Do The Little Things Make a Difference?

In the past several months, I have had to do a lot of thinking about climate change and my role in helping to save our planet from what now might the inevitable.

The current administration has undone most of the climate legislation of past years with a "consume more" capitalistic push.  This of course benefits only a few... the very rich... those who have paid for the ear of those in power.  Our legislators have allowed us to be at the mercy of Big tech, Big pharma, the petroleum industry, and others - Big Industry lobbyists who are willing and able to buy and push their destructive agenda - thus affecting the welfare and environment for the rest of us.  

We have once again pulled out of the Paris Climate Accord in which participants agreed to decrease their greenhouse gas emissions by 50% by 2030.

The loss of the US climate initiatives is devastating to this goal as we are the second largest emitter of greenhouse gases in the world.  Many of us will feel an impact from this decision.  Many of us already have.   Each year, we face devastating storms, hurricanes, tornadoes, wildfires, and other natural disasters - with the threat of these steadily increasing.  Our children and their children certainly will face increasingly hostile living conditions.

There are some that believe Mars will be our next home.  However, it doesn't take much research to understand that Mars will never be a good option.   Mars, on its best day, will be more hostile to human life than Earth on its worst day.  The surface radiation on Mars is enough to disqualify this as a suitable replacement.  The atmosphere is almost completely comprised of carbon dioxide, and the low atmospheric pressure would cause our blood to boil.

The point of all that is to say - we cannot just use and abuse our home and then move to another.  We must take care of what we have right here and right now!

While mulling all of that over, it is easy to become despondent - throwing one's hands into the air, exclaiming, "what can I do about this?"  Believe me, I have done just that on more than one occasion.  We don't have the luxury of pretending to be powerless, however.  We have a mandate to do whatever it takes - every change we make, no matter how small, can help to push that pendulum back into the safety zone.

Can we simply recycle and be content that this is enough?  No, we cannot.  Just because there is a recycle symbol on a container, does not mean it actually is recycled. 

Less than 9% of all the plastic that we recycle actually gets recycled... the rest ends up in landfills or the ocean and breaking down into micro-plastics which ultimately get consumed by wildlife and yes, humans.  Microplastics are too tiny to filter out and so they pervade every aspect of our life - the water we drink, the air we breathe, and the food we consume.  And the thing is... the petroleum industry was aware as early as the 1970s that plastic recycling was not efficient or achievable.  And yet, plastic manufacturers continued to produce single-use plastic containers for almost every food, household, and cosmetic item.

Glass, on the other hand, is 100% recyclable, if handled correctly.

Metal, as well, is recyclable.... with 70% of the US's steel, and 65% of aluminum being recycled.

Roughly, 75% of the US cardboard is recycled.

Armed with this knowledge, it is up to us to choose those items whose packaging leaves less of a footprint.  Personally, finding these items has been a journey for me and one that has come to involve a change in my consumer habits as well as a change in my own habits - making more items from scratch in order to reduce the need for pre-made, pre-packaged items.   My own sustainability journey is an ongoing process - searching for ways to lessen my impact on this planet.  Obviously, not everyone can do "all of the things" - but we do what we are able to do.

Some of the things we try to do are:

(Please note:  none of this is a paid endorsement.  I am receiving no compensation for my opinions.  I am simply sharing with you the changes we have made in our consumption.)

1. Drive less - we combine trips to accomplish errands more efficiently with fewer trips needed.  I have found that in order to find items in sustainable packaging, I have to visit several stores, so I plan my shopping in an efficient manner to be able to make several stops on a single trip - this is especially important for us as we live almost an hour from shopping.  I also try to buy local whenever possible, but as we are committed to eating organic, this is not always possible.  Luckily, we grow much of the produce that we consume for half of the year.  

2.  Carry reusable bags when shopping.  I keep some in the back of my car.

3.  Fly less - we try to keep our travel to a minimum.

4.  Eat less meat.  We try to have a couple meat-free meals each week.  We also have the luxury of local, grass-fed, meat-producing farms from which we can buy our meats.  This way, we can avoid the industrial meat-producing complex that is responsible for adding additional methane (a greenhouse gas) to our atmosphere.

5.  We compost all of our kitchen scraps (unless the chickens eat them, instead.). Food products in landfills also serve as a source for methane gas.

6. We have become choosy consumers.  I thought I would share some of the things we use and are happy with.

I have continued, through the years, to order our cleaning supplies and toiletries from Grove.   Although I no longer pay for a membership, I order enough at one time to receive free shipping.  A membership gives you free monthly shipping no matter the size of the order.  They also offer their products on a subscription basis if you so choose.  There is typically a cost savings associated with subscriptions.  

 I do like their tree-free paper products that are sourced from a more sustainable alternative - bamboo.

I also order dish soap and hand soap in metal bottles as well as cleaning concentrates in tiny glass bottles.

Laundry and dishwasher detergent, as well as toilet cleaning tablets:  I order these from a company called Blueland. What I have found out through research is that the laundry pods that have a clear covering are actually covered in microplastics.  Also, many of the laundry detergent sheets contain microplastics as well.  Blueland's products are simply pressed into a mold and contain no plastics.  They offer a subscription plan in which you can choose the amount and frequency to meet your needs.  I have been extremely happy with these products.

Toilet tablet, laundry tablets, dish detergent tablets

Toothpaste and floss:  I have tried a couple of zero plastic toothpaste products and found that this toothpaste works best for me.  It comes in a metal tube.  Luckily, our grocery store carries this, but it is also available online.  I also use a metal, refillable dental floss tube, as well.

The plastic-free shampoo and conditioners that I have been happy with were this brand in a metal bottle...

and this, in metal tubes...

I have also tried shampoo bars in the past, but was not as happy with them.  I think it might depend upon what type of hair one has.

 The thing is... we cannot just take the small steps.  We must take the big steps, as well.  We must use the only power that we have as citizens to truly bring about change and vote - not only voting for our leaders, but also voting with our wallet - by buying products that are made in an environmentally conscious way... by rewarding those manufacturers who make the effort.  We cannot be complacent.  To be complacent is to be complicit. 

 We must do our homework and ask the right questions so that we can vote for those who will fight for climate action.  We must vote for those who truly represent the welfare of the people.  This means, perhaps, that we must step out of our party line, or away from our parents' party - by voting for People over voting for Party.  We must do our homework.  We must vote for candidates who believe that saving our Earth is our top priority.  Because it ultimately must be our top priority.