“Here at Treeapp, we know the importance of making environmental acts fit in and around people’s everyday routines and lifestyles. Not everyone has the time and money to protest in the streets, write blog posts (like us!) or adopt a plant-based diet. That’s why we designed the app the way we did; it gives the ability to affect meaningful environmental change, in under a minute, for absolutely free. Pretty sweet, huh? However, that got us thinking about if there were other ways in which we could make a difference in the world following the same philosophy. Here’s what we came up with.
1) Turning Off the Taps
Water wastage is one of the biggest environmental issues the world faces right now. In the UK, research shows that nearly a fifth (17.6%) of all the water pumped through our water pipes gets wasted. That’s enough to fill approximately 1262 Olympic sized swimming pools every single day! Not only that, our water consumption has skyrocketed over the last century; the average person uses 127% more water than in 1950. With water being a finite resource, we all have to be more careful about the water supply we take for granted. However, simply remembering to turn off the taps when they’re not in use is a fantastic way to fight this global wastage. Not running the taps while brushing your teeth can save around 4 gallons of water at a time, and turning off a leaky faucet could save up to 2700 gallons of water a year.
Photo: Black Faucet with Running Water (Source: Pixabay)
2) Limiting Food Waste by using the Entire Food
Food waste marks another massive global environmental challenge. Work by the FAO suggests over 1/3 of all food produced globally goes to waste, with the annual value of food wasted globally sitting at $1 Trillion, and weighing in at 1.3 billion tonnes. All that energy, water, time and land completely wasted. While the numbers seem scary, combatting this food monster doesn’t have to be. All it takes is a little perspective and knowhow, as plenty of what is commonly considered food waste is actually amazing meals waiting to happen! Did you know, banana skins make an amazing vegan pulled pork alternative smothered in BBQ sauce, or that beetroot leaves are delicious and nutritious when sautéed with butter and garlic? You fight for the planet, while also making food for yourself you didn’t know you had! Win-Win! There are plenty of great resources out there to help you re-evaluate the food from the food waste. Our personal favourites are BBC food),#FoodSavvy) and Love Food, Hate Waste.
Photo: A curled up Banana Skin (Source: Pixabay)
3) Turning Electronics Off instead of Standby
While the difference between off and standby can seem entirely negligible on the surface, the wasted energy consumption of this small difference adds up to be titanic. Work by the Guardian shows 8% of the total electricity used in our homes comes from appliances left on standby. This equates to “two power stations worth of electricity each year and adds up to £740m a year of wasted electricity, according to the Energy Safety Trust (EST)”. This wasted electricity comes as a direct attack to the environment, with wasted energy from appliances left on standby being responsible for 4 MILLION tonnes of excess carbon dioxide each year in the UK. Not only does switching off your electronics help fight climate change, it helps save you money as well just like fighting food waste. Moneysupermarket suggests leaving your appliances on standby instead of turning them could mean throwing away £40 a year!
Photo: An appliance turned off and unplugged (Source: Pixabay)
Bonus: Using Technology to Better Our World
The modern technology of today is an incredibly powerful tool. With everybody wired into the internet 24/7, and our smart phones constantly alerting us of the latest trends, anyone with a passion can find their likeminded tribe from across the globe. So if you have a passion for saving our planet, modern technology and social media gives you a platform to have anyone and everyone hear what you have to say, and how much you care about the future of the world. Gently educating people and displaying your love for environmental causes is one of the best indirect ways of saving the planet, as maybe you’ll inspire someone to take up the eco-mantle, and start others off to pledge to help the future of our home.”
CEOforLIFE – We promote life. We support the SDGs.
