A key focus of my blog is Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics. There are whole sciences that look at maintaining our planet. Something that likewise touches all of us is the health of the planet. Each of us can play a roll in preserving the planet earth. The following contributed post is entitled, Eco-Friendliness You Control.
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You know those situations where you know you’re not doing something 100% correctly, but other people do it, so you do it anyway. Those times when you have a little voice inside your head telling you what you’re doing is wrong, but you choose to ignore it? I think that describes most of our relationship with being environmentally friendly and considering our ecological footprint. One thing that is firmly in the public eye is the effect meat-eating has on the environment. And before you say it, no one is saying not to eat meat.
Photo by Karsten Würth (@karsten.wuerth) on Unsplash
The idea is to eat less of it. As producing cheap meat is exceptionally harmful to the environment, we should try to restrict our intake. And looking at the amounts we consume, that makes a lot of sense. And there will be loads of people who have taken this to heart and started doing meat-free days, or perhaps have gone vegetarian or even vegan, a lot of people would have read up on it and decided that it’s a bridge too far for them. It’s quite the lifestyle change for most, especially as we are bombarded with delicious looking burgers and chicken on pretty much all marketing channels.
Simple Things to Save the Planet
Perhaps the better way to approach is to look at things that don’t affect our lifestyle as much. We can just go about our lives, being more considerate of the environment, but not really giving up on things. A key one would be where you get your electricity from. Obviously, renewable is the way to go.
In most cases, getting your electricity from renewable suppliers isn’t even more expensive. It usually takes a simple application and switches to feel instantly better about your power. Another low-impact way to be better for the world is to recycle correctly. A separate paper, glass, tins and plastics bin. It usually takes up to 10 minutes per week, the same time you might spend longer in bed on a Sunday morning. Then there is avoiding single-use plastics, such as water bottles. Carry a reusable water bottle around, it’s now one of the most common things, and you will not only be creating less waste, but it’s also better for your wallet too!
Sustainability at Work
Then there are things you can do and influence at work. Most companies will have a soapbox-style employee suggestion sessions where you can propose things a company can do. One that makes an immediate impact is asking the company to recycle. Or to use recycled paper for printing, or even suggest an only-print-when-absolutely necessary policy. You could ask for promotional material to be sustainable and eco-friendly, find out more here. You could possibly suggest a stricter sleep-timer on computer screens. You will see that most companies will welcome these type of suggestions and it sometimes really need to come from employees to start something off.
So, no one is asking you to stop eating meat, there are plenty of things you can do to ensure a better planet tomorrow. Sure, not eating meat will get us there so much quicker, but sometimes even an endless journey starts with the first step.
