As travellers and walkers we naturally have an invested interest in our beautiful planet, we love exploring its every corner, soaking up different cultures and visiting all of the different areas. For that reason we want to protect planet earth and do the very best we can to look after it and help the environment, so that it remains the wonder that it is for a very long time.
Unfortunately, you cannot get away from news broadcasting how much damage humans are doing to the earth, with huge populations of people living their lives we are unintentionally harming our planet and the damage could end up being irreparable. We really are at the point in time now where our actions can change the future of our planet and we MUST do our bit to help the environment.
You’d have to be living under a stone somewhere not to have heard about this, and we really do want to do all that we can to help, but its hard to know where to begin isn’t it? As travellers we are already guilt-ridden because of the hefty carbon emissions from aeroplanes, what can we do that will actually make a change?
Well, we’ve got some suggestions for you below and although some may seem simple and you might think ‘how can little old me doing these simple things really make a difference’? But that’s the point, change starts from the individual, then before you know it there’s a whole group of us doing things differently, in time cities and countries of people have changed their ways, and that’s when we will begin to see the real changes to our planet.
Use Less Water
Turn off the tap when you brush your teeth, repair little water leaks (you could be wasting 200 gallons of water a day just from a leaking toilet)
Don’t buy into the bottled water culture, tap water is perfectly fine and you aren’t wasting all of that packaging as well.
Wash your clothes no warmer than 30 degrees, in fact most clothes with light dirt don’t even need hot water to come out clean.
Leave Your Car At Home
If you stayed off the road for just two days a week, you’d help the environment by reducing greenhouse gas emissions by an average of 1,590 pounds per year, that’s big!
Some of us live in places that don’t make it easy to use public transport or walk all of the time, but try to be more mindful of your driving; combine trips so that you don’t take the car out multiple times, walk where you can even if it adds time to your journey (your waist line will like it too!)
Get Into Recycling In A Big Way
We are getting pretty good at recycling now and this is really a great thing we can do to help the environment, keep up the good work.
Choose Products Wisely
Try to pick products with the least packaging and buy your fruit and veggies lose or in paper bags that can be easily recycled. Companies are getting their head around less packing but as consumers we hold the power, if we don’t pick the products heavy in packaging then manufacturers will eventually get the message.
Build Your Own Compost
Reducing the amount of solid waste you produce in a year means taking up less space in landfills, so your tax money can work somewhere else.
Stay Informed
Keep up to date with environmental issues around the world and use the latest advice to update how you lead your life.
Buy Second Hand
There are so many products on our planet that are unwanted and are in perfectly great working order, buy second hand. There really is no need to buy new all of the time, you’ll save money and you will hugely help the environment.
Bank Ethically
You can find out how sustainable your current bank is, and what they invest their money into. Some banks invest into fossil fuels and other environmentally damaging industries, so think about moving your money to an organisation that invests your money into ethical, low-carbon industries.
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