Earth Day 2022 theme is “Invest In Our Planet”.
But what can we as individuals do?
Greener energy like heat source pumps and solar panels, insulating our homes better, driving electric cars are all good ideas, but come at a cost that many people cannot afford. I’d use public transport more, but living in a rural location with no close bus route means I am forced into using my car.
So are there things that we can do without draining our bank accounts? Every little helps, and we all know by now that our planet Earth needs all the help it can get. I do my best, as I am sure many of us do, but I am still appalled by all the food wastage, the rubbish in our environment, the disposable society we have created during my lifetime, the number of cars on the roads, the pollution and the casual attitude of many. I’m not advocating gluing your face to a road or stopping people getting to work, but everyone can play a part in investing in our planet, after all it is the only home we are ever likely to have.
- Reduce waste
- Clean up our environment
- Change our diet – less meat, more plant based
- Plant a tree
- Grow wildflowers for pollinators
- Use reusable bags and packaging
- Switch to online billing
- Go organic / pesticide free gardening
- Grow your own fruit or/and veg
- Buy local
- Save water
- Use environmentally friendly cleaning products
- Recycle / reuse / repurpose
Cornwall in Colours 
I’m sure most of us reading this are doing our best, Jude. One thing that appalls me is seeing masks in the gutter, or worse yet, in beauty spots! Whatever are we doing? I do have to plead guilty on the meat charge. It’s staple diet in our house.
Discarded masks and dog poo bags left by the side of the path annoy me, as does all the litter left by people having a day out in the countryside or the beach. Just take the rubbish home! We still eat meat, but I vary our diet with fish, chicken or veggie meals. And I must get to the nursery to buy some tomato, chilli and pepper plants – they are about all the veg I can grow successfully!
Funnily enough chicken is something Mick is not supposed to eat because of the gout, but we do, sparingly… Isn’t it strange that turkey doesn’t come in the same category? I class it all as meat but we don’t eat much of the red stuff. When we eat out I will usually have fish because they cook it better than I can.
How odd, chicken and turkey are both poultry so you’d think there would be no difference.
We think it has to do with the way it’s farmed, but I haven’t looked into the grizzly details. I’d be a vegetarian tomorrow! Today, even…
I think I’m doing the things on your list … I also moved from a rural place in Wales to edge of town in Dorset so now I can walk to shops though we still use the car for a big shop locally. It’s my hometown so I feel it’s a good place to come back to. We have a small garden but now an allotment as well. I miss the rural life though. Without kids to ferry I used to make one fortnightly trip out for supplies! But to visit family had to go many miles. I know it is very hard to manage without using a car! Not buying anything that travels for miles to reach me is quite a challenge too. Carbon offsetting gets a bad press but I do it through my energy company and have to rely on them finding good projects to support. It’s the only way I can think of to strive to be actually carbon neutral now but what about all the carbon I have generated in my lifetime? But at least I can measure my carbon footprint now and they tell me what they do with the money so I could do my own digging to check. Next thing I’m considering is clearing up the waste thrown in the local park before it gets in the river. There’s a lot to think about but disheartening is to see how many people don’t seem at all bothered.
Sounds like you are doing a lot Maria. The rubbish appalls me. Why can’t people simply take it home with them and dispose of it properly!
It’s particularly sad when people leave their rubbish behind at the beach. Baffling too – they wouldn’t want to picnic on a rubbish tip but that’s how it looks at the end of a nice day.
Great advice, Jude! We do the things on your list except that we can’t always buy local – but we don’t buy a lot and our groceries always are. This year we had solar panels put on the house as both a long-term investment and a way to help the environment. We’re delighted with them – we even get enough hot water for our needs (there’s just 2 of us) and since the heating is now off, we are self-sufficient in energy until later in the year. (Our local council had a ‘buy together’ scheme that cut the price by over £2000.)
I always feel the planet will get along just fine without us. It’s the human race we need to save! Maybe people would care more if they thought of it that way. Or maybe not …
I totally agree with you. We’re just destroying ourselves.
Yes. We need to get rid of mankind, then the world will be much better off. My opinion since I was 11.
Thoughtful post, Jude. Maybe we should have a Save the Humans Day- Mother Earth will do just fine without us. I appreciate your ideas– every little bit helps. Hope you had a good Earth Day enjoying nature. 🌍
I can tick off a few of those Jude but guilty of not making more effort at times 😦
Bushes decorated with thrown black Dog poo bags and blue/white masks dropped on pavements and into gutters are a particularly common sight just now Grrr