Written by Avery Bohman, 577 Program Intern
Earth Day is a global annual event that is celebrated on April 22. The day is dedicated to raising awareness and taking action toward environmental issues that our planet faces. While big global changes are important, the small changes we make in our own daily lives can also make a significant impact.
With that in mind, here are five simple things you can add TODAY to your daily routine that will make a big impact:
- Turn off the lights when leaving a room or house. This may seem like an obvious tip, but it’s surprising how often we forget to turn off the lights when we leave a room or house. By turning off the lights, we can reduce our energy consumption and save money on our electricity bills.
- Turn off the faucet when brushing your teeth and reduce shower time to save water. Taking shorter showers and turning off the water while brushing your teeth are easy ways to conserve water. In fact, by reducing your shower time by just one minute, you can save up to 10 gallons of water per week! Small changes like these can have a significant impact on water conservation.
- Turn off electronics or use low-energy mode. Even when they are not in use, electronics like TVs and computers consume a lot of energy. To reduce your energy consumption, try putting them in low-energy mode, or even better try turning them off when they’re not being used. Bonus ~ you will save money on your electricity bills!
- Skip the plastic bag at the grocery store. Plastic bags are a significant contributor to pollution. A single plastic bag can take hundreds of years to decompose. By bringing your own reusable bags when shopping, you can reduce the amount of plastic waste you generate and help protect the environment.
- Grab a reusable water bottle instead of plastic. Using a reusable bottle will save you money on your grocery bill, promotes healthy living, and you can personalize it to make it fun and custom.
Earth Day is an important event that reminds us of the need to protect the planet we call home. Let’s celebrate Earth Day by making these small changes today, and every day.
