3 Powerful Ways To Protect The Planet On Earth Day (And Everyday!)
Every year when Earth Day rolls around I mentally prepare to see beautifully crafted videos circulating online, showcasing everything from thundering waterfalls to gorgeous valleys where wildflowers are in bloom, that do little to help the planet. It’s great to share your favorite moments outside (as it may inspires to get out and connect with nature too) but with the climate crisis looming, we need more than hashtags and influencers running through flower-filled fields.
So if you’re someone who truly cares about Earth, the climate crisis, and the future of all living beings on this planet, what should you do? You’ll see some actionable tips circulating the internet this Earth Day, but some have bigger impacts than other. Let’s discuss eco-minded ways of living for travelers and non travelers alike that mean the most to Mother Earth.
1. Eat A Plant-Based Diet & Live A Vegan Lifestyle
To begin, let’s clear up the confusion and talk about what veganism really is. Many people wrongly assume that veganism is a diet, but it is actually a social justice movement that compels you to change your diet. People who practice veganism don’t eat the flesh of nonhuman animals, or consume anything stolen from nonhuman individuals; they don’t consume animal-based dairy products or eggs. They don’t wear leather, wool, or fur or purchase products tested on animals. To sum it up, they’re actually enacting the values that (theoretically) everyone has in the USA, as we are a self-proclaimed nation of “animal lovers”. This includes the practice of honoring the bodily autonomy of others’, supporting their right to live freely, and also peruse one’s own agency.
Now that we’ve got ethics out of the way, let’s get to environmental side. It can be a hard pill to swallow, but if you live in the “modern world” and consume animal flesh, eggs, or dairy products, you’re supporting the quick demise of the the environment and wildlife, as well as fueling the climate crisis.
What’s happening right night is being called the Sixth Great Mass Extinction of Species on Earth by scientists. “Earth’s creatures are on the brink of a sixth mass extinction, comparable to the one that wiped out the dinosaurs. That’s the conclusion of a new study, which calculates that three-quarters of today’s animal species could vanish within 300 years,” reports Science.org.
What what does that have to do with chowing down on a hamburger after a long hike, or opening a carton of dairy-based ice cream on your rest day? “A result of clearing all this land for cattle, sheep, and other farmed animals is that ‘livestock’ production is now the single greatest driver of habitat loss and destruction globally (Science of the Total Environment, 2015). It is also the leading cause of species extinction, ocean dead zones, and water pollution. Indeed, scientists now agree that a mass extinction of species is rapidly underway; they are calling it the Sixth Great Mass Extinction of Species on Earth, with up to 200 species going extinct every day. And it’s being caused by us.”
Eating Animals Fuels The Climate Crisis, And Is One Of The Biggest Offenders To Our Planet
In an incredibly insightful article titled Meat and Dairy Consumption Are Destroying Earth’s Wildlife, Ashley Capps writes: “Among the most pressing of these is the impact to wildlife ecosystems that results from the disproportionate use of natural resources required to produce animal-based foods: it takes far more land, water, and energy to raise and slaughter some 70 billion land animals annually (and to grow the crops to feed them) than it would take to grow crops to feed 7 billion humans directly.”
More Stats To Consider:
- Domesticated farmed animals and their secretions (eggs, breastmilk, etc) account for at least 32,000 million tons of carbon dioxide (CO2) per year, or 51% of all worldwide greenhouse gas emissions.
- 2,500 gallons of water are needed to produce 1 pound of beef.
- 477 gallons of water are required to produce 1lb. of eggs; almost 900 gallons of water are needed for 1lb. of cheese.
It’s important to note that farmed animals already take up nearly 80% of global agricultural land, yet produces less than 20% of the world’s supply of calories. It is clear that farming animals for their flesh and secretions is arguably one of the top causes of greenhouse gas emissions.
And it doesn’t stop there. For a fuller idea of how eating animals is harmful to wildlife, please read this complete explanation. You can also explore why backyard eggs are harmful here, and debunk the myths that claim that “grass-fed” beef is eco-friendly.
Plant-Based Solutions For The Future
A plant-based diet needs to be globally adopted, and it needs to be adopted quickly. Research shows that without meat and dairy consumption, global farmland use could be reduced by more than 75%. That would be an area equivalent to the US, China, European Union and Australia combined – and we could still feed the world, in a better way.
I’m still shocked by the number of “environmentalist” who continue to eat animals and their secretions when science tells them that this cruel habit is one of the biggest threats to our planet. Let’s do better for the sake of our collective future.
2. Forget Banning Plastic Straws, Just Stop Eating Fish
I see so many travelers showing off their grand “fish dinners” on their social media as they traverse the world. Many of these people are the same ones who claim to care about the ocean and the nonhuman animals who call it home. If that’s you, please educate yourself on what fish have to endure to make it to your plate. Reading this is a great place to start. (Being pescatarian, and not using that as a stepping stone to veganism, is not enough!)
Outside of harming the sentient beings themselves, fishing is disastrous for the ocean and all who live there. While writing a post for Free From Harm on fish farming, I shared that globally, 63 billion pounds of marine animals are injured or killed as “bycatch.” It’s term used to describe the staggering numbers of fishes, birds, seals, whales, sharks, crustaceans and other sea animals who are indiscriminately captured, maimed, snared, suffocated and more as “collateral damage” in ocean fishing equipment.
The Guardian says: “Ghost gear is estimated to make up 10% of ocean plastic pollution but forms the majority of large plastic littering the waters. One study found that as much as 70% (by weight) of macroplastics (in excess of 20cm) found floating on the surface of the ocean was fishing related.”
And plastic straws? They accounted for 0.025% of the 8 million tons of plastic found in the ocean yearly (as of 2018). If you’re serious about protecting the ocean, you’ll leave fish and other ocean-dwellers off of your plate.
3. Embrace Used Travel Gear
In order to live more sustainably, we must go beyond just recycling items that we’ve already used. We must stop purchasing new products. First of all, recycling isn’t as “green” as you may think that it is. A Guardian investigation has found “hundreds of thousands of tons of US plastic are being shipped every year to poorly regulated developing countries around the globe for the dirty, labor-intensive process of recycling.” The consequences for human health and the environments that this takes place in are grim.
How To Responsibly Source Travel Gear, And What To Avoid
The United States alone generates 34.5m tons of plastic waste each year, which is enough to fill Huston’s Astrodome stadium a whopping 1,000 times. Alternatives to fueling this waste crisis lie in a different mindset that encourages us to use what we already have, trade/borrow what we need with our community, and buy second-hand items before buying them new.
If you absolutely must buy something new, try to buy something that was locally-sourced and made on a small scale. If you’re not sure how to tell if something was made with planetary responsibly in mind, try to figure out if you can lock down where it came from, who made it, and who will profit off it being bought.
When it comes to travel (and just everyday life) our waste doesn’t stop at plastic items. It’s understandable to want high-quality hiking gear, hiking shoes, and layers that really work. But our clothing purchases hurt the planet too.
The EPA reports that Americans generate 16 million tons of textile waste a year, which ends up equaling just over 6% t of total municipal waste (vs plastics which make up 13 percent of our waste stream). It’s been reported that “On average, 700,000 tons of used clothing gets exported overseas and 2.5 million tons of clothing are recycled. But over three million tons are incinerated, and a staggering 10 million tons get sent to landfills.”
The numbers can seem daunting, but luckily there are solutions that are accessible to most travelers. In an insightful podcast episode with avid traveler and natural builder Angie Fernandez, she teaches us how to use the 6 R’s during our travels and everyday life: Reduce, reuse, recycle, rethink, refuse, reconnect.
More Ways To Do Your Part On Earth Day And Beyond
You may be wondering why I didn’t talk about flying on this list. This isn’t to say that examining our travel methods isn’t important, as I am a huge supporter of human-powered travel. In fact, I’ve featured some incredible human-powered feats on my podcast, like this female who rode her bike across the USA at just 17 years old, and this person who not only crossed the USA on foot but also competed the PCT.
Human-Powered Travel, Natural Building, Moneyless & Off-Grid Living
On top of human-powered travel, it’s important to think about building styles, and turning to natural buildings is a great way to lower our footprint when it comes to our structures or finding accommodations on the road. You can read Atulya Bingham’s reflection called Should Everyone Move Off-Grid? for more on that matter. One other way that we can protect the planet is by opting out of capitalism as much as possible, like some folks have done by pursuing a moneyless or off-grid lifestyle.
Tackling The Issues That Matter Most (Travel vs Dietary Impact)
You may be surprised to learn that aviation overall accounts for only 2.5% of global carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions while animal agriculture produces 65% of the world’s nitrous oxide emissions (which has a global warming impact 296 times greater than carbon dioxide) and generates 15% to 51% of total global greenhouse gas emissions, which is greater than all the transportation emissions combined. That’s why these subjects became the focus of this Earth Day article.
Researches at Oxford University have found that eating a plant-based diet could reduce an individual’s carbon footprint from food by up to 73%. Lead author of the study Joseph Poore says: “A vegan diet is probably the single biggest way to reduce your impact on planet Earth, not just greenhouse gases, but global acidification, eutrophication, land use and water use.”
If we want to get serious about protecting the planet, we must not only put our money where our mouths are, but change what we put into our mouths.
