5 Simple Ways to Celebrate & Protect Our Planet This Earth Day

sustainablelivingreport | April 14, 2020 | Green & Eco-Friendly Living

Give the planet some love this Earth Day – and every day – by with these simple eco-friendly actions & habits!

It’s easy to take the planet we live on for granted. After all, our only experience of life is intricately tied to this great “rock”! The air we breathe, the ground we walk upon, the trees and landscape around us – we’ve never known anything else, so maybe that’s why we forget that our own lives do have an impact on the planet.

Whether it is the products we choose to clean our house with, the vehicles we drive, or the food we eat – just about everything we do in life impacts the world around us. The good thing about this is, it means that we can have a positive impact by choosing the right behaviors! Making choices that reduce our production of pollution that can impact the air, water, or soil is essential to protecting life on earth as we know it.

While we should be making these responsible choices every day, Earth Day is a chance to pause and reflect upon our impact on the planet and what we can do to make it a positive impact instead of a negative one.

Whether you’re a die-hard environmentalist, or just starting to realize that your choices do make a difference, there are a few simple things we can all start doing right now to honor and celebrate this amazing planet we live on. Earth Day is the perfect time to make a commitment to implement more eco-friendly habits this year!

Here are a few easy ideas to get you started:

Swap out your light bulbs. Why? Compact fluorescent light bulbs use less energy than regular old light bulbs to provide the same amount of light and last up to ten times longer. They also save money in energy costs – more than $30 in the lifetime of one bulb. Another reason these bulbs are super cool is that they generate less heat than other bulbs; making home cooling costs significantly less in the summer. How? It’s easy! Most stores are carrying them now, right next to the old kind of light bulbs. Don’t wait for the next time you need light bulbs to make the switch – do it on Earth Day instead!

Plant a tree or three. With Arbor Day (April 24th) just around the corner from Earth Day (April 22nd), this is your chance to practice planting a fruit tree or any other kind of tree! Why? Trees remove CO2 from the air and help fight global warming. They produce oxygen, give us shade in the summer, and provide a home for your neighborhood birds. Need another reason? Plant a fruit-bearing tree and you’ll have a yummy reward for doing so! How? Check out your local nursery. They will be able to help you pick one out and give you planting advice. Make it an annual family event and within a few years you may have enough shade to drastically reduce your home cooling costs and some tasty fruit to boot.

Turn off lights and unplug cell phone chargers. This one couldn’t be simpler. Walk around your house, notice any unnecessary lights that are on and turn them off. Don’t forget to unplug cell phone chargers, mp3 player chargers, etc. Your chargers are using electricity even though your electronic devices are not connected to them.

Carry your own water bottle. Reduce the amount of plastic water bottle waste in the world by carrying your own. Stainless steel and polycarbonate drinking bottles are both non-toxic and super-durable.

Recycle at work. Most people do it at home, but there are a shocking number of offices and workplaces that don’t recycle. Just think about the amount of wasted paper that could be recycled but instead is being thrown away with the trash! Earth Day is the time to stop thinking about it and start doing something about it. It’s easy! Don’t be embarrassed or afraid. Just find a few co-workers to help you and back you up on this mission. The paper shredder is a good place to start. You can also request colored waste bins marked “RECYCLE” to place next to the other trashcans. Put a list of all acceptable items on the front so others know what can be recycled and what still needs to be thrown away. Oh, and if you don’t already do this at home, start there.