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On April 22, people of all backgrounds, faiths and nationalities will gather to celebrate Earth Day. But while it’s wonderful to set aside one day each year, in order to have a positive effect on the environment, we need to incorporate Earth Day principles into our everyday lives. Here are five easy steps that anyone can take to help protect our world. 1. PROTECT BIODIVERSITY According to the journal Science, evidence suggests that the world is currently experiencing the “sixth major extinction event in history.” Th e last such event—65 million years ago—killed 16 percent of marine families and 18 percent of the land vertebrate families, including the dinosaurs. What can you do? Support missions like the Great Apes Survival Project (unep.org/grasp), an initiative to help save the endangered apes of Africa and Asia. 2. USE SUSTAINABLE PRODUCTS Planet Earth isn’t an all-you-can-eat buffet. Th at means, fi rst and foremost, recycle. It’s amazing how much of your waste you can recycle these days: paper, plastics, aluminum, steel— even electronics, from batteries to computers to cell phones. You can compost food scraps, veggie peelings and fl owers (see “How to Compost,” p. 62). And you can reuse paper and plastic bags at the grocery store, or try fabric sacks, which can be used for many years. Keep a few in your car so that you’ll have them handy whenever you feel like shopping. You can also buy recycled products—even shoes. Nike recently introduced its Considered line, which boasts a more sustainable profi le than its other shoes. Th e Considered Boot, for instance, uses 89 percent fewer solvents in production, hemp in the woven materials and recycled factory rubber in the outsole. The end result: 61 percent less waste and 35 percent less energy consumed during production compared to a regular Nike shoe. 3. DRIVE RESPONSIBLY According to the Union of Concerned Scientists, the most important environmental choice you make as a consumer is the vehicle you drive and how you drive it. In California alone, automobiles account for a staggering 41 percent of the state’s global warming emissions, as every gallon of gasoline consumed puts 20 pounds of pollutants into the atmosphere. So what can you do? Aside from taking public transportation, the best option is to drive the most fuel-effcient car you can. 4. WATCH WHAT YOU EAT If you want to be a friend to the Earth, an organic diet is the way to go. Organic produce is grown without chemical pesticides or fertilizers, so the process doesn’t cause the amount of contamination that conventional farming does. Instead, organic farming reduces greenhouse gas emissions and soil erosion, and promotes cleaner groundwater. But the process doesn’t benefi t just the environment. It can also directly benefi t your health. Between 1994 and 1999, the USDA Pesticide Data Program noted over 80 percent of conventional fresh fruits and 75 percent of conventional fresh vegetables contained residues from pesticides. Since organics are grown without using these potentially harmful chemicals, you can reduce your family’s exposure by switching to organics. 5. VOTE Investigating the environmental stance of politicians vying for offce is a simple step, but voting with your conscience is more diffcult. According to a survey conducted by the Nicholas Institute for Environmental Policy Solutions at Duke University, 79 percent of those polled favor “stronger national standards to protect our land, air and water,” but only 22 percent voiced their concern at the ballot box. To save the planet, you must empower politicians who share your beliefs. |
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