Earth is our home, and no matter what the future holds with the exploration of other planets, we have an obligation to our pale blue dot. It’s sustained us through all our history, always providing, always beautiful.
Sadly, the more advanced we get as a civilization, the less we care for the earth in return. It will take time, but if the way things are continues, we are definitely contributing to the death of this planet.
Governments should be doing more, but when they don’t, it’s the responsibility of every free citizen to do their part to save the world. In this article, let us look at three initiatives that go a long way toward reducing the impact humans have on this world.
1. Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle!
Recycling often feels like a pointless activity for a lot of people. What’s the point of drinking from paper straws when you hear of some celebrities using their private jets like cars?
What’s the point, right? This sentiment sort of explains why, even though the US produced more than 40 million tons of plastic waste in 2021, only two million tons were recycled.
Well, the thing about recycling is that there are plenty of approaches to it. For instance, you can approach recycling as a lifestyle, which gives you a new perspective on how to approach it.
Upcycling workshops are a great place to start. You can either organize or participate in one and start learning unique ways to upcycle items that you normally throw away.
Everything, from old clothes to glass jars and more, can be repurposed. If that isn’t your jam, consider the many community swap events that more and more cities tend to hold.
A lot of people also look into making art from recycled materials and then commissioning the pieces. Mixing creativity with junk is certainly a novel way to take care of the planet!
2. Start Saving Water!
It’s crazy to see people leave the faucet on while they brush their teeth or shave their beards. We live in luxurious times right now, and people don’t really give water conservation a second thought. However, if there’s one thing history has taught us, it’s that nothing good lasts forever.
Data shows that a water crisis is looming, with more than 1.8 billion people looking at absolute water scarcity by 2025. This is why there’s a lot of research going into atmospheric water harvesting, groundwater recharging, green roofs, and desalination efforts.
According to Atoco, atmospheric water harvesting makes it possible to harvest pure water, seemingly out of thin air, even in the driest places on Earth. That seems straight out of something like science fiction, but it’s possible.
There is a lot that can be done, and while it’s understandable for people to expect governments to deal with the problem, the average person can contribute as well.
Greywater recycling systems should be something you start looking into to make use of the wastewater from your showers, washing machines, and sinks. You can use this water for your toilet flush tanks instead of wasting pure, clean water.
Similarly, if you have a garden at home, consider implementing features like rain barrels and permeable surfaces. The rain barrels help with fresh, extra water, and the latter helps reduce runoff and refill the groundwater table.
3. Plant More Trees!
We’ve all seen Dune at this point, right? We all know how dreadful a desert world would be to live in. The scary truth is that large swathes of our planet are becoming deserts, and it’s happening right now. This shouldn’t be happening, and we can’t be waiting around until governments step up their game.
If you live in an area that is at risk of desert growth, planting trees can be the most important thing you can do. Even if you live somewhere green, you can donate to environmental groups that make it their mission to plant more trees.
This might be a better option because, depending on where you live, you might need permission to plant things.
You can’t go around with a shovel on public land and dig up soil. Yeah, don’t do that. If planting trees calls to you, do it the right way. Find out what sort of process you have to go through and follow it.
In conclusion, it is unfortunate that it has come to this. We are all desperately trying to undo the damage that crude human behavior has done to the planet. It’s easy to pass the dime to the next person and hope that someone else will pick up the slack.
However, the only way things can improve is if each one of us starts taking environmentalism more seriously. Think of it as the tax you need to pay to live on this earth and pay it gladly!
