Meaningful Ways to Help the Environment with Peter Lowes
A Few Actions that Individuals and Families Can Take to Aid in Healing the Planet
From the wildfires raging across Australia, to the monsoons flooding India, to the droughts gripping much of South-Western North America, it’s clear that the planet is having a rough reaction to changing environmental conditions in its atmosphere and on its surface. It’s also clear that human beings are mostly to blame for these changing conditions, at least according to nearly every respected scientific institution that has studied the problem, including NASA. Although the large-scale changes needed to reverse these conditions would be best addressed by the world’s biggest and best-resourced entities like corporations, national governments, and international organizations, there are certain measures that individuals and families can take to meaningfully help the environment. Environmentalist Peter Lowes provides a short rundown highlighting a few of those measures.
Reduce Consumption Across the Board
The harsh truth is that most people living in developed nations consume far more than is necessary. This includes but is not limited to food, drugs, manufactured goods, and electricity — the creation and distribution of all of which puts strain on the environment. Any individual or family wishing to help heal the planet would do well to reduce their consumption across the board. In practice, this means fundamental lifestyle changes such as downsizing living space. A smaller dwelling requires less energy to heat and cool, ultimately saving significant amounts of fuel. It’s also quite helpful to use things like clothing, old appliances, and common household items as long as possible. When, inevitably, this is no longer practical, the most planet-friendly path forward is to replace such items with something used.
Diet is another consideration. By rolling back consumption of the foods that require the most resources to produce — specifically, meat and dairy — a measurable impact can be made all along the supply chain, from farms, to processing plants, to delivery networks, to grocery stores.
Buy Environmentally Friendly Products
According to Peter Lowes, purchasing eco-friendly products is important for two reasons. First, the products themselves do far less damage to the planet. Take household cleaning chemicals, for example. Presently, there is something of a movement toward cleaning agents that are designed to do no environmental harm; however, there are still many for sale that are especially detrimental, such as chlorinated bleach or phosphate-based detergents. Some other things to stay away from are aerosol sprays, cleansers containing microbeads, and single-use plastics of any kind, such as containers or utensils.
Second, spending money on products that don’t hurt the environment is the best way to send a message to the business world that environmentalism is an important issue. Companies want to please customers in order to make greater profits, and will often follow cues from the public when drafting policy. Once financial stakes are raised for corporations and manufacturers, corresponding action is never far behind. If a company finds that it becomes dependably more profitable to make environmentally friendly products, it will quickly become that company’s standard practice. And if enough companies across enough industries make the switch to green products and green processes, the health of the planet, as well as that of the people that inhabit it, will be the ultimate beneficiaries.
Vote for Candidates With a Pro-Environment Agenda
For those concerned about the planet’s health who are also lucky enough to live in a constitutional republic or a representative democracy, one of the most important actions that can be taken is to show up at the ballot box. Voting for leadership that espouses a strong, pro-environmental platform is crucial. If enough such leaders are elected, the resulting laws that deal with industrial regulation, species protection, land conservation, air and water quality control, and pollution offsetting concepts such as ‘cap and trade’ will go a long way in the fight to stave off and reverse environmental damage.
By following the advice outlined above, any individual or family can make a positive and meaningful impact on the environment. It is actually possible for small groups to effect change for the better, but doing so requires a steadfast attitude and conscientious, disciplined behavior. Oh, and cultivating a backyard compost heap can’t hurt, too!
