DO YOUR PART
Reducing your personal water use is always the way to go: turn off faucets, take shorter showers, etc. Also be congnizant of what chemicals or products you may flush down the drain to reduce your own pollution footprint.
Instead of turning on the heater or the AC, open a window in the warmer months to let the breeze naturally cool your home, and close the blinds in the colder months to keep heat in. To get rid of drafts causing excess energy use caulk your doors/foundations, and use weather stripping around doors and windows. Replace your incandescent light bulbs with LEDs to save energy. Lastly, use smart strip power strips that turn off when appliances aren’t running to prevent small amounts of electricity from burning when it’s not needed. Reduce the number of single-use products in your life.
Purchase eco-friendly appliances (replacing fossil fuel-run appliances with electric run) which use less energy, are more efficient, and cost-efficient in the long run: electric heat pumps, solar energy, efficient dishwashers, etc. If you live in a condo or apartment, speak with management about transitioning appliances, this could reduce all expenses. Go solar. With revolutionary technology, there are so many ways to effectively use the Sun’s energy. You can also buy a share in a community solar project nearby.
*community solar project allows lower to middle-income communities to power their homes with solar panels and get the economic and environmental benefits for fractions of the normal price.*
Professional contractors and auditors can come to your house and speak with you on ways to reduce your energy use. They will look around your house and find the issues and work with you to efficiently solve them. Professionals can also help you design the interior and exterior of your house to be concretely more environmentally friendly.
Buy responsible clothes and stop fast fashion: the fashion industry is the second most polluting industry. Purchase clothes that will last, are responsibly made, and are from companies that take responsibility for their emissions.
*fast fashion is how the industry can rapidly produce clothing and make more profit. With this system, the industry is exploiting natural resources and workers to detrimental extents. Workers aren't getting paid enough to support a basic living, their communities are overpolluted, and their factories are crumbling under their feet killing hundreds.*
Limit your GHG emissions and take public transportation, bike, or walk. You can even take the step and purchase an electric vehicle.
Support food suppliers who are using regenerative agriculture, and choose products that are organic, and responsibly produced. Reduce your animal product consumption: meat and dairy industries are the most polluting. Only buy what you are going to eat to reduce waste.
*Regenerative Agriculture is a process using the soil's natural properties and reinstating its own nutrients instead of relying on fertilizers*
Indoor air is statistically more polluted based on the types of household products used. In all parts of your life, use better products (cleaning products, detergents, fragrance products, candles, body care…). Research products to see how harmful their runoff may be. Be cognizant of small plastic particles running down the drain, and how those may affect natural ecosystems.
The physical steps an individual can take are only part of the battle towards sustainability. A larger battle is gaining social capitalism within your community and forming networks like components: trust, connectivity, respect, social connectedness, reciprocity, and engagement. The most important action is having conversations within your community, between your friends, and family. Doing so creates bonds and subsequently decreases the materialistic expression of America while enlightening environmental concerns. These conversations also create green ties; people who live lives with integrated environmental conversations are more likely to uphold responsibility, regulations, and change their community. There are four overarching factors linked to individual environmental behaviors: attitude changes, contextual relationships, personal capabilities, and habitual responses.
The only steps a government can take towards environmental concern are implementing policies, but without social capitalism these policies are irrelevant. A lot needs to be changed: environmental policy, technology development, and community mobilization. Change occurs when individuals claim responsibility for larger environmental changes and ownership of the shared land. Incorporating responsibility and social capitalism will result in the support of environmental implementation goals.
Take Note...
Be conscious of your single-use plastic consumption, water use, energy use, etc. Start by noticing your own behaviors and doing simple thing like turning off appliances when they aren't needed, using natural air to cool or heat your home, and using eco-friendly forms of transportation.
Support
Re-think your spending habits, where, and who you support. Certain businesses are working hard to limit their carbon footprint. Start supporting eco-conscious businesses and help them change their industries for the better.
Community
Bring awareness to your family's, friends', and community's habits by teaching them about what human impacts are doing to the planet. You can also talk to your community about ways you can be sustainable together. This can be simple like carpooling, or more advanced like installing community solar panels.