10 Small Ways We Can Help The Environment!

It's true, we are no stranger to news broadcasts and articles telling us about how our daily routines are affecting the world around us. Though many of the most detrimental impacts come from large scale issues, there are ways that we can as individuals help prevent damage to the environment. Read below for a few methods in which we can do just that.

10. Use Reusable Bags

Let's kick things off with something we hear time and time again. Use reusable bags! They are a great invention and certainly make shopping a lot easier than having the easily-tearable carrier bags. The only downside is the cost, not everyone carries spare change around which often means we find ourselves having to go for the cheaper, and less biodegradable option, however with the new five pence charge for carrier bags in the UK, it seems we will need to carry change around with us whenever we go out, otherwise we may just have to walk back with handfuls of our weekly shop. The best thing about having reusable bags is that they can, and do last years, meaning you will only have to pay out once for something you can use again and again for months. Plain carrier bags cause a lot of trouble at landfill sites due to how long they take to degrade, meaning they hang around for longer than many other materials - not ideal for the environment.

The average American gets through six carrier bags a week - reusable bags may just be the answer to that. If unable to purchase reusable bags, there are some stores who offer paper bags, which are still better for the environment than plastic bags as they can be recycled or in some cases, composted.

9. Don't Waste Paper

Help Save The Environment

This in particular has a domino effect as many of the other methods on this list stem from not wasting paper. To summarise, saving paper can reduce the impact on forests, conserve energy, climate change emissions are decreased, less water and air is being consumed, and finally there are less pollutants in the air and of course, less waste. In business based environments where printing is a necessity, it may be tricky to push past this obstacle, however saving scrap paper could help with the waste issue as it is being reused rather than thrown away. It also saves money, which is a pretty good incentive for anyone to be more thoughtful about how they use their paper.

Reducing the demand for paper will positively affect the cause the most, as without the demand less deforestation will occur as manufacturing still does affect the environment severely. If you can't reduce your paper usage, try other alternatives such as reusable napkins and tissues and not using paper towels to dry your hands, rather going for a bath towel instead. Give away old magazines and be more creative when it comes to wrapping gifts, don't use paper, maybe place it in a sealed gift bag instead, the more reusable, the better!

8. Recycle

As one of the most important options on this list, it covers most of the things on here. Waste is a huge factor when it comes to damaging the environment, and recycling helps to prevent just that. Rubbish produces gases which are negatively impacting the environment, such as greenhouse gases and other harmful chemicals. Recycling reduces the demand for materials, both lessening deforestation, quarrying or any other kind of raw material extraction and of course, pollution. As energy is being saved from recycling, it also impacts positively on climate change.

The good thing about recycling is that it is accessible to almost every person, small changes can make

Living A Sustainable Life

huge impacts, even just by recycling one cardboard box, or one sheet of paper, that is still saving energy, at no cost at all.

7. Conserve Energy

Saving the energy we do have benefits the environment in a number of ways. It prevents climate change as less of the harmful substances are floating around in the Earth's atmosphere, particularly from factories or power plants. It's fair to say not many people would know what goes into resources we use daily such as gas and electricity, most of which need the burning of fuels or crude oil to generate it. So turning off your light switch after you've left the room and making sure your appliances are turned off before you go to sleep has a hugely positive impact after all.

Having an energy-efficient home will make conserving energy a lot simpler, such as using less electricity, and thus relying less on the power plants to pump out the harmful gases by doing so.

6. Save Water

For similar reasons to conserving energy, water does too lead to more fossil fuels being released and physical damage to the environment from quarrying and extracting it. The less consumption of water there is, the less energy and finances is used to extract it. The process of extracting water involves a lot of costly chemicals, which not only add to the price, but the impact on the land too. If we continue to take water from the environment, it may spell trouble for native wildlife if they are unable to find water to survive themselves.

★ Save Water To Help The Earth - WonderGrove Kids

★ How Is Saving Water Good For The Environment? - Uco Uco

The amount of water transported to businesses, homes and farms is most of the issue, as doing so requires travel in a vehicle, producing even more harmful waste into the atmosphere. This is something everyone can do in the comfort of their own homes. The littlest of savings can impact the environment greatly, remember that. It is our responsibility as people who are living on Earth to preserve what we can for future generations to come.

5. Lower Your Intake Of Meat and Dairy

Eating less meat and dairy does more than reduces the production of greenhouse gases. Nobody expects you to live a completely vegan diet, however reducing meaty-meals a couple of times a week will help keep the environment happy. There are plenty of other protein-based alternatives, as well as a large selection of other food on offer, though in this case, organic is best!

Fight Climate Change

The real reason for this comes with what gases our animals give off. Our livestock produces nitrogen from the plants they consume, so the lesser demand for meat and dairy, the lesser the amount of gases which will be released into the atmosphere. Farmers with lower amounts of livestock produce up to 40% less nitrogen emissions. Preserving the diversity of the livestock also comes as a results of a lower demand for them.

Though there is a lot of controversy about the validity of reducing livestock and helping the environment, I felt that it was a strong step in the right direction, particularly as research centres warn us of lack of resources as early as 2050.

4. Buy Sustainable Products

With the next generation of businesses battling to make their products as eco-friendly as possible, this shouldn't be too hard to do. Sustainable products are all around us, not only the electric cars or environmentally-friendly lightbulbs, but the food and drink we see on the shelves of the supermarket is now being packaged sustainably (less plastic, more paper and cardboard!) Some companies have even gone as far as having re-usable bread bags and sandwich wrap.

It is estimated that €966 billion out of €2.5 trillion products are considered to be 'sustainable', either in packaging, or the product themselves. Even if you don't particularly need a certain product, buying them will put pressure on businesses to make their products sustainable too as to keep up with the ever-changing consumer demands.

Protect The Environment

3. Litter Picking

Everyone has seen rubbish littering the floor, and perhaps many of you will ask yourselves "Why should I? It's not my responsibility." But after reviewing the impacts of leaving that rubbish lying around, you may begin to see why picking up litter will benefit. It is important to note that it is best done with rubber gloves and one of the grabbers, rather than picking up dirty (or possibly dangerous) rubbish with bare hands. Even if you don't clear up anywhere else except at your home, that is still making a difference.

The main benefit is protecting our wildlife, the horror stories of animals washing up on the shore due to coming into contact with some sort of waste is more than just a story, this does happen on a daily basis. Not just marine animals are affected, birds are also affected by being trapped in carrier bags, or their young accidentally eating plastic from their nests.

2. Be More Careful With Oil and Fuel

As possibly the most valuable resource we own, fuels are being used to the point of near extinction, leaving little left for future generations. The downside to the usage of oils and fuels is that once they are used, that's it, they're gone forever, no other products can be recycled from the energy and all we get is a nice sum of greenhouse gases to pollute the atmosphere. At one point, oil was relatively cheap to buy, however as many car owners know, petrol is incredibly expensive - that is a clear sign that the amount is in steep decline. As there are more people in the world every second, the demand for these resources will only keep growing until there is nothing left at all.

Ways To Conserve The Environment

90% of all pollution comes from fossil fuels, meaning reducing your emissions with fuel or energy alone could do much better than the other suggestions added together. The physical impact of extracting fuels include landslides and flash-floods which affects both the environment and people living there.

1. Share, Share, Share!

Helping the environment begins with you. Share the word with friends, family, neighbours, colleagues, or even the postman! If we don't act soon, there will be no resources left for the future generations, plenty of species will die out and the Earth will become so hot that there will be consequences for years to come.

Let us begin saving the Earth one small step at a time.