It is almost impossible to believe it, but all of us over time, have adopted everyday actions that destroy the planet. These are actions, habits or ways of doing things that have entered normalcy – apparently harmless, but which will ultimately lead to an unsustainable world.
I want to start with the very first thing we do each day, first thing in the morning, even when our eyes are still closed – that is GRAB OUR PHONE.
In the past, I have made the decision not to turn on the phone until after breakfast – but if I’m honest, it’s not always easy! Picking up the phone, turning it on and waiting for notifications has become a habit, almost an instinct. Yet, behind such a simple action, is a huge amount of work in the production of our phones. Inside our electronic devices there are rare minerals which, in order to be extracted, not only have a major environmental impact but also violate human rights. It’s enough to think of child exploitation; underpaid work and the lack of health and safety for the men who enter the mines. And where are the mines located? Most of the mines are located in Congo – a country that already has many socio-political and socio-environmental problems.
It’s incredible to think of the domino effect we start every time we grab our phone and every time we buy a new one.
In the 21st century, can we live without the phone? The answer is NO! But we can, however, inform ourselves and turn to those brands that sell refurbished phones. Buying refurbished is good for the environment because the rare minerals in these phones have already been extracted. Mine is a refurbished phone from Swappie and I love it. Swappie gave me a discount code to share with you: ciaovalentina. Here is the link that takes you back to their website.
Therefore, a different choice but one that is simple and impactful.
The second daily action that destroys our planet (sorry for being so dramatic) is going to the bathroom and washing ourselves. Let’s think about all the water we waste!
Let’s turn off the tap when we brush our teeth; let’s use solid products that require less water to be made; let’s choose products without packaging or with packaging made with glass or aluminium instead of the usual plastic boxes or bottles.
Read this blog to learn how to save water in everyday life and read this blog to learn about the solid products I use in the bathroom.
Third action of the day: BREAKFAST.
I don’t talk much about nutrition in this blog or on my YouTube channel. Everyone has their own needs and eating habits that must be respected. But there is a topic that involves everyone, no one excluded and I’m talking about WASTE!
Every Italian citizen wastes half a kilo of food per day. Even throwing all these leftovers into the waste food bucket, we also trash the resources used for the production of these including soil, minerals, water, artificial light and heat. Resources we can no longer afford to waste.
Let’s re-evaluate our way of approaching nutrition. We buy only what’s necessary and cook only the right amount. Small actions but which have a great environmental impact.
Next, we start working and we GOOGLE information. Google is the number one search engine in the world that is trying to have a monopoly thanks to the agreements signed with Apple. In fact, Google has agreed to pay Apple half of the revenue earned from mobile search ads for five years in exchange for defaulting to the Google search engine on iPhones. Google is a real-world giant that unfortunately does nothing for the environment despite the large profits it makes.
Because I believe that the market is huge and that the monopoly is unfair, I decided to rely on another search engine: ECOSIA.
This is because Ecosia donates 80% of its profits to non-profit associations whose purpose is reforestation. Each search with Ecosia actually removes about 1 kg of CO2 from the atmosphere. This means that, if Ecosia were as big as Google, it could absorb 15% of all global CO2 emissions. Each search you do will lead towards a tree being planted. It amuses me a lot to see the number of trees growing at the top right of the screen.
So, these are the common everyday actions that destroy our planet and I believe that sometimes it takes very little to change the fate of our planet – for the better!
Read also 20 idea for sustainable mega decluttering
Read also how to approach sustainability – 8 ideas for beginners
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