Around this time every year, people all over the world take their time appreciating the environment and its beauty on Earth Day. Unfortunately, so often, the practices that start around this time tend to expire soon after. If people spent more time appreciating the earth every day as much as they do around Earth Day, we might collectively be able to significantly start to decrease our carbon footprint. As an individual, it may seem unlikely to create change in the environment, but if everyone made small changes to their lifestyles, the overall impact can be a lot larger than you think.

Here a few changes I have made to my lifestyle to reduce my carbon footprint that I know you can too:

Unplug When Not in Use!

It is so common to leave phone chargers, laptop chargers, etc. plugged in while not in use. Not only is it good for reducing your bills at home, it is also good for the environment! Try to get in the habit of unplugging your gadgets right after you’re done using them, but keep them close by for when you do need them!

Use a Recyclable Water bottle

This one might seem obvious, but think about how many plastic water bottles you use in a week! There are plenty of trendy water bottles you can get that would significantly cut down the amount of plastic you are using. Cutting down on plastic water bottles could help reduce plastic waste drastically. Not only does this help the Earth, but people are more inclined to drink more water when they are using reusable water bottles!

Cut Out Black Garbage Bags

While many people tend to go for the black garbage bags at the store, most people don’t actually know that the pigment that is used in black garbage bags cannot be recycled. Because it cannot be broken down, all these garbage bags are going straight to the dump. In this case, the slightly better option for your waste would be white garbage bags.

Remove Microbeads

This was probably the hardest change for me to adapt to. For many years I was always drawn to choosing face and body washes that had microbeads until I had found out that the beads that are in these products are not actually biodegradable. When they get washed down the drain, the environment cannot actually break them down and they create a huge problem for the environment, especially lakes, rivers, and oceans.

Eat Less Meat!

No, this is not always the easiest one to abide by, I know. Since the increased rates of meat consumption, 70% of amazon rainforests have been destroyed just to increase the amount of farms for meat production. Not only does it create a direct impact on the environment, meat production actually has the highest amount of carbon emissions than any other protein. I’m not telling you to cut out meat completely, but it would definitely help out to maybe opt for a meatless option a few times a week! Doing this will actually save you money too!

The list to becoming environmentally friendly goes on and on. There are many insightful resources that you can look to if you want to make more changes to reduce your carbon footprint. These are few of the things I chose to do when starting to make more environmentally friendly decisions. When it comes to the earth, the greater picture won’t be changed unless individual people start the process. If we don’t begin making progress toward helping save the environment, who will?