Top Ten Things You Can Do Daily to Save our Planet Earth

Small Things I Practice Daily to Save Our Planet Earth

Most of us already know that our world is in danger and that it needs to save our planet Earth. I am just as guilty as everyone in the world so I am not in a position to tell others what to do. In fact, I am writing this article to show you what I do with minimal sacrifices in my life, all for a better world of tomorrow. My hope is that this small act raises awareness to just one person a day.

I call this a heroic act for our world. Animals suffer because of us. Without animals (birds, bees, etc.), our planet dies. No animals, no planet!

With just a few small acts, if practiced daily and habitually, will help save our planet Earth. Changing things I have taken for granted or recognizing something I can live without, can have a gigantic effect on our world. Here are a few things I try to put into practice on a daily basis.

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Top Ten Things You Can Do Daily to Save Our Planet Earth

Planet Earth is the home to eight billion people–and that’s only humans. In addition, there are cattle, sheep, pigs, horses, chickens, and other livestock. The list goes on. Each contributes to carbon footprints. We all hear about carbon footprints and greenhouse gas emissions causing global warming and climate change and waste in the ocean (marine trash) causing marine life to suffer.

Are you doing enough to help to reduce environmental pollution? We need to improve the reduction of our carbon footprint. We can all do this without sacrificing our day-to-day lives, just by incorporating a new way of doing things. As a matter of fact, we can make everyday choices to reduce the impact on the environment. Moreover, we can encourage others to do the same by changing the way we live. This will cause a ripple effect by which a small act can bring a tremendous impact.

We often take many things for granted. For instance, we tend to pick up bottled water at home instead of installing a water purification system, print documents without thinking, or leave the tap water running while brushing our teeth. Usually, we take long showers, keep the room lights on when not in use, wash clothes too often, and use single-use grocery and shopping plastic bags. Let’s be more considerate, even if it means sacrificing a few small things. At best, we can help to reduce environmental contamination by using environmentally (eco-) friendly products. And let’s stop using single-use plastic completely.

1. The Three Rs – To Save Our Planet Earth

The three Rs are reduce, reuse, and recycle. The foremost thing we should do is adopt and switch everything we use to eco-friendly products, if readily available. It may appear insignificant, but nothing is trivial if you multiply it by eight billion of the Earth’s population. We all can be heroes and set an example to others, like Greta Thunberg, the young Swedish environmental activist.

Ways we can adapt:

Reduce the consumption of electrical energy. Replace your house light bulbs with eco-friendly ones and turn off the lights when you leave the room. Also, use the washing machine less, or turn off the TV or computer when not in use. When not using for an extended period, make sure to unplug your devices from the electric socket.
Shut off the water faucet when not in use. For example, don’t leave the water running while brushing your teeth.
Join a carpool, or better yet, use mass public transportation if available.
Recycle everything. You can save up paper, plastic, glass bottle, batteries, and tin cans. Then take them to the recycling center near you. Sometimes they will even pay you.
Replace your old house thermostat with a smart thermostat for your heating and cooling systems. Also, set your thermostat a couple of degrees higher during summer or a couple of degrees lower during winter. Use layers to warm your body temperature instead of heating the entire house.
Exercise and save, including save our planet Earth

Riding a bicycle produces zero air pollution, not to mention, it’s better for your health.
Take the stairs instead of an elevator when going one to four floors up or down.
Walk a short distance instead of driving.

Carry your own grocery bags, even single-use plastic bags. Plastics are the worst enemy to our precious blue marine life. They don’t break down or easily decompose.

2. Carry Your Own Water Bottle

I cannot overemphasize the importance of zero plastic waste. For example, take-out plastic drink cups and straws. It’s no longer a matter of trashing, rather; it is destroying our ecosystem and marine life. Let’s start by carrying our own water bottles. Not only will it protect our marine life, but it will save you money in the long run. You can buy an inexpensive, eco-friendly, BPA-free water bottle from Amazon or elsewhere.

Also, avoid buying bottled water altogether. Plastic bottles contain a potentially harmful chemical and are damaging our planet. You can easily install a water filter purification system in your home, saving thousands of water bottles per year, per household. At least you can get a BPA-free water bottle and fill it up with your house tap water. It may be even purer than BPA-containing bottled water you spend your hard-earned money on.

The sad part is we do not even realize the amount we can save while benefitting the environment and our health. It is just a myth that bottled water is better than tap water just because it is something we pay for.

So next time you leave your house, carry your water bottle with you.

Public water taps will do just fine. However, if you must buy bottled water, at least you can recycle the bottles so that it won’t end up in the ocean. However, a good quality BPA-free water bottle will last for years. At least you can do this much toward contributing to save our home planet Earth.

You can purchase a name brand like this from Amazon.

3. Eat Less Meat, Chicken, and Fish

It is hard to believe that what I put on my dinner plate can be a huge concern for our planet. Unbelievable? Yeah, but it is actually true! Our ever-growing demand for meat consumption can significantly impact global warming. Did you know that livestock agriculture accounts for about half of global emissions?

With the information readily available on the Internet, here is how it is affecting our environment:

Overall, a single cow in the US produces between 140-240 pounds of methane emissions per year, which traps 25 times more heat in our atmosphere than CO2.
Every minute, these animals produce seven million pounds of waste. Subsequently, dumping into the ocean.
Making room for livestock is another issue. Clearing land of any trees is increasing at a dangerous level. This leads to the destruction of millions of animals’ natural habitat and causes the extinction of hundreds of species of insects and animals.
Livestock uses 45% of the land and one-third of our fresh-water supply.
Each year, we pull 90 million tons of fish out of the water, and unfortunately, for every pound of fish we remove, 5 pounds of other species are discarded.

The United States shockingly has the highest consumption of meat per capita.

How we can contribute:

While going entirely off meat would be preferred, it is not practical for many people. But, by skipping meat once a week or so, you can make a significant difference to our world. After all, there are many delicious plant-based foods you can substitute once a week. In fact, some of plant-based alternatives taste even better. For example, Grapeseed Oil Vegenaise.

This will benefit both our health and our planet.

Plant-based meals are a much healthier diet choice. For instance, a Mediterranean diet consists of less meat, yet it is still rich in protein and has all the nutrition you need. This can have significant positive effects on global carbon emissions. The fact is that on one acre of land, we can either produce 250 pounds of meat or 25,000 pounds of plant-based food. Not to mention, meats pollute air whereas plants clean air. The choice is ours.

4. Bring Your Grocery Bag

You may have noticed that I am stressing many times throughout this article about single-use plastic. We know how harmful single-use plastic bags are for the environment. Here are some facts about single-use grocery bags:

Plastic bags. We rarely reuse or recycle them; they are not biodegradable, and add up in landfills or worse, end up in ocean garbage patches.
Paper bags. These, too, are hardly reused or recycled. They are a better choice than plastic bags, but still, we don’t want to cut down another tree.

Which material of bag should we take for grocery shopping? Clearly, we should opt for a biodegradable material and make sure to reuse them over and over again.

The bottom line is that you can purchase recycled, multi-use grocery bags from most grocery stores for $0.99.

NOTE: When this article was published, you could not bring your own grocery bags with you to minimize the spread of COVID-19.

5. Reduce the Use of Plastics and Styrofoam

Again, we can never stress enough that plastics, in any form, including Styrofoam, are harmful to the environment. But did you know that it harms your health too? There are a variety of different types of plastics in the world, and they serve different purposes.

We are indeed surrounded by plastic. From making a helmet to protective gear, from incubators to life-saving devices, from stationery and lunch boxes to laptops and printers, everything is made from some form of plastic. But, here we are, discussing single-use plastics and Styrofoam.

All forms of plastics, including the most durable ones, are degradable. They can be physically broken down and easily transported by wind or water.

Unfortunately, just a small percentage are returned to the recycling plant, and a major portion ends up in the landfill.

Styrofoam is the brand name for polystyrene foam. It is one of the most affordable forms of plastic that is also used in packaging. It is so inexpensive that almost all companies use it for varying purposes.

Although these plastics will eventually decompose, it will take a while, maybe even thousands of years. Another mind-boggling fact is per year, in American alone, we throw away 25 not billion, but trillion cups (yes, just cups). Imagine the magnitude!

Even if you are not a huge environmentalist, most everyone is health-conscious. It has been found that styrene, the main ingredient of Styrofoam, is a possible carcinogen and increases toxicity when exposed to heat. It is a leading cause of cancer.

For your own health benefit and the health of our planet, stay away from this monster – Styrofoam.

6. Don’t Waste Paper

Millions of tons of paper are used every day around the world. The overconsumption of paper is causing massive deforestation and the disappearance of rainforests.

How can we help to save our planet Earth?

Opt for reading online and save over 53 million trees cut down every year to produce high-quality paper for magazines and catalogs.
Recycle all sorts of paper. Ensure you collect all paper waste, especially magazines, newspapers, used notepads, copies, and throw them into your nearest recycling bin.
Pay your bills online and save the printed version. You will greatly influence others and contribute massively to the environment.
Print only if necessary. One of the best ways to reduce paper usage is to avoid printing as much as possible. If the document can be sent or utilized in electronic form, try using it as much as possible. Even airlines are switching to e-tickets, and almost all industries will switch to electronic modes of communication.
Use both sides for printing: Don’t throw away paper after using only one side. Please keep it to use for printing on the blank side as well.
Unsubscribe from junk mail. Most of the magazines that come to our house are the ones we don’t usually need. Unsubscribe them today and save the paper and printing from being wasted.

In fact, it will not only save the planet but save you money. Some wealthy Hollywood celebrities drive a Prius. It’s not because they cannot afford a gas-guzzling luxury vehicle, but because it reduces the carbon footprint.

7. Conserve Water and Energy to Save Our Planet Earth

Water is abundantly available on our planet, right! As a matter of fact, you are not wrong, but the water available and the water we use is very different. The available water is abundant but is not useful for us, and processing it to bring it to a useable level has a cost attached to it.

The usable, fresh-water supply is limited, and we have to make sure we utilize it wisely.

Here are a few ways we can help:

Turn off the tap while brushing, shaving and soaping during the shower.
Use water-saving nozzles to wash your veggies, fruits, and dishes.
Use sprinklers to timely water the plants, or grow plants that require less water.
Check faucets and pipes for leaks.
Wash your car less often, and take it to a car wash center.

We also need to save energy and use the renewable resources that are abundant and readily available on our planet. Although you may not be involved with any of them, here are few things to be aware of:

Hydro energy is used to generate electricity.
Solar energy is widely used in many households and also at an industrial level.
Wind energy is also an incredible source that we have in abundance.
Geothermal energy is converted to electricity.

Conserve Water and Save our planet Earth

8. Take Public Transportation or Carpool

Suppose there are ten people on the road in their cars. There is ten times more emission than putting all of them in a public transportation system. We can reduce a large chunk of emissions just by switching to public transportation. It will significantly help take cars off the road and immensely reduce traffic. True, you may have to get up a little earlier to spend more time on the street, but at least you can contribute to the greater good for our planet. Also, you can take a good book to read instead of driving through congested traffic. Furthermore,

Carpooling is another option you can participate in to help reduce the number of cars on the road.
Using bicycles is also a great option. It is healthier and gives you a part of the exercise you need for the day. If your destination is not too far away, you can opt for a bicycle ride and start a new trend if many are not already doing it in your neighborhood.

We have many vehicles on the road, and all these vehicles are emitting gases into the atmosphere, which is harmful. They are gradually, yet surely, destroying our plant’s environment. The latest technology has given cars that run on electricity. These cars are one way to zero in on harmful emissions.

In order to support them, our government subsidizes or gives incentives for plug-in electric vehicles. If you can, why not invest in them?

It is imperative to help the environment with the small efforts that we make. We can contribute to planet Earth, save a lot of cash, and even save on the oil and gas resources that are already scarce.

9. Use Eco-Friendly or Environmentally Friendly Products Especially Aquatic Ecosystems

As the world becomes more and more aware of the importance of recycling, many companies are manufacturing their products using recyclable raw materials. This is an excellent initiative as people switch to using environmentally friendly products. This is the only way our Earth can start slowly recovering from the damage that has already been done.

Most of the things we use in our daily lives are made from things that may or may not be environmentally friendly. We need to be mindful of our purchases, and use products that will not harm our environment, but may even benefit it somehow. Only after that, are we doing our little part to give back to our planet or to save our planet Earth.

Eco-friendly products are available from plastic containers to eco-friendly fuel, detergents and soaps to daily skincare products, and everything in the middle. Most importantly, when you go to the beach next time, be sure to take sunscreen that is eco-friendly to our marine life. You can find an abundance of marine friendly, or eco-friendly reef friendly sunscreen from Amazon or elsewhere. You will be surprised how much this eco-friendly sunscreen can help our blue ocean life.

Use

Eco-Friendly

Products

10. Support or Participate in Environmental Cleanup Initiatives or Join an Environmental Protection Organization

As the world becomes increasingly aware of the importance of saving the environment, everyone must contribute in one way or another toward a clean and green environment, land, and water. We can do our part as individuals or on a group level. Our schools and colleges often take initiatives to clean up the beaches or plant more trees.

However, much more needs to be done on a larger scale, for instance, countries, and continents. The least we can do is to donate some portion of our savings or physically join an initiative to spread awareness to others. Promoting and encouraging environmental cleanup efforts by each of us can positively impact our planet.

Greenpeace, 4Ocean, Save the Earth, Ocean Conservation, WCS, and many others are non-governmental environmental organizations. They work toward making Earth a better place to live for us and our future generations.

Greenpeace

Greenpeace has been in operation since 1971. It was initiated in Vancouver, Canada and is now active in 55 different countries all around the world. Their goal is to make our world cleaner and greener.

4Ocean

4Ocean is another excellent organization to participate in. They make beautiful, usable items like bracelets and apparel, from the items we throw away. Every bracelet that you buy helps reduce two pounds of plastic from the ocean. Furthermore, they make 100% organic cotton masks that are reusable. This actually helps pull one pound of plastic out of the ocean.

Save the Earth

Save the Earth is an initiative taken by National Geographic, where they offer programs and interactive ways to involve kids. All their programs make children more aware of their surroundings, love Mother Earth and protect her by using the right products. They contribute to helping the planet get out of the mess that has piled up on it for decades.

Ocean Conservation

Ocean conservation or marine conservation helps preserve the ecosystem of the ocean waters, which have been turned into dead waters with loads of factory waste put onto the shores of our beautiful seas and oceans.

The Wildlife Conservation Society

“Protect Wildlife. Protect Us.” We already saw the effect of not protecting our wildlife and forest. The pandemic is just the beginning if we continue to ignore wildlife protection. WCS realized this 125 years ago when they started their mission in 1895. In supporting them, not only it will protect us but the next generation.

In conclusion, there is a lot more we can do to save our planet Earth. We need to think and change our habits and our complacent attitude. We must be more cautious and mindful of our actions and give back little by little to the world we live in.

All things mentioned in the article will contribute greatly to benefit Mother Earth. But these are just merely a good start. Do you think that the COVID-19 pandemic is terrible enough? If we don’t do anything, this will be just the beginning!