Minimal Waste Lifestyle

      Based in Canada / Ethical / Conscious / Environmenalist / Low Waste / Vegan / Student

[nourishednaturally]

My Favorite Zero-Waste Swaps

Metal/Steel/Glass Straws!!!- As everyone knows, straws impact the environment in a very negative way, so why not make the change? Plus, they’re fairly cheap! 

Cloth Produce Bags- Why take one plastic bag just to wrap up a few veggies or fruits? Cloth Produce Bags are a one time investment, and are way more convenient than grabbing the plastic bag! 

Re-Usable Grocery Bags- These are not the cheapest things in the world, but you can get a pack of three off of Amazon.com for around $30, and again, it’s a one time investment, and one that is way more convenient than making the people at check-out put everything in multiple plastic bags.

Reusable “Ziplock” Bags- Perfect for freezing fruit in the freezer, putting certain things in the fridge, taking snacks to school, and for storing your other perishable items! Another plus to these- They’re cheap as hell most of the time!

Metal or Steel Water Bottles- Pretty much everyone has these in their cabinets. There is no reason for all the plastic bottle that are being thrown away everyday, when the Reusable Water Bottles will keep your drink cold/hot for hours at a time, where as plastic will keep your drink cold for a good 1-2 hours? Cut down on all the plastic making it’s way out into the landfills! 

BUYING THINGS IN BULK!!!- This has to be a favorite within the zero-waste community! When you buy things, such as almond butter, pasta sauce, or anything in a glass jar..keep the jar!! You can bring your jars to most health foods stores or most any grocery stores in general and you can buy your items in bulk! None of all that extra waste! Just what you plan on using!

Bento Boxes/ Non-Plastic Lunch Box- These are a one time investment also! There is absolutely no reason that you should be eating out of PLASTIC containers that you will eventually throw away, these are so much more easier to clean than plastic is, and it is much better for the environment.

Portable Silver Ware!- There is not a lot to say about this one. Ditch the plastic forks and spoons, instead, take these! 

Hope you enjoyed my Zero-Waste Master Post :) I personally love all of these items, they have made such a difference with my life and how conscious I am of how I consume. 

[dirtshrines]

Photography by Paulette Phlipot and Rebecca Vanderhorst

[acti-veg]

While I wholeheartedly support the movement to reduce plastic pollution, let’s not stop at straws. Fishing nets account for an estimated 46% of ocean plastic waste, so if you’re looking for a way to reduce your personal impact, boycotting commercial fishing and not eating seafood would be a great starting point.

[miskept]

[miaohki]

Protect the land, and protect the land defenders.

[minimalwastelife]

Tumblr needs to bring more attention to this issue happening right in North America. Please spread the word and show support for the Wet'suwet'en people!

[nasa]

2019 Temperature By the Numbers

The Year

2nd Hottest

2019 was the second-hottest year since modern record keeping began. NASA and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration work together to track temperatures around the world and study how they change from year to year. For decades, the overall global temperature has been increasing.

Over the long term, world temperatures are warming, but each individual year is affected by things like El Niño ocean patterns and specific weather events.

The global temperature is an average, so not every place on Earth had its second-warmest year. For instance, the continental U.S. had a cold October, but Alaska set records for high temperatures. The U.S. was still warmer than average over the year.

Globally, Earth’s temperature in 2019 was more than 2°F warmer than the late 19th Century.

The Record

140 years 

Since 1880, we can put together a consistent record of temperatures around the planet and see that it was much colder in the late-19th century. Before 1880, uncertainties in tracking global temperatures are larger. Temperatures have increased even faster since the 1970s, the result of increasing greenhouse gases in the atmosphere.

10 years

The last decade was the hottest decade on record.

20,000 Individual Observations

Scientists from NASA use data from more than 20,000 weather stations and Antarctic research stations, together with ship- and buoy-based observations of sea surface temperatures to track global temperatures.

The Consequences

90%

As Earth warms, polar ice is melting at an accelerated rate. The Arctic is warming even faster than the rest of the planet. This northern summer, 90% of the surface of the Greenland Ice Sheet melted.

8 inches

Melting ice raises sea levels around the world. While ice melts into the ocean, heat also causes the water to expand. Since 1880, sea levels globally have risen approximately 8 inches, although regional rates of sea level rise can be even higher.

100+ fires

As temperatures increase, fire seasons burn hotter and longer. During June and July 2019, more than 100 long-lived and intense wildfires burned north of the Arctic circle. This year also saw intense, record-setting fires in Australia.

46% increase in CO2 levels

This decades-long warming trend is the result of increasing greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, released by human activities.

Make sure to follow us on Tumblr for your regular dose of space: http://nasa.tumblr.com

[darthfeyder]

If you care even a little bit about climate change, animal abuse, world hunger, deforestation, human health, the oceans, you really really really need to take a long hard look at what you eat. As much as people don’t want to admit it, animal agriculture is killing the environment, animals, and humans, and the longer society refuses to admit it the more damage is going to be done.

[naturally-kelly]

Ways to start becoming zero waste

1. Don’t go out and buy new products. Even though you think going out and buying a bunch of containers or food bags is a good idea. Its not. You have all this already. Start by going through what you have and how you can use it in multiple ways. Use old containers that have no lids to store things in your cupboard or fridge. Use canvas bags you have received from clothing stores for your shopping bags.  You can use a lot of what you already have, you just forgot about them.

2. Always carry a water bottle. This will stop you from buying unnecessary drinks while you’re out and producing more waste. Plus if you have a large enough bottle you can get stores to put their drinks into your bottle instead of using their own takeaway cups.

3. When you start to see your house becoming more zero waste, when you go for your next shop start by making one room in the house zero waste at a time. Maybe work on this per month. Here is a guide i found on pinterest that i think is a great idea. 

[howtocreatehappy]

13.01.2017 I’m so proud of my little celery! She’s about a month old and grew from a stump leftover from cooking :) Let’s name her Cassia. 

[salty-vegan]

People who refuse to try a vegan burger because it’s made of plants and not dead animals are weak af

[understands]

[minimaliststudy]

low waste tips: student edition

choosing a low waste lifestyle can seem an impossible extra thing to juggle when you already have friends, assignments, exams etc. to manage. hopefully this post will inspire you to make some eco-friendly swaps and show you how easy it can be to live more mindfully

1. food shop with friends. food waste is one of the biggest ways we can create waste. shopping and cooking with friends is not only really fun but almost always works out cheaper and you’ll use up all your ingredients rather than having food left over. save leftovers for lunch the next day! 

2. go digital. if you have the option to type your notes and submit essays electornically then do so! you’ll save loads of paper. however, some people with learning difficulties find it easier to read with hard copies rather than on a laptop, and that is fine. just make sure you print double sided and recycle those print-outs after

3. ditch the car. travelling to and from uni via train is much better than using a car, if you can’t avoid the car then offer to car share. while at uni try and cycle, walk or use public transport as much as possible rather than driving (or ubering) short journeys. you’ll save money and the planet

4. second hand shopping/clothes swaps. there’s lots of pressure in student environments to wear the coolest clothes and to wear different things all the time. choose second hand rather than fast fashion.

5. sell your old clothes. selling your unused clothes on ebay or depop is a great way to earn a little extra cash. don’t let your old clothes be part of the 98% that are burned or go to landfill

6. borrow. there are always one-off events that you need a fancy dress/suit for. try and borrow or rent those items instead of buying something you’ll only wear once. 

7. choose your stationery wisely. do you really need 5 notebooks? could you use a wooden pencil instead of a plastic pen? can you find recycled paper? little choices added together make a big difference

8. choose your drinks. drinking culture is everywhere at university and what you drink and how much is a personal choice. try and opt for drinks that come in aluminium cans (beer or cider) or glass bottles (spirits or wine). mixers are hard to find without plastic

9. refuse the straw. when you’re out this is a simple way to save the environment. just say no

10. find the university’s eco societies. surrounding yourself with and learning from environmentally-minded people is a great way to make low waste living easy. they will also be able to give you university-specific advice (e.g. where to find plastic-free veg and which cafes give you a discount for bringing your own cup)

and all the usual low/zero waste bits still apply to students too:

have a look at this post for ideas for zero/low waste swaps

low waste living is great for a student budget too! have a look at this post to find out more

[luneternity]

being a part of the forest feels good

[0hi0is0nfire-deactivated2020041]

for all of you guys getting anxious about the environment and pollution

y’all deserve to hear the good news too, and yes i fact checked these.

7 miles of habitat for bees will be planted in london

the biggest coal plant in north america has been converted to solar panels

roads in edinburgh will close once a month to help pollution

maine has banned styrofoam

new york city and los angeles have both made “green new deals”

The london marathon replaced 200,000 single use water bottles with seaweed water pods

the bees in notre dame survived the fire, and the roof could possibly built in a more eco-friendly way.

the population of flightless kakapos (a cool bird) is rising

the carbon emissions in the uk are the lowest they’ve been since 1998

Another large bee habitat (.5 mil acres) has been created

there is a robot that delivers young coral to help repopulate the great barrier reef

portugal plans to stop using plastic on fruit, vegetables, and bread by 2020

106 new species of bees have been discovered in australia since 2010

a group of Sikhs plan to plant 1,000,000 trees as a gift to the earth

disney has made a mickey-shaped solar farm

Morgan freeman turned a 124 acre ranch in mississippi to a bee habitat

China plans on making a “forest city” to help clean up their air

An increasing amount of countries and states are beginning to ban single use plastics.

A couple replanted a whole forest in brazil (2.7 mil trees) in 20 years, and the animals have come back to live there

The hole in the ozone layer is repairing itself more each year

China plans on spending 360 billion dollars to improve renewable energy and has scrapped plans for coal powered plants that were going to be built.

A national park has been built in the amazon (3.3 mil acres in peru) to preserve the rainforest

Ireland and the uk have declared a climate emergency

The guy who played aquaman (jason momoa) has spent 31,000 dollars to help clean up plastic

South korea is now recycling 95% of food waste

There is a cleanup campaign being planned for mt. everest

Puerto rico wants to use all renewable energy by 2050 and is setting official goals for that

Some schools have special water bottle fill-up stations that encourage you to use refill and reuse plastic bottles rather than throwing them out after one use, these are becoming more common.

9 endangered species are thought to make a comeback this year

20 countries in africa are planning to make a “green wall” of trees and plants that will span the width of africa to stop desertification

recently, a lot of volunteers and organizations are planting a ton of trees.

Awareness about the environment and climate change is growing super fast right now among people and countries, which will only help us

Most pollution is caused by like 100 companies, but a few of those (like pepsi) are trying to cut down on that.

if this stuff keeps happening things will get even better, and the only thing stopping us really are those big companies who don’t want to pay the money to switch to more eco-friendly energy sources. i know the media tends to cause fear and stress about this stuff for a lot of people, but there really is hope.

easy things we can do: 

Recycle 

Plant gardens in your yard for bees if you can

Participate in community volunteer things that plant trees and gardens

Theres this search engine called ecosia that plants a tree for every 45 searches you make, it has almost 2 mil users. 

Pick up trash if you see it when you’re at the beach or in nature

If you have a fair amount of money, consider donating some to trustworthy environmental organizations

Start using a reusable water bottle (like those ones at target) rather than relying on single use plastic ones.

Cut the plastic rings on plastic milk bottles. You know, the little spiky plastic ring near the cap. Birds get those things stuck around their neck and die, so cut them so that they can’t get stuck on a neck.

If you can afford it, get some of those reusable grocery bags and sue those. most grocery stores have them, and it saves a lot of waste.

[sustainablysabrina-deactivated2]

Journey to zero waste #23 🌱💚

A good day!! Got coffee with my bud and did a little thriftin!

-the most convenient zero waste swap is a mason jar! Mason jars are perfect for storing things, used for take out, bulk shopping, and my favorite iced coffee

-did a little thrifting! It can be super tempting at times to but from fast fashion stores but a little thrifting and you can find just what you’re looking for and so much cheaper! I wanted woven sandals and if I had bought the ones I wanted they would have been $120 but I got these for $2.99!!!

-also working a lot harder to buy things from thrift stores I’ve either really been wanting if am most definitely going to wear! Just because it’s from a thrift store doesn’t mean you need to buy it!

[knifefightscene]

“we’re ruining the planet” i’m sorry who is this we i don’t recall myself running a billion dollar oil business

[femmanist]