use fewer napkins: Millions of trees are destroyed to make napkins and other paper products, using only one when you eat can save trees and reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
25. Biodegradable cat litter: This type of cat litter does not end up in a landfill, taking up space as the regular kind and are made from recycled materials.
26. Purchase a hybrid car: If you can’t drive your car less, consider a Hybrid because they help decrease greenhouse gases in the air.
27. Re-wear clothes: Doing laundry uses water, so if you are constantly doing laundry, you are using water you don’t need to. By re-wearing clothes, you can easily reduce water usage.
28. Use sensor lights: Sensor lights are great because they only turn on when people are in the room, which means when you are gone, the lights won’t be on, and energy will be conserved.
29. Reuse plastic bags: If you must use plastic bags at the store, when you have put your groceries away, save the bags and use them in garbage cans and for cat litter. This reduces waste because you do not have to buy garbage bags.
30. Use a dry-erase board: Writing notes and lists use paper. A dry-erase board can get the job done, and you can erase and change the message whenever you want.
31. Unplug electronics that aren’t used often: When things are plugged in, they are still using energy. Unplug them when you are not using them and save on energy.
32. Reduce the use of pesticides: It may be tempting to use pesticides to protect your plants, but the chemicals are harmful to your body and the environment. Reducing their use or not using them at all can make a huge difference.
33. Reuse party decoration: Party decorations are often made of paper. Reusing them keep more waste from being thrown into landfills.
34. Telecommute: If possible, speak to your employer about telecommuting. This way, you don’t have to drive your car to work and increase the amount of greenhouse gases released into the air.
35. Water-saving devices: By installing water-saving devices, you can reduce the amount of water that you and your family waste every year.
36. Avoid using spray paint: Spray paint is harmful to the environment and increases the amount of pollution. Use regular paint instead.
37. Use low- VOC paints: Low- volatile organic carbon water-based paints are safer for the environment and cause less pollution. Paint your walls a pale color, so you need less artificial light.
38. Donate your leftover paint to a community project: Britons fail to use 6.2m liters of the paint they buy each year.
39. Use soy-based inks: These types of inks are less harmful to the environment.
40. Reuse printer cartridges: Take your printer cartridges to be refilled, so there is less waste found in landfills. This also saves you money.
41. Avoid smoldering or slow-burning fires: These types of fires produce a high amount of pollutants that reduce air quality.
42. Always Recycle Glass, Aluminum and also every piece of paper: It is possible to make twenty recycled cans with the same amount of energy it takes to make just one new one. And every ton of glass that is recycled saves nine gallons of the oil used for fuel to produce new glass. It saves trees when you recycle paper and cardboard. That’s a great saving!
43. Invest in a washing line: Tumble dryers devour electricity. Hang clothes outside to dry naturally. The material will last longer, it will smell and feel fresher, and you are saving energy too!
44. Clean the back of your fridge: Dusty coils can increase energy consumption by 30%.
45. Use low-phosphate washing-up liquid and washing powder: Phosphates stimulate algal growth when discharged into the water supply, lowering oxygen levels and killing plants and fish.
46. Only flush toilets if really needed: Follow the Australian maxim: “If it’s yellow that’s mellow, if it’s brown flush it down.”
47. Gift wrap is a major waste of paper and resource: Reuse gift wrap, bows and tags. Wrap gifts in fabric and tie with ribbon; both are reusable and prettier than paper and sticky-tape. Or be creative and make your own gift wrap using old newspapers, maps or magazines and create your own design!
48. A meat-free day a week: You don’t have to give up meat for life, but try to commit to one meat-free day a week. Producing a single pound of beef takes 2,500 gallons of water. And animals that are reared on ex-forestry ground for meat are responsible for the destruction of fifty-five square feet of forest.
49. Make sure to recycle your old newspapers: 44 million newspapers that are69% of the newspapers printed in the USA are thrown away every day. You could save half a million trees if you recycle them only once per week. Or even better, read the online versions!
50. Use a cell phone recycling program: With the average consumer replacing their cell phones every eighteen months, 130 million cell phones are being disposed of each year. If these go into landfill sites, the toxins from the cell battery leak into the soil and pollute the ground. An added bonus to joining a recycling program is that many of these programs contribute to charities.
51. Refuse plastic carrier bags: If you are still using plastic carrier bags, at least reuse them. Cloth bags are better. Use reusable bags for shopping. Always carry one such bag along with you in your bag or car.
52. Work from home: If possible, get an arrangement in place with your employer where you can work from home some or all of the time. This saves gasoline, reduce air pollution and save you money.
53. When you will leave the Earth…Let them carry you off in a biodegradable cardboard coffin, saving trees.
People may not believe it, but making some of the smallest changes can make a huge difference in the amount of pollution in the air. If more and more families make these changes, the improvement in the quality of air around the world would be significant. This is something to consider the next time you purchase an item that is harmful to the environment, don’t let your water run for too long or throw away something that can be reused.
