More individuals have become interested in protecting the environment, so they prefer to buy organic and go green. If you do your part in protecting the environment, you can protect your family’s healthy, save money, and improve your quality of life. You can begin to make simple yet huge changes in your daily routine by following these tips.
Buy Produce From Local Farmers
One survey shows that 13% of harmful gas emissions in the United States result from food transportation and production. Buy local, naturally-produced fruits and vegetables while eating a well-balanced diet. That can include more in-season produce and less meat. Buying produce from local farmers will help reduce the carbon emission from using pesticides and fertilizers.
It’ll also reduce the amount of gas needed to transport and produce your out-of-season produce to meet your dietary habits. Buying locally will also improve the local economy.
Don’t Use the Car for Short Rides
Using your car will produce nearly 1.5 pounds of CO2 and other greenhouse gases. It’ll put the environment at risk with each mile driven. Make a change to your daily driving habits if you want to protect the environment. For short trips, you can use your bicycles or walk to reach your destination. Doing that will also have an influence on your well-being.
Both activities will aid you in burning calories. Riding your bicycle can burn more than 240 calories per hour, while walking can burn more than 300 calories per hour.
Don’t Consume Too Much Water
Your family consumes a huge amount of energy to heat, treat, and pump water that you use daily. You can save more energy and reduce waste by picking water-efficient options when buying your washing machines, dishwashers, toilets, faucets, or showerheads. In addition, you can choose climate-appropriate plants.
Installing drip irrigation systems will also help plants consume the required amount of water. You can also reduce water usage by not washing your car frequently.
Use Reusable Water Bottles/Jars
More and more people now worry about the use of plastic bottles in their daily lives, especially plastic bottles for feeding an infant. That’s due to the recent reports of chemical contaminants in bottled water. In addition to the health problems it causes, using plastic bottles is a huge waste of money. If you want to save money, use a recyclable bottle.
It comes in different forms, including stainless-steel bottles. If you want to carry hot beverages, you can use an insulated bottle so that you won’t increase the percentage of disposable lids or cups thrown annually.
Use Alternative Energy Sources
Modern residential solar photovoltaic installations can easily provide you with 21,000 kilowatt-hours of electricity. That’s equivalent to preventing the CO2 emissions of more than 15,000 pounds of burned coal. Using alternative energy sources will also help you save money on your utility bills while getting cleaner and safer electricity.
Wear Something Much Healthier
Based on a study by the World Wildlife Fund, most clothes made from perfluorinated chemicals (PFCs) will be environmentally harmful. Manufacturers use this chemical to keep your clothes wrinkle-free; however, using such chemicals will put your body in danger of health problems, including cancer. Wearing natural fabrics might be a more environmentally friendly approach, but not all organic fabrics are safe for the environment.
For example, growing cotton will require the heavy use of pesticides. You should look for stores selling clothes made from naturally-produced fabrics, including silk, wool, organic cotton, or hemp. Or buy clothes made from using the smallest amount of potentially toxic chemicals. That will increase your contribution to protecting nature while keeping yourself safe from adverse chemical effects.
Hang Your Wet Clothes Outside
Your dryers also consume a tremendous amount of energy, but there’s an alternative to this problem. Electric dryers consume nearly kilowatt-hours of electricity annually if you use them for an average of one hour. Depending on your energy sources, that can be equivalent to CO2 emissions of burning nearly 400 pounds of coal. You can opt to use a portable drying rack or clothesline.
Drying your clothes outside is quicker than one cycle in your dryer. That will also reduce your annual CO2 emissions while lowering your utility bills.
Use Filters to Clean Waterlines
Nearly ninety percent of systems in the United States fit the drinking water quality standards set by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), meaning that your faucet will still produce unwanted grease or debris. You can find different water filters removing contaminants. It’s good to use water filters because treatment facilities can still recycle used filters, stopping them from throwing them in landfills.
Earth is rich in renewable and non-renewable resources that are at risk due to the rising population of human beings. Hence, future generations might not have a comfortable life if you keep exploiting the current resources. Following these tricks can sound tiring, but it’ll have a huge impact on the environment.
