#environmental tip

[my-chubby-bubby]

Environmental tip:

If you gonna cry, might as well do it outside and help to water the plants.

[findthemforjustice]

🍃 Environmental Tip for Parents 🍃

Don’t throw your child’s dirty fucking diapers on the ground just because you’re too lazy to throw it away.

[leaving-nature-intact]

Local Food or Imported?

Have you ever thought of how far your meal had to travel to get to your dinner table? Every bite, every munch, and every sip had to come from somewhere. According to CUESA,  a meal travels an average of 1500 miles to get to your dinner table at home. 

Everyday items such as apples travel an average of 1555 miles, lettuce at 2055 miles, and grapes at 2,143 miles. From District of Columbia, that could very well mean that the apples are from Denver, Colorado, the lettuce from Panama, and grapes from Las Vegas, Nevada. 

Little do we know that our foods have huge carbon footprints, requiring millions of gallons of gas every year. Dangerous amounts of carbon emissions are released, and preservatives have become necessary for these food imports.

Here are a few ways to decrease your food’s carbon footprint:

Support your local farmers: Go to a local farmer's’ market and gain the experience of knowing where your food is from.

Check food labels: Going to a farmer’s market can be too much of a burden to some, but next time you’re at a supermarket, check the labels on food items and choose whatever is grown most locally.

Eat what is in season: This way, food won’t have to travel thousands of miles to get to your supermarket.

Grow your own produce: There is no shorter distance from farm to plate than from your own backyard. 

Because food is such a big component in our lives, it’s important to be mindful of how it affects our lives and environment, even if it’s not in plain sight. So next time you sit down for a meal, think about where your food had to travel from to get to your table. 

[leaving-nature-intact]

Preventing Food Waste

Plan your grocery lists in advance - don’t buy more than you think you can eat.

Make sure you store everything properly so it doesn’t go bad. Keep in mind that expiration dates aren’t concrete, they’re estimates! A lot of food is thrown out the second it hits the sell-by dates, even though it’s unnecessary. If you use your common sense you should be fine. (Avoid being risky with milk and meat products, though.)

Leftovers! If you don’t eat them, someone will. Ask your friends if they want any of that frozen pizza you’ve still got in the fridge. If you’re sure no one wants it, and you really, really don’t want to eat it, you can always use old fruits and veggies to compost in your garden. 

[leaving-nature-intact]

Environmental Tip #22

Instead of buying books, go to the library or buy them secondhand from a thrift store or this website. This will save lots of paper and money in the long run.

[leaving-nature-intact]

image credit: (x)

[leaving-nature-intact]

Making your refrigerator more energy efficient

image from: (x)

[leaving-nature-intact]

Environmental Tip #21

If you stream a movie or buy/rent it via mail, it's much better for the environment than driving to the store and it saves a lot of time.