5 Ridiculously Easy Ways to Help the Environment
It’s easy to feel overwhelmed by environmental issues these days, isn’t it? The U.S. isn’t in the Paris Climate Agreement (for now), the Paris Climate Agreement isn’t strict enough in the first place, whales are turning up literally deflated because of consuming too much plastic and that’s just the tip of the (melting) iceberg. As if it wasn’t already hard enough to feel as though you’re making a difference in a sea of easy-to-access unsustainable products and services. I’m not bitter or anything…
Sorry to contradict all of our elementary school teachers, but one action doesn’t actually count. If you as an individual buy organic food but everyone around you does not, agriculture will still largely be grown by conventional methods. HOWEVER! A shit ton of people behaving more sustainably does make a difference. So next time you feel like you can’t do enough for the planet, look back on these 5 INSANELY easy ways to improve the environment:
01. Click A day
This is hands down the EASIEST tip on this list because you literally only have to click a button. At The Rainforest Site you can click the big ol’ button at the top of the page that says “CLICK HERE — IT’S FREE!” and a donation will be made to rainforest conservation efforts. You can sign up for a daily reminder next to the big ol’ button and go to the website through a daily email, which is even easier.
As mentioned, it’s free (obvs) and something you can do from the comfort of your bed. So why not? Oh yeah, and the website has buttons for a buttload of other issues too (hunger, breast cancer, and veteran aid to name only a few) so if you want to be “extra”, you can click through all of them.
02. Buy a reusable something
One thing. Just one thing. Literally anything. I’m sure you’ve seen many variations of reusable water bottles hanging around, and this is probably the easiest reusable item to get your hands on. Plastic bottles are the worst you guys, so if anyone ever tells you that your reusable bottle doesn’t make a difference, just wave it in their face and remind them that that only wimps drink from a plastic bottle.
If you’ve already taken the step of getting a reusable water bottle, you can always take the next step and get reusable grocery bags . And if you’ve already got bags, get a reusable straw (yes they exist), or foil/plastic wrap, or cupcake liners…really, the opportunities to buy reusable shit are endless!
Shameless promo: here at the ALDA market we offer dope reusable bottles by Kokua and Proof. Just sayin’….I mean, you’re already here.
03. Buy a biodegradable something
Not one for reusables? Well, you can always go with biodegradable stuff. Again…JUST ONE. We’re not asking you to go into full commune mode here (not right away anyway.)
Biodegradable toothbrushes are slowly but surely moving away from a hipster purchase to a mainstream product. Its companion, biodegradable floss, is following close behind. In case you don’t think such tiny, everyday items are important, it turns out toothbrushes and floss are kinda wack as far as their environmental impact goes. Besides toothbrushes and floss, there’s a lot of types of biodegradable products. From diapers to bags to watches (wtf?), you can find a biodegradable item, so take your pick.
More shameless promo (last one I swear): At the ALDA market we coincidentally also stock biodegradable toothbrushes. You can even get one with a dope stand.
04. Use Ecosia
Dope name, right? Even though it doesn’t exactly tell you what is is. But no worries since what they do is even doper (’cause that’s totally a word.) Ecosia is a search engine that gets its revenue from ads, and then uses that revenue to plant trees. All you have to do is search and they take care of the rest. So far they’ve planted more than 26 million trees and counting, which means more oxygen, biodiversity, and CO2 ass kickers for the planet.
I know, I know…you’re attached to Google. If you’re still not sold, you can download the chrome extension to make it even easier. Or you could give Google and Ecosia equal visting rights for your searching needs.
05. Buy used/thrift
As we pointed out in our last post, this is an especially good option if you’re broke. ’Cause really, who has the money to buy new shit all the time? If you hit up your local thrift stores, you may be surprised at what you can find. It’s not always just clothes that hang out in Macklemore’s favorite place after all.
Need cheap kitchen shit? Thrift stores have that. Want video games that haven’t been sold since the 90’s? Thrift stores have those too. Old movies, new movies, or unusual collectibles? Yes, all such items can be found at thrift stores, and for a more reasonable price than if you were to buy them new.
Oh yeah, and next time you need to get rid of something, don’t forget that this whole thrift store situation is a two-way deal. They don’t have shit to sell unless people donate their old stuff instead of throwing them away.
Bonus! 06. Shop Local
If you’ve ever been encouraged to shop local but don’t know know why it’s important, the main 2 reasons are:
1) You support your local economy
2) Lower emissions because of less transportation
Unique local shops with character are what really make a town, and between the energy used for extraction and distribution of natural resources to make goods which then have to be transported globally, well, we end up with way more emissions than if we’d bought at least a few items in our own neighborhoods.
So in short, if you’re ever feeling like you can’t do anything to save the planet, think again my friends. If more of us do little things like everything mentioned above, we’d be much closer to fixing the large number of environmental issues we have right now. So next time you’re looking to make a more sustainable purchase, check the list above and #protectyourwild.
P.S. Didn’t I promise there wouldn’t be anymore shameless promo?
- — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — —
By Darian Williams, ALDA’s Blog and Digital Marketing Specialist Intern
Originally published at alda.life.
