We hear it often; I don’t have time to take action against global warming to make the world a better place. Did you know that only 22 % of the households[1] in Canada do something? That is a good start, and from Sustainable Circular Economy, we offer 5 simple things you can do to take action against global warming, to do good and feel good.
Make the World a Better Place
We want to help you make the world a better place, and what you do does not have to be perfect. Let’s get to the 5 simple things you can do to attack global warming and make the world a better place.
Spend Time with Your Family
Spend time with your kids helping them understand protecting the environment. Once per week would be great and fun too, taking on some age-appropriate project that is a learning tool for them and maybe for you too. An example could be making an edible aquarium which could give you the focus to talk to them about how human waste can pollute our marine environment.
Think About Packaging
Grocery stores where we live no longer give out plastic bags at the checkout. But go to the vegetable section and there are no restrictions on ripping off a plastic bag to package the vegetables. We now take our own plastic bags for carrying the vegetables. Those flimsy plastic bags now get used sometimes 6 – 8 times. Part of our circular economy. It is doing good, and makes us feel good.
Eat Less Beef and Pork
I thought this was going to be tough. I was a “meat eater.” But it is a mindset and made easier with the cost of meat today and also, when one has diabetes. Two things made me consider a change, and change it did; I did good and feel good.
I am not suggesting you and/or your family become vegans; far from it. At Sustainable Circular Economy we have never been proponents of extremism. Change comes from within; it has to be comfortable and it does not have to be perfect.
Turn Off Electrical Devices
How many of us leave electrical cords plugged in? I look down over my left shoulder and can see 9 cords for electrical devices plugged in. Before, I did not even think about them all continuously using electricity. Now, I have a power bar with a switch to turn them off, saving me about $38 per year[2]. And the other good news, turning off the power cords saves enough power for an electric car to travel about 2,000 kms.[3]
Add 50% of the homes in British Columbia to the equation, and we would save enough electrical power to power 14,250 electrical cars each year.
Something that is good and will make you feel good.
Waste Not, Want Not – Water
In our household we have energy-efficient, star appliances to reduce water use and have Britta water filter canisters. No more just letting the tap run, with the goal of cutting down on water usage. We have not done any big study, but we are using less – with one of the big changes, use of the dishwasher. Fill it up and use it once per day.
Water is a most precious resources and it makes me wonder how we are going to transition sustainably to a hydrogen economy when just one project in Newfoundland will be using 3.7 billion gallons of water per year. I hope they look at the project impacts through the lens of circularity of a circular economy to capture all the impacts on the people, the planet and profit.
But, no matter what they decide, we can do our individual part to do the world a world of good, and feel good while doing it.
Conclusion
Deciding to do something good to address global warming does not have to be perfect. There are little things we can do individually, through a shift in mindset, that can bring about bigger structural change. It is only by us, as the consumers and the users who will drive change. I use the example of taking our own plastic bags to the grocery store for carrying vegetables.
At Sustainable Circular Economy, our Mission is to make the world a better place by helping individuals and companies address global warming actions that are considered through a lens of circularity. The goal is to recycle, reuse, repurpose, to keep resources in use as long as possible. Through a circular economy, we all can make the world a better place.
If you wish to know how Sustainable Circular Economy can help you, please contact us through our website.
Best wishes from all of us at Sustainable Circular Economy
Sustainable Circular Economy
Vancouver, Canada
+1 604 788 7261
wayne@sustainablecirculareconomy.ca
[1] Stats Canada (2021). Households and the Environment Survey, 2019. https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/daily-quotidien/211019/dq211019b-eng.htm Accessed August 28, 2022
[2] 300 Kwhr/year saving
[3] 1KWhr = 6.4 Kms travel for an electric car.
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