World Earth Day: How We Can Help Save The World
In honour of World Earth Day, let’s look at three ways we can create a more sustainable future for our planet.
Text: Shin Yee Koh
As climate change concerns become more pressing every year, each Earth Day bears extra significance. In fact, you might feel pressure to do all that you can for the environment and consequently feel like nothing you do is enough. Don’t beat yourself up about it – the truth is, individual action is only the tip of the iceberg. Earth Day was initially centred around getting people to motivate their governments to make substantial changes to combat global warming. Because at the end of the day, a regulatory framework is required to drive tangible results, especially when the changes necessary to avert climate change are so significant that they go far beyond the reach of individual action.
Pick up trash at your local beach
That said, voting, protesting, boycotting or donating a small amount to charity might not solve the big problems immediately. Still, an individual’s consumption decisions can influence those of others. Collectively, each one of us can lay the groundwork for social movements that will enable major policy shifts and help adapt our energy-intensive lifestyles to suit our planet. This year’s theme, ‘Invest In Our Planet’, plays into this idea – it’s a direct call for governments and businesses to make a conscious effort to invest in practices that can help us move towards a greener, more sustainable future. But beyond holding major corporations responsible, here are three tips you can work into your day-to-day life to help mitigate the worst effects of global warming.
1. Support businesses that champion sustainable farming practices
As the largest industry in the world, agriculture has deep connections to the globe’s overall economy and biodiversity, making it one of the most important frontiers for conservation around the world. If agricultural businesses practise sustainable farming, they can preserve and restore critical habitats and lessen freshwater consumption, which currently makes up 69% of the world’s total water consumption. Unfortunately, most major F&B businesses choose not to sell sustainably farmed products to cut costs, but these choices can have devastating impacts on our planet. This form of boycotting will give such companies an ultimatum – start prioritising sustainability or lose out on profits. In fact, many local restaurants have made a conscious effort toward minimising their environmental impact.
bamboo bowls is a local contactless store that serves fast, sustainable and healthful Asian food, and their whole-food plant-based framework focuses on using sustainably sourced meat options. Sonya Sukha, the co-founder of bamboo bowls, cites her children as one of the biggest reasons when making this decision. “When you think about the world we are creating for our children, sustainability becomes an important play. We don’t want our kids to pay the price for our choices – that’s why being eco-conscious will always be an important factor in our company.”
Sustainable farming lowers our carbon footprint
2. Save the Earth, plant a tree
A 2015 study estimates a 50% loss of the planet's trees since industrialisation began. Every year, deforestation destroys around 18 billion hectares of trees. Trees are invaluable – they not only provide us with oxygen and shade but also act as carbon sinks that absorb carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. Yet, they're often razed to the ground to make way for mining, manufacturing and growing crops, an act that only contributes to the emission of greenhouse gases.
One thing we can all do is to help plant more trees. No, I'm not saying go out into your nearest park and plant an actual tree, though plenty of organisations would more than welcome you if you're into that – I'm talking about using products or services that encourage or help to plant trees on your behalf. It could be as simple as using Ecosia instead of Google. A search engine based in Berlin, Germany, Ecosia uses the ad revenue from your searches to plant trees where they are needed the most. Especially so in countries suffering from deforestation like Brazil and Indonesia. It's a great way to passively generate results and help the Earth out in your day-to-day life.
Planting trees are crucial to reducing greenhouse gases
Thrifting, upcycling, and renting clothes. Either way, to all my shopaholics out there, stop shopping! Yes, retail therapy and opening up your online shopping packages might feel good, that I can’t deny. However, it’s time to start thinking about the consequences of our actions. The fashion industry is responsible for 10% of all greenhouse gas emissions and 20% of the wastewater generated in the world. To make matters worse, the rise of fast fashion means a huge bulk of it goes straight to the trash after one or two wears.
So before you carelessly throw out your old clothes, consider taking an afternoon to turn your old shirts into corsets or alter your old dresses to breathe new life back into them. Upcycling is a trend rising in popularity amongst youths, and there are plenty of instructional videos to guide you along the way. It makes for a fun activity with your friends, and you leave with a cute new top – definitely something I’m planning to suggest to my girlfriends this weekend.
Alternatively, if you need new clothes for an event or just because, thrifting and renting clothes have become all the rage. With the rise of rental apps such as Style Theory, branded pieces are now available to those who can’t bear to drop half a grand on a cute dress. It’s an ingenious idea - designer clothing is ridiculously expensive, and they’re usually so distinctive that you wouldn’t want to wear them too often. This makes renting the perfect solution. Style Theory’s most basic plan allows you to pick 3 items every month, so you get to spruce up your outfits without breaking the bank. Plus, you get to look forward to new clothes every month without having to commit to buying pieces that you’ll only wear once or twice. Of course, we’re not even talking about the resources you would be saving when opting for this more sustainable choice.
Too many clothes, but still not enough
At the end of the day, our individual actions and choices might not seem like it amounts to much – even more so when we can’t see the results immediately. But collectively, if we make a unified effort to hold governments and companies accountable, we still have time to reverse and make an impactful change for our future.
