April 22, 2020 marks the 50th anniversary of Earth Day. And while many people will not be exploring the outdoors due to social distancing requirements to help fight the spread of the coronavirus, there are some ways you can celebrate and do your part to help make the planet a better place.
WPTV has put together 35 things you can try, even from home, to be a little more eco-friendy.
1. Plant a tree or donate to a local environmental group or nature preserve.
2. Use environmentally-friendly, non-toxic cleaning products.
3. Replace inefficient incandescent light bulbs with efficient CFLs or LEDs. (Reduce your carbon footprint by 450 pounds a year, according to earthday.org).
4. Stay home! You're actually reducing your carbon footprint by one pound for every mile you do not drive according to earthday.org.
5. When you do drive, keep your tires properly inflated to get better gas mileage. You'll reduce your carbon footprint 20 pounds for each gallon of gas saved.
6. Change your car’s air filter regularly.
7. Here's another one you may already be doing: Teleconference instead of traveling. If you fly five times per year, those trips are likely to account for 75% of your personal carbon footprint.
8. Stop using disposable plastics, especially single-use plastics like bottles, bags and straws.
9. Recycle paper, plastic and glass. Reduce your garbage by 10% and your carbon footprint by 1,200 pounds a year.
10. Before you throw out those old clothes and home goods, consider setting them aside until it is safe to donate them to those in need.
11. Use cloth towels instead of paper ones.
12. Change your paper bills to online billing. You’ll be saving trees and the fuel it takes to deliver your bills by truck.
13. Read documents online instead of printing them. When you need to use paper, go for 100% post-consumer recycled paper and make sure to print two-sided.
14. Use reusable bottles for water, and reusable mugs for coffee.
15. Bring reusable bags when you shop.
16. Pack your lunch in a reusable bag.
17. Buy local food to reduce the distance from farm to fork.
18. Buy organic food to keep your body and the environment free of toxic pesticides. Support farmers and companies who use organic ingredients.
19. Grow your own organic garden
20. Reduce your meat consumption to curb carbon emissions from the livestock industry.
21. Compost kitchen scraps for use in your garden — turning waste into fertilizer.
22. Take a shorter shower and use a water-saving shower head.
23. Fix leaky faucets and shower-heads.
24. Run your dishwasher only when it’s full to save water and energy.
25. Conserve water outdoors by only watering your lawn in the early morning or late at night. Use drought-resistant plants in dry areas.
26. Wash your clothes only when necessary, use cold water and line dry.
27. Pull out invasive plants in your yard or garden and replace them with native ones.
28. Turn off and unplug electronics you’re not using. This includes turning off your computer at night.
29. Turn off lights when you leave a room.
30. Install solar panels on your roof.
31. Move your heater thermostat down two degrees in winter and up two degrees in the summer to reduce your carbon footprint by 2,000 pounds.
32. Lower the temperature on your water heater.
33. Contact your utility company and find out about renewable energy options.
34. Use energy-efficient appliances and electronics.
35. Recycle batteries from small appliances and your electronics. Use rechargeable batteries instead!