Small steps to a better planet - Things we can all do - A personal Journey

Climate change in a global issue. Conventional wisdom says these issues require global coordination and commitment and leadership from governments.

While all of that is true, the converse is also true. Individual responsibility and change of consumption habits can have a a tremendous impact. Think about it, the governments will deliberate and then create policy that is meant to change consumption patterns. They might give better tax breaks for good behavior (solar subsidies etc.) and tax bad habits.

However, I didn’t think I needed to wait around for government to incentivize me to do better. It was time to do better on my own accord.

Also, waiting around for government seems stupid in this age of complete meltdown of government.

So I started to make some small changes to my lifestyle. Things that were doable, in bite sized chunks.

Some require a lot of change and can be hard but some are really small and yet meaningful.

Here’s stuff I’ve done that might help others in their journey:

1. Become a vegetarian and move towards a plant based diet. Scientists largely agree, the single biggest change we can make on the environment is to change what we eat. Letting go of meat has been surprisingly easy. After a couple of weeks, I’ve hardly missed it. Dairy has been a bit harder but it’s something I am working on. It’s just everywhere, from creamer to cheese in every restaurant meal. Work in progress.
2. Move to biodegradable disposables. Palm leaf, sugarcane based plates, cutlery is easy to adopt and can save a lot of plastic. There’s compostable plastics also but most need industrial composting and I just haven’t figured out the whole compost stream yet. That’s filed under too hard category. I stick to biodegradable.
3. Recycle better — did you know that recycling stuff like milk cartons with the cap still on basically means no recycling? There’s a lot to learn on how to recycle correctly and it’s disappointing how hard and limited some of it is. My focus is shifting to reducing waste altogether. For example:
4. Move away from plastic bags for groceries entirely.
5. Get a reusable water bottle. I’ve lost a few of them as I tried to develop the habit, I admit, but now I am very used to having my own refillable bottle and am amazed at how much plastic waste it’s avoided.
6. Get a soda maker. This one change has cut out our soda purchases and the associated packaging almost completely.
7. Reusable k-cups. Keurig is convenient. I use it just about every day. Just throw a cup in and dispose it when you’re done. But the used cups pile up. One small change of getting reusable K cups has lessened our trash significantly. It’s added a small task of emptying and washing the re-usable cups but the sheer savings in trash are incredible.

The next few are not yet implemented, but are next on my list:

1. Move to an electric car. This is next on my list. I was a skeptic but find myself much more convinced now.
2. Get rooftop solar. Again, big change compared to others on the list, but not very difficult when you get into it. Commit to it and this one decision will have a significant impact on my energy footprint.
3. Live in an urban space in a smaller footprint home with much more walking around and much less driving around. Healthier, Livelier and more responsible living. Lower energy consumption.
4. Fly less. Admittedly, this is hard in my current job but it’s again on my list of changes to start incorporating in my life.

Again, this is a personal list but I feel all in, these changes will make a significant impact on the sustainability of my lifestyle.

This change is only about 6 months old but the most significant aspect to me has been that most of these changes have had almost no impact on my everyday lifestyle. I’m not suddenly living on the cutting edge of environmentalism and haven’t forgone much at all.

And yet, I believe these changes have a measurable impact on my footprint. Real change has indeed become easy.

I’d love to hear stories of others journeys or tips/ideas.