Taking Steps Towards Environment Responsibility

So you’ve decided to conserve and protect the natural resources of the earth – but it’s a little overwhelming when it comes down to taking steps needed to become environmentally friendly. Fret no more. After all, like for most things, it all starts with small steps and then working your way from that point.

First things first though; what does environmentally friendly even mean? At a basic level, it is to cause no harm to the environment. We’ve compiled a brief guide that will help you take the necessary steps towards living an environmentally friendly lifestyle.

Plant trees

As you know, trees are necessary for our survival. The oxygen that plants, fruits and clean air provide is not the only benefit, they also provide shelter for wildlife and prevent soil erosion. Planting a tree at home will contribute and reduce your energy consumption as well as keep your home cool during the summer. In addition, it helps to educate others about the positive effects of planting trees has on the environment.

Conserve water

Considering that a lot of energy is used to pump water from rivers and lakes, it’s important that you conserve as much water as possible. As an effect, by conserving water it means that less energy is needed to filter it. There are many ways to conserve water, such as the following:

Shower rather than bathing
Take shorter showers
Use water saving shower heads
Repair leaking pipes and taps
Recycle water in your home
Collect rainwater to use for watering your garden
Reduce high water pressure
Do not let cold water run down the drain whist waiting for hot water to come through the hot tap
Use the cold water to water indoor plants, fill water fridge bottles etc.

Energy Conservation

The next step is to start with conservation in your day-to-day routine. An example would be to turn off lights whenever you leave the room. Think about your daily routine and find moments where you can conserve as much energy as possible. Do not boil a full kettle if you only require boiling water for one cup of coffee or tea. Any appliance with an element uses the largest amount of electricity in a home, including a geyser and even a hairdryer. Another way to conserve energy is by installing a solar geyser in your home as this is the most environmentally friendly use of energy.

Buy locally grown products

Believe it or not, but buying locally grown products can reduce your carbon footprint. Instead of shopping for products that have been shipped from far away, the best way to practice living environmentally friendly are to buy from local dairies and farms. If you’re into farming, organic farming is the most environmentally friendly form of farming, and the best part is that you can sell the surplus to friends and family.

Reduce, reuse, recycle

This is the waste hierarchy in order of priority actions, which is followed to reduce the amount of waste generated. It’s also a great way to improve overall waste management processes and programs. To reduce is pretty straightforward, which entails reducing what you produce and consume. Next in line is to reuse items for different purposes instead of just throwing them away. If you cannot reduce and/or reuse, recycling is the next best thing.