We all know we need to do our part. Don't feel like its too far gone, there is still a chance to make a difference, you just have to do it. Please continue to try, there is still hope.
Click here to learn how to compost! It seems pretty darn easy if you ask me, just google it for your area to make sure you follow your city guidelines.
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Easy Little things I've done that anyone can do too:
-Shopping at Goodwill or thrift stores instead. I think the world has an abundance of things and I think it's just too much, we don't need all this. Check for used instead of creating more.
-I started using cloth napkins I bought at Goodwill instead of paper ones, it does help, sometimes you wonder if sacrificing water to wash them is worth saving the trees that can be re-planted but water cannot, but honestly adding these to my wash of towels etc. doesn't use any more water then what I'm already using since they are small enough not to matter. So get some cloth napkins or make your own from scraps of fabric, just zigzag stitch the edges and there you go! (also good in place of kleenex)
-Put food in cloth or tupperware instead of plastic bags. If I brought a sandwich to work I just got sad every time I would put it in a plastic bag, so I started to put my sandwich in a tupperware I already had (not going to buy anymore) and then wrapped my veggies, fruit, cookies etc. in fabric and put it inside the tupperware with my sandwich. Yes it's still plastic but at least it's reusable and not ending up in the trash after each use. If I do use a plastic bag I sometimes wash it and reuse it if it wasn't icky.
-Re-use jars for food instead of buying more tupperware. I'm trying to save any food jars so I can use them for my rice, pasta, whatever. They can be used instead of tupperware to store leftovers in the fridge, and then you can throw it right into the microwave instead of doing it with plastic which is harmful, or using another dish or paper plate.
-Make your own produce bags out of mesh or just any fabric you have or want to use, it's easy to do, just hem the top edge and sew around 3 sides, bam your done! It's hard for me to go shopping sometimes, I see carts full of plastic produce bags, honestly it makes me sick and sad. Do you really need to put your bananas in a bag? NO you don't! I try not to bag anything unless it's tiny or really wet. If all else fails re-use those many plastic shopping bags you probably already have a lot of, it works just the same and your not adding more to your pile!
-Bring your own leftover container when you go out to eat, I try to bring at least 1, It saves on paper, styrofoam, and plastic, who cares if you think you look silly, it's worth it and maybe other people will learn from it. Also if they give you too many napkins make sure to bring those home otherwise whoever cleans the table will just toss them, at least they didn't go to waste
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-These are my Eco friendly shoes I got a while back from Zappos.com
Click Here for more vegan shoe options.
Click Here for more vegan shoe options.
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Check out this documentary on climate change and global warming (warning, some images may be disturbing)- Click here
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-The United States makes up only 4% of the world’s population, yet it is the number one producer of garbage. In 2006, America produced more than 250 million tons of garbage. Canada produces 31 million tons of garbage per year.
-Nearly 50 million tons of e-waste (electronic waste such as mobile phones and computers) are made every year in the world. It is enough to fill a line of garbage trucks in half of the world.
-Some waste need many years to decompose. Cigarette butts and filters need 12 years to biodegrade. Aluminum cans take between 200 to 500 years to decompose. Plastic diapers and sanitary napkins take between 500-800 years. Styrofoam takes more than 5,000 years. And glass bottle takes 1 million years to decompose.
● 100 billion gallons of water, enough to supply all the homes in New England for almost 4 months;
● 1.5 billion pounds of crops otherwise fed to livestock, enough to feed the state of New Mexico for more than a year;
● 70 million gallons of gas--enough to fuel all the cars of Canada and Mexico combined with plenty to spare;
● 3 million acres of land, an area more than twice the size of Delaware;
● 33 tons of antibiotics.
If everyone went vegetarian just for one day, the U.S. would prevent:
● Greenhouse gas emissions equivalent to 1.2 million tons of CO2, as much as produced by all of France;
● 3 million tons of soil erosion and $70 million in resulting economic damages;
● 4.5 million tons of animal excrement;
● Almost 7 tons of ammonia emissions, a major air pollutant.
My favorite statistic is this: According to Environmental Defense, if every American skipped one meal of chicken per week and substituted vegetarian foods instead, the carbon dioxide savings would be the same as taking more than half a million cars off of U.S. roads. See how easy it is to make an impact?
* Check out My Documentaries and Books Page to learn more about why it is important for the earth and us to go vegan, also watch this awesome short video- Click Here
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Plastic Bags, I absolutely Hate them more than you know, or any plastic for that matter, when I use it I feel most guilty, I'm trying to train myself to stop using plastic more and more:
-A trillion plastic bags are consumed each year worldwide. Less than 1% of bags are recycled. It costs more to recycle a bag than to produce a new one.
-Plastic bags are made of polyethylene.
-Polyethylene is a petroleum product
-Plastic bags are made of polyethylene.
-Polyethylene is a petroleum product
-Production of plastic bags contributes to air pollution and energy consumption.
-Plastic bags choke landfills.
-It takes more than 500 years for polyethylene bags to break down.
-As polyethylene breaks down, toxic substances leach into the soil and enter the food chain.
-It takes more than 500 years for polyethylene bags to break down.
-As polyethylene breaks down, toxic substances leach into the soil and enter the food chain.
-Plastic bags are carried by the wind into forests, ponds, rivers, and lakes.
-Approximately 1 million seabirds and mammals die per year by ingesting plastic bags.
-Approximately 1 million seabirds and mammals die per year by ingesting plastic bags.
-Plastic bags are often mistaken as food by marine mammals.
-These animals suffer a painful death, the plastic wraps around their intestines or they choke to death.
Info from-http://www.bagsgag.org/* So I beg you Please use your canvas bags or whatever is reusable, I knew they were bad but this is worse than I thought.
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If you are looking for ways to recycle things that your normal recycling company doesn't pick up there is another way. You can get your school or community involved to help recycle things like cereal bags, cheese bags, candy wrappers, juice pouches and many other things. I highly recommend getting involved, it can save a lot of trash from entering the ever growing landfills, it's super easy and you can earn money for charity. Just go to Terracycle.net to learn more!
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Believe it or not, even space contains copious amounts of pollution. An estimated 4 million pounds of space debris — nuts, bolts, metal and carbon, even whole spacecraft — currently orbit the Earth, threatening satellites, communication and even the lives of our astronauts.
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