This year, go beyond Earth Day and use these ideas for a greener year. [i]
DCL
Earth Day is right around the corner once again. This April 22 more than 1 billion people around the world will be participating in Earth Day events. Across the country events will be held to commemorate the holiday. But after Earth Day is done, what can we take away from it? Will it be one day of mobilization and then back to the norm? We just can't afford that. Resolve to make this Earth Day actionable with these three simple and significant steps towards reducing your personal carbon footprint and saving that much needed dough.
3 High-Impact (and Delicious!) Ideas for Beyond Earth Day
1. Eat Less Meat
It sounds simple but it makes a huge impact. Here at PlanetGreen.com we've explored a wealth of options including going vegan, vegetarian, flexitarian, weekday vegetarian, or participating in Meatless Mondays. But it's not the labels that matter; it's that you resolve to eat less meat.
Going vegetarian can reduce your carbon footprint by a ton. And livestock in the US produce around 30 times more excrement than humans do. Their excrement leeches into our water and degrades habitats. Need some vegetarian inspiration? We've got tons of meat-free recipes to get you started.
2. Start an Organic Garden
It's way easier than you think and growing your own food is about as local as you can get. It's way cheaper as well. Just make sure that you skip the toxic cocktail of pesticides and herbicides and instead use organic compost. Take it a step further by using compost that you produced yourself. Known as "gardener's gold," compost is loaded with nutrients. Think you don't have enough room to garden? According to Ecomall, the average family grocery food bill is around $100 a week. You can raise three-fourths of a family's supply of fruits and vegetables on 1/5 of an acre. If the majority of your grocery bill comes from the produce aisle like mine does, you save nearly $75 off your grocery bill.
Even if this size farm is a bit unrealistic, you get the gist of it. You can grow way more food than you think you can. If you're not sure how to get started read Plant Green's Organic Gardening Guide.
3. Learn to Cook
Again, this one sounds obvious. But more and more people are going out to eat, getting take out, or making processed meals for dinner. Instead, learn to cook with whole foods, using minimally processed ingredients. According to renowned eco-chef Dan Barber, "A lack of technique behind the stove is, in the end, as complicit in harming human health and the environment as the confinement pig or the corn-fed steer." Learning to cook means that you can control your own ingredients and choose a menu with mostly vegetarian and vegan options.
And if you choose to eat meat you can control your serving sizes as well as buying free range, grass fed, and organic products. Choosing whole foods means less packaging and instead, disposing of the majority of waste in the compost bin to be used later in the garden. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics in 2008 the average 2.5 unit household spent approximately $2,698 on food away from home. That works out to be roughly $225 a month on going out to eat. It costs about $25 for a family of four to buy a meal at a typical fast food restaurant. While the cost of a home cooked meal varies tremendously, I spend between $5 and $10 for a frugal meal. I can get over 45 meals out of what the average family spends on going out per month versus 25 meals at a fast food joint. But don't take yourself so seriously in the kitchen. Get creative, have fun, and use cooking as a way to unwind at the end of the day. You may find yourself a new hobby.
