One of the main ways we can #slowdownCO2 is to be more conscious of the waste we produce. In elementary school, I remember hearing the jingle, “Reduce, reuse, recycle!” whenever we talked about climate change. While it’s true that recycling is a great way to reduce waste, a more effective solution is to stop that waste from occurring in the first place. UCLA researcher M. Sanjayan made a great collab video with Vox that y’all should definitely check out. In it, Sanjayan explains how packaging and single-use items make up a 10% of US waste. He goes on to explain how making, transporting, and disposing of things produces the largest portion(29%) of America’s greenhouse gas emissions. As such, some incredibly easy ways to start bending the curve include reducing the use of such items. Incorporate these actions into your life to help #slowCO2.
When ordering to-go, exclude extra utensils, sauces, and napkins with your meal. Many people see the complimentary utensils, napkins, and sauce packets of various restaurants and take way more than they need. I have many friends who have drawers filled with McDonald's sweet and sour sauces, In-N-Out spread packets, or containers of Chick-fil-A sauce. My parents back home have drawers filled with extra chopsticks and napkins from all the Chinese to-go that we ordered. Perhaps it’s a trait passed down to us from our animal ancestors to hoard these single-use items, as someday they might be used. However, what usually happens is that they end up sitting in cupboards, never to be touched. When eating at home, people have their own metal cutlery. I don’t know about you, but I normally prefer my own utensils as they are familiar to me and I know that they are clean. While the single-use items gather dust, companies have to restock, using up fossil fuels and contributing to climate change. Therefore, one easy way to bend the curve is to stop hoarding the utensils, sauces, and napkins from restaurants and only take what you actually need. Next time you order some McNuggets from McDonald's, get one sauce instead of a handful. Next time you order to-go, ask them to leave out the utensils. Imagine causing positive environmental change by literally not doing something, how great is that?
Bring reusable bags when going shopping. In this age, it’s become the norm for stores to supply plastic bags to bring home purchases. Whether shopping for the latest iPhone from Apple or picking up some groceries from your local farmers market, plastic bags are in ample supply. In fact, in America alone, 100 billion plastic bags are used each year, requiring 1.6 billion gallons of oil to produce those bags. While producing these bags adds heavily to climate change, they also have adverse environmental effects. These bags are used for only a few minutes but can stay in landfills for up to 500 years. In those 500 years, many plastic bags find their way into oceans and pollute marine communities. As such, one easy way to put a dent in climate change is to switch plastic bags for reusable ones. You can get these bags literally anywhere for as little as a dollar, and different brands make them in a variety of designs and colors. It’s an incredibly simple and easy start to answering the complex problem of climate change. While making this switch won’t save you 15% or more on car insurance, it’ll be sure to save the earth.
