Earth Day, celebrated on April 22 since 1970, is an opportunity to consider supporting environmental protection. Our actions needn’t be drastic. Using less water and energy is a small but important contribution. Here is a list of 10 things you can do to recognize this special date.
1. Use this time at home to educate yourself and your family on environmental issues
If each of us is mindful of our actions, things will change for the better. Educate yourself and your family about simple ways to live more ecologically. Turn off lights when you leave a room, recycle, reduce your water use, eat less or no meat. .
2. Watch “Our Planet” on NetFlix
Our Planet is the first nature documentary series Netflix has made. The series addresses how environmental change impacts every living thing.
3. Create a compost bin
Composting is easy and is ideally done outside. All you need is a container, some newspaper to absorb excessive moisture, red wiggler worms, and soil. Throw your kitchen scraps into the bin and the worms will transform it into fertile humus that your plants will love. This is a good guide that shows you how to do it.
4. Wash clothes in cold water
Did you know that about 90% of the energy your washing machine uses goes just towards heating the water? The cold-water setting saves energy while keeping your clothes from fading and losing their shape. Developing this habit is a sustainable practice that helps your clothes along with the Earth.
5. Calculate your carbon footprint
With a calculator on the nature.org website, you can determine the amount of CO2 you produce. If the results shock you, consider what areas of your life you could improve.
6. Explore Earth on Google Earth
Clicking around on Google Earth is actually more fun than you may assume. It’s amazing to see the things captured by satellite around the world. Check out this list of 50 interesting finds or this list of 10 creepy Google maps coordinates.
Explore Google Earth : https://earth.google.com/web/
7. Take a short walk around your neighborhood
Go outside and appreciate the nature that you see. Take a moment to breathe in some fresh air and keep yourself grounded. Be mindful of distancing yourself from other people and obey traffic laws even if there aren’t many cars on the road.
8. Post something on social media celebrating Earth Day
To spark awareness, remind others of Earth Day. We can already see improvement in air-pollution in certain areas of the world because the majority of people are staying home. By inspiring change, we can collectively create a more sustainable future. •
