We don’t know about you, but we’re not gonna’ let a little social distancing get in the way of our Earth Day festivities. To us, it’s clear the world needs celebrating now more than ever. We know we could certainly use some. Here are 3 ways you can do just that while having a positive impact on the world at the same time. Go you!
1. FIND A WAY TO CELEBRATE EARTH DAY EVERY DAY (or week)
What better way to celebrate earth day than to find at least 1 meaningful way to honor our planet every day—or at least every week. It might sound challenging, but it’s actually really easy. Even the smallest improvement will do. Here are a few small but impactful ideas to get you started:
- Try going meatless for just one day a week. Studies indicate that if every American went vegetarian for just one day a week, the U.S. would save 100 billion gallons of water and 1.2 million tons of carbon dioxide (basically the equivalent of taking over half a million cars of the road!)
- Switch to paperless billing and prevent junk mail. Most households receive over 1,000 pieces of junk mail annually, not including bills. Do the planet and yourself a favor: switch all your bills to digital, and opt out of all that annoying junk mail, here’s how.
- Recycle...more. On average, we all recycle less than a third of the waste we produce. That leaves a lot of room for improvement—we can all do better. Not sure where to start? Here are 5 ways to recycle fallen leaves naturally.
- Fix that leaky faucet. Did you know a single leaky faucet can waste over 1,000 gallons of water a year?
- Use a rain barrel. Whether you have houseplants, a garden, or just a thirsty lawn, using rainwater when it’s available can save you and our planet hundreds of gallons of water annually. All it takes is placing a bucket outside whenever it rains. There’s nothing to it.
2. BEAUTIFY YOUR COMMUNITY
We all want a planet free of litter, welcoming to friendly wildlife, and a joy to look at—so why not start in your own backyard, so to speak. If you’re down to change the world one rewarding gesture at a time—and of course you are!—start upgrading your normal walks or jogs by incorporating a little clean up.
Grab some gloves, a bag, hand sanny, and turn your exercise sesh into a litter scavenger hunt. We know it sounds silly, but it’s honestly rewarding once you realize you’re personally advancing the community you share with your friends and neighbors. Plus, it’s an actual thing: it’s called plogging. Picking up...litter...jogging—you get the picture.
3. CELEBRATE WITH THE WORLD
Apart from relaxing drives, essential work, and the occasional fresh air escape, most of us are stuck inside, vicariously living through computer screens and window frames. But despite what dozens of sci-fi movies have told us, technology isn’t all bad, the digital web is also a beautiful tool for uniting people all over the world. Thankfully, just in time given our current predicament, Earth Day has gone digital for 2020.
Earth Day Live, NASA, and countless other organizations are offering engaging online activities, riveting educational materials, and environmental conservation tools for all ages all Earth Day long. A full list of online Earth Day happenings can be found here.