Today is Earth Day. The day we all care a great big bunch about the planet we live on. But what if we want to care every day? That’s an excellent question. So, we combed the interwebs and found some really easy, yet very effective ways you can help save the Earth every day. Each helpful tip shown is accompanied by a royalty-free image from the Bigstock collection, naturally.
1. USE BOTH SIDES OF PAPER
Each year, paper mills release over one trillion gallons of chlorine-tainted water as part of the process required to make paper. Using both sides of paper can cut that kind of pollution almost in half. Also, encourage your office to use recycled paper, particularly chlorine-free recycled paper.
2. BYOB (Bring Your Own Bag)
Plastic bags can take up to 1,000 years to decompose. Seriously. Along the way, plastic bags kill an estimated one million birds and thousands of turtles each year, due to ingestion and other factors. Be sure to keep a tote bag in your car, and one at your office. That way, you’ll always have one handy for any last-minute shopping needs. This will save on paper and plastic. And it’ll save birds and turtles, too.
3. BYOM (Bring Your Own Mug)
An estimated 14.4 billion disposable paper cups are used each year. That’s around 900 million pounds of paper cups. By using your own coffee mug or water glass each day, and not using paper cups, you’ll reduce your CO2 emissions by a total of 1.25 lbs every week.
4. RIDE A BIKE.
Cars produce 0.97 lbs of pollution per mile. Bikes produce none. Need another reason? Here’s a handy infographic of how riding a bike can save the world. Oh, and always wear a helmet!
5. HAVE A MEATLESS MEAL.
By switching out a meaty dish for a meatless meal once a week, you’ll be conserving fresh water, saving topsoil, and even reducing air pollution. So, make some pasta, a salad, or a meatless chili tonight. (Animals will thank you, too.)
6. PICK IT UP.
If the above photo bothers you, and it should, great. So, does it reeeeeallyyyyyyy matter if you’re the one who dropped it or not? If everyone picked up an empty cup, plastic bag, or a battered newspaper off the ground and put it in a trash receptacle, we’d have cleaner streets and sidewalks. This also means that there’d be far less garbage making its way into our waterways and parks. (If you’re able to put these items in a recycling bin, even better!)
Planning on spreading the word? Please share this post. If you’re planning on creating your own post, check out our all-new Bike for Life gallery filled with royalty-free images. Happy Earth Day, everyone!
