Being a part of the earth’s citizen, I realized that I should do my part to promote some responsible actions that will sustain the Mother Nature. Seriously, I’m sick of people who will only be reminded on the significance of helping the planet occasionally and join the fever just to keep their facebook statuses updated.
‘It’s okay if you choose to ignore about the green campaign and continue to live like an idiot, but don’t attempt to pretend like you care so much about it when you don’t realize your actions in daily lives.’
I always think that the underlying meaning behind Earth day and the other green campaigns is not solely to provoke people on earth sustainability for a single day, but to encourage people to make a change in their lives in the long term because that is the most effective way to save the planet. The 1 hour of electricity saved on earth day will not help to stop the ozone layer from getting thinner, but wise usage on earth resources sounds more promising in conserving the green.
Yes, so don’t tend to think that the one piece of paper, can or plastic wrapper you recycle everyday is not important, because these are the things that exist in our daily lives and make the largest contribution to the recycle use of earth resources.
Come to think of it, I’ve made some significant changes on my lifestyle throughout the years, simple because these things are not difficult to be implemented and they make such a huge difference to the world if every person is doing his/her own part. I’ve listed some of my lifestyle and dietary changes here just to show you how easy you can contribute to the world by making little effort everyday:
1. Reduce overall meat consumption, specifically beef consumption. Beef emits high amount of methane (greenhouse gas), thus reducing beef intake is most likely to be more effective than cutting down on other meat consumption. I like to include more meat alternatives and vegetables in my meals just to cut down on meat consumption. However, notice the key word REDUCE but not complete cut down, so striking for a balance between meat and vegetables is the key to a nutritionally balanced and environmentally friendly diet.
2. Reduce take-out foods and drinks. I barely do take outs because I don’t really like the idea of using one-time chopsticks and plastic container just for a meal. It’s either I cook at home or I eat out. In fact, I even cut down my beloved bubbletea drinks to less than 8 drinks per year for health and environmental purposes.
3. Use SHOPPING BAG, use SHOPPING BAG, and use SHOPPING BAG. Enough said.
4. Turn off heater, turn off heater, and turn off heater/lights every time I go out.Be nice to your landlord’s pocket and the earth at the same time, why not?
5. Accumulate your clothes to a significant amount for every laundry. I know some people love to do laundry even for a few clothes but I personally think that it’s such a waste of money, water, and detergent. If you’ve heard of the water-pouring sound coming out from the washing machine, you’d get an idea of the massive amount of water used for every round of laundry. So I like to do laundry only when necessary and I’ll hand wash few pieces of clothes that are urgent without having to throw them into washing machine.
6. Re-use bubble wraps, plastic bags and present wrappers. As a girl, I do online shopping occasionally and there are usually plastic wrappers for clothes that are bought online. I usually place them nicely in a big bag and reuse them for posting parcels or other use when appropriate.
These are just some examples that I can think of for now. In fact, I believe this is not a mandatory list for everyone as we all have different lifestyles, but we can always integrate and incorporate suitable ideas into our lives to make a change.I'm so proud that the 4 years of independent life did not turn me into a lazy bum but I've become more considerate and responsible of my social contributions.
My point is, don’t underestimate the power of individual mere efforts, because when accumulated together, the sea of individual efforts can soar into the sky. Living a comfortable life and contributing to earth sustainability can be a mutual existence, so have fun living green everyone!
