Earth Day: How We Can Make a Difference

In celebration of Earth Day, we spoke with some of the many Mods who have made changes in their daily lives to help keep our planet healthy. We asked about the little things they’re doing that we can replicate to help make the world a healthier place. To spark some eco-friendly ideas, the Mods offer actionable steps that you can take today to live a greener life.

“I’m working to improve my interactions with our blue planet and to live a greener life. I’ve made changes over the past two years to be more environmentally friendly. One of the biggest changes was following a vegan diet. I was already intrigued by it, but here in France, it’s cheese and wine, you know! However, once I saw The Game Changers on Netflix, I reconsidered my diet and decided to become fully vegan, both for my health and the world. It was a bit difficult at first, but the more I learned, the easier it became. I chose foods by carefully reading the nutrition value of each product. I bought local food and recycled articles as much as possible. I also learned that you can cook banana skin and it tastes just like bacon!

“I’ve also become aware of the beauty products I buy. It’s important to me to make sure they have as few chemicals as possible, and that they’re made in a manner that respects nature and animals.

“Now I have more energy, my skin, body, and hair are feeling great, and I have a more positive mindset. These have been small changes, but they make a huge difference.”
— Justine L.

“I hope to make both short- and long-term changes to help make the world a little greener. Earth Day is the perfect time to consider how I interact with nature. 

“One of the simplest changes I’m going to make is to plant an insect-friendly garden outside of my home. Planting common flowers can help pollinators like bees and butterflies. I’ve been researching flowers that are native to my region, rather than planting invasive or alien species that might not flourish in my area. 

“In addition, I’m making small changes to how my family buys food. There are local produce stands that I’ll use, which will help support local agriculture. By buying locally, I hope to make a difference in how food is transported.”
— Rochelle H.

“I will be pushing our plastic-free and zero-waste lifestyle a bit further. For the last three years, we’ve slowly made swaps that helped us reduce our footprint. It started with using locally made organic bar soap and using reusable diapers and wipes for our kids. Disposable diapers take more than 500 years to decompose; with this change, we’ll have saved about 1,000 diapers from landfill by the time the kids are potty trained. So yes, one person can make a huge difference.

“This year, we’re fully committed to pushing our recycling and composting further, through the use of a special program. It involves a bit more sorting out, but the idea of having 90% of our waste recycled while raising money for charity is just amazing!”
— Elodie F.

“I’m being eco-conscious in a few ways. I grow my own herbs at home to use in my daily cooking. We don’t use paper towels in restrooms or in the kitchen; instead, we’ve replaced them with water jets and cotton cloths.

“Making these changes wasn’t easy. We weren’t in the habit of taking bags along while going grocery shopping, but with time I got used to it. After reading so much over the years about how detrimental plastic is to marine animals, I swapped my plastic toothbrushes for eco-friendly bamboo brushes. I also use soap bars instead of plastic-bottled soap to reduce waste.”
— Greta L.

We love those simple suggestions to help protect the Earth, many of which can be undertaken with low cost and effort. If you’d like to join the effort to create a more sustainable future, the Mods offered a few other suggestions about small changes we can all make.

First we look at our online behavior. Believe it or not, what we do online can impact the planet.

• By using Ecosia as a browser, your searches help sponsor planted trees.
• Clean your inbox, your hard drive, and your cloud account. Delete those unwanted emails and move your favorite pictures to a hard drive. All of that cloud data storage requires servers that consume electricity and emit CO2.
• Do you really need it delivered? Consider picking up your purchase the next time you’re at the store.

What about in your home?

• Use less plastic. Give soap bars and refill options a go!
• Instead of containers, try using bee wrap.
• Reduce, reuse, recycle, and compost to cut down on waste. Consider TerraCycle, where you can recycle your products while raising money for charities.
• For purchases, consider buying second-hand items. Rather than throwing things away, think about freecycling (giving away unwanted goods).
• Make your garden welcoming for bugs and bees.
• Cut down on meat and fish. If you’re ready, take the plunge and go vegan.
• Create your own homemade soap with natural ingredients.
• Buy local and in season.

Want to do more? Here are a few additional ways to help or to spread the word.

• Participate in beach, park, or road cleanups.
• Sponsor a tree with the help of different websites.
• Educate yourself via literature and documentaries.

As you can see, we’ve got committed colleagues whose dedication to sustainability is inspiring. With so many simple ways to make an impact on our future, we hope these suggestions serve to spark your own green efforts.

Tell us about how you work to preserve the environment in the comments section below.