We only have one earth. If we are not going to take care of it, who else will? Without the environment, how do we expect to live as human beings? Everything needed for our survival all came from nature – from the food that we eat, the air that we breathe and the water that we drink. Yet, despite knowing all these things, humans abused the environment by polluting its water and air. Whether intended or not, be aware that there are simple actions that damage the environment.
1.Buying Fast Fashion
Defining your personal style does not not necessarily mean that you have to follow and buy all the trend. Being stylish should not be at the expense of the environment. According to the UN Environment Program, the fast fashion industry is responsible for 20% of the world’s wastewater. It is also responsible for the release of half a million tons of synthetic microfibers in the ocean each year.In addition, it is also responsible for almost 10% of global carbon emissions, which is more than maritime shipping and flights combined. Fast fashion pertains to cheap clothing produced by mass-retailers rapidly to cope up with trends.
2.Drinking From Bottled Water
According to The World Counts, more than 100 million bottles of water are used everyday. And out of this number, only one in 5 gets recycled. The rest ends up as waste in landfills or thrown in the ocean. This is huge problem because it will take about 700 to 1000 years for a single bottle to decompose. That’s not counting the energy used to manufacture the bottles.
3.Driving
Emissions from driving is one of the main contributors of global warming. Vehicles emit carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases. Greenhouse gases absorb and trap heat and energy producing the greenhouse effect. This results in the warming of the planet surface thus, increasing the temperature on earth. This causes extreme weather causing increased wildfires and disruption of the food supply.
4.Leaving the Lights On
The use of too much light increases energy consumption. Just like driving, the use of energy causes greenhouse emissions. This in turn contributes to global warming. So, the simple act of leaving the lights on when not in use is damaging the environment.
5.Leaving the Tap Running While Brushing Teeth
Running tap water while brushing teeth wastes over six liters of water per minute. If you do it twice a day for an average of two minutes per session, that’s more than 24 liters of water a day wasted.
6. Owning Several Pairs of Jeans
A study indicates that in order to produce a pair of jeans, about 2,500 gallons of water are needed from cotton growing, dyeing to manufacturing. That amount of water is equivalent to taking 104 showers.
7.Using Aerosols
Aerosols are a collection of solid or liquid droplets dispersed or suspended in the air. Factory smoke, hair spray, spray paint, insect sprays and room deodorizers are just some examples of harmful aerosols. When used excessively, they can be very harmful.
8.Using Plastic Straws
Single-use plastic straws (or any other plastic for that matter) are non-bio-degradable. Non-biodegradable materials remain as wastes in the earth for thousands of years because they cannot be dissolved by natural organisms. According to a report from the Trash Free Seas Alliance, the straw consumption of the United States alone is enough to circle the equator twice. In addition, plastic spotting are in 90% of seabirds and 100% of sea turtles.
9. Using Wet Wipes
Wet wipes are small fabrics of moist paper used for cleaning and disinfecting. It is so convenient to use especially now in the new normal where it becomes a substitute for the hand soap. However, did you know that wet wipes create fatbergs? A fatberg is a mass of waste matter that looks like a rock. It is a formation of flushed non-biodegradable materials such as wet wipes, cooking fat, condoms, sanitary napkins and other similar items. They cause blockage in the sewage system. The problem on Fatberg is now a huge environmental issue.
10.Wasting Paper
The process to create a paper is wasteful to the environment. For one, papers are made of trees. So to make a paper, you need to cut trees.As the global consumption of paper increases, this leads to one of the major environmental problems today which is deforestation. In fact, statistics reveal that about 42% of the global wood harvest is used to make paper. Second, paper requires twice the amount of energy to produce compared to making plastics. As stated above, energy consumption releases greenhouse gases which in turn leads to global warming.
Once paper is disposed of, it also leads to another problem which is paper pollution, which accounts for about 26% of total landfill wastes.
