Ecological habits will save the earth. Five bad habits. How we spoil the world around us Give preference to drinks in glass containers
Where to begin?
Since you are reading this article, it means that you are already mentally prepared to change your life and try to cause minimal harm to nature and the environment around us. Think it's difficult? Not at all, here are simple things you can start doing today:Refusal to use and disposable tableware, plastic containers for food
Of course, we are not suggesting that you immediately and drastically stop using plastic grocery bags, but you can already significantly reduce their consumption now: for example, taking bags to the store for shopping from home or replacing them with large cloth bags. The latter, by the way, when folded, take up very little space and can easily fit even in a modest-sized handbag.
It is not so easy to refuse plastic containers for food and ready-made food, but it is also possible: just buy berries, vegetables and fruits by weight, and refuse to buy ready-made salads, it is better to cook them at home. Such habits will make your life healthier and also save some money, because ready-made food often costs more than the same dish cooked by yourself (we generally keep quiet about freshness), and plastic bags in most stores cost some money. As for, then try to use it only in case of emergency.
Save water!
It's easier than it seems at first glance: just turn off the water while brushing your teeth or shaving, wash the dishes in stages (first lathering all the dishes with the tap turned off, and then rinsing them with running water). Also, do not start the washing machine because of 2-3 things, wait until more washing accumulates.
Reducing the number of batteries used
We need it, because there are a lot of devices and equipment in the house that will not work without them. At the same time, improperly disposed batteries (in other words, thrown into a bag with ordinary household waste) cause very serious harm to the environment. What to do?
First: replace conventional batteries with rechargeable ones, they end up being more cost-effective and, by the way, quite durable.
Second, when the batteries reach their end of life, do not throw them away, but put them in a separate box: when you have enough, take the batteries to the hazardous waste terminal that is available in many cities.
Buy less unnecessary things
Studies show that every year people buy more and more products, and many of them are not even used. Before the next spontaneous purchase, think: do you really need this thing so much?
Does not help? Then, based on your monthly salary, calculate how much you get for one hour of work and divide the price of the item by this amount. You will find out how many hours of work, hours of life you are now ready to exchange for the next dress. Is it worth it?
But, of course, it is impossible to completely refuse to buy clothes. To spend less, buy clothes in second-hand stores or change clothes at specialized forums or meetings. By the way, there are a number of stores that offer such a service as the exchange of old clothes for new ones.
Opt for drinks in glass or aluminum cans over plastic
Firstly, any plastic is harmful to health, and secondly, plastic bottles decompose in natural conditions for a thousand years! But glass and aluminum cans can be handed over to a collection point for recycling and even receive a small compensation.
Save electricity!
Turn off the lights in the room where you are not now, use, choose equipment with less power consumption. Also, if you do not use any appliance or household appliances, make it a rule to unplug it from the outlet.
All these eco-habits will help not only save nature, but also significantly save the budget! Are you afraid you can't? The main thing is to start, and then things will go “automatically”!
Every day, without thinking, we destroy forests, poison drinking water, and most importantly, we kill ourselves little by little. About what habits it is better to give up in order to improve the environment, your health and financial condition, AiF.ru tells environmental management expert Yulia Barsukova.
Habit number 1. Improper use of water.
It is no secret that we drink very little water, while for our body it is much more beneficial than tea and even fruit juices. At the same time, we spend water not at all rationally: we brush our teeth with an open tap, wash clothes in an empty washing machine, wash dishes with a large amount of water, etc. But if the problem of excessive water consumption can be easily solved: turn off the taps and load the washing machine completely, then there may be problems using drinking water, because its quality, especially when it comes to bottled water, depends not only on the source and brand of the manufacturer, but also from packaging. We can be vigilant and choose brands of bottled water that we trust, but we cannot verify under what conditions and how long the bottled water has been stored. Scratches resulting from shipping damage can allow bacteria to grow in the bottle or release toxic components of the container into the contents. Recent studies have shown that phthalates and bisphenol A (responsible for disrupting the human endocrine system) can pass from plastic to water when stored for 10 weeks or more.
What to do? Do not reuse disposable plastic water bottles (they are marked with a special marking - “one” in a triangle), the integrity of which is destroyed over time, as a result of which toxic bisphenol A, a substance hazardous to health, begins to be released into the water. Buy and use your own thermal mug or reusable eco-bottle (the plastic is specially designed for them - it is stronger than ordinary PET). Collect water at home or in the office, boiled or filtered. Make sure you have your personal reusable packaging in your bag before leaving home so you don't have to make a purchase. Thermoses, special reusable water bottles and mugs help reduce the amount of cups thrown away and keep you healthy.
Habit number 2. Uneconomical use of electricity
"When leaving, turn off the light!" - this immutable rule guarantees electrical safety in the premises and saves you from unnecessary energy costs. In addition to lighting, household appliances, air conditioning and heating systems, etc. consume electricity. When all these work simultaneously and continuously, the ambient temperature rises. At the same time, the level of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere is rising, which leads to irreversible climate change.
What to do? Remove chargers from sockets as soon as the phone or other equipment is charged. Even if the phone is not connected to it, it continues to heat up, which leads to the consumption of excess electricity and the release of substances from the surface that are harmful both to the environment and to ourselves. For the same reason, try not to keep your charging phone next to the bed where you sleep.
Habit #3: Impractical use of packaging
Beautiful packaging always attracts the attention of buyers. But few of them think that it is superfluous and will be thrown away after a single use. It also creates an additional burden on the environment, as many types of packaging are not recyclable and do not biodegrade well.
Let's remember how a plastic bag "lives". And it begins with a field where raw materials for its production are extracted - oil and gas. These fossil resources in nature are not known to be renewable. A package is made from oil and gas at the plant. At the same time, 8 packets take as much energy as it takes to travel 1 km by car. 1 trillion per year is the number of packets consumed per minute worldwide. In Russia, 65-80 billion packages are consumed annually. This is a freight train of 4,800 wagons. At the same time, on average, a person throws away a bag within 20 minutes after purchase. Then the package ends up in a landfill. And lie there for 20 to 1000 years. Polyethylene, having lain in the ground for some time, breaks up into small pieces. The plastic particles are getting smaller and easily penetrate everywhere. For example, in some parts of the ocean, there are more plastic particles in the water than plankton. Plastic enters the body of fish and moves further up the food chain until it ends up on our plate.
What to do? Try not to use extra packaging or use reusable packaging whenever possible. Buying plastic bags in supermarkets is a waste of money because it is almost impossible to reuse them (the bag will break on the way, for example). At the same time, each disposable bag is additional garbage, because even if the bags are considered biodegradable, there is no full guarantee that the bag will actually decompose. In order for the package to decompose, it is necessary to comply with special conditions (sunlight, heat, air access), which in our country, as a rule, are not observed due to climatic conditions and due to the lack of necessary infrastructure. So instead of a pointless and environmentally harmful purchase of packages, it is better to purchase a beautiful reusable bag.
Habit number 4. Unreasonable attitude to garbage.
Man produces a lot of garbage. The situation is further complicated by the fact that all these boxes and jars, essentially harmless, coexist with heavy metals and food waste. All types of waste (plastic, metal, food waste, etc.) have a different decomposition time and impact on the environment in different ways - some do not decompose at all. That is why garbage must be sorted and handed over to special collection points. This is especially important for hazardous waste (batteries, accumulators, mercury lamps), which, if disposed of improperly, emit harmful substances, as well as for “valuable” waste such as aluminum cans, waste paper, and certain types of plastic.
What to do? Recycle anything that can be recycled. This applies to the same plastic bottles, batteries, waste paper, glass and metal (in numerous recycling points you will be told what kind of garbage is suitable and how to prepare it for delivery). Otherwise, these wastes simply accumulate, occupying landfill areas and releasing hazardous substances into the environment. In addition, the processing of raw materials ensures the productivity of the entire industry and jobs.
Habit number 5. Reckless environmental friendliness
Realizing that we live in a bad ecological environment: we breathe smog, eat not always healthy food, swim in not the cleanest water, we are showing more and more interest in everything natural. Many in the pursuit of "organic" reach serious self-restraint. However, not all eco-friendly products are actually eco-friendly.
By following these and other simple eco-rules, you will get much closer to an eco-style life and reduce the anthropogenic burden on the environment.
To unfortunately, our children will have to live on an even more “neglected” planet. And if we can still afford to neglect the environment in some places, then they are gone. To instill in them the right attitude to the planet and to their health is an excellent investment in their future. Here are the most useful habits of the future.
save water
At a minimum, you can teach your child to use a glass of water while brushing their teeth, and not pour water in vain. As a maximum, teach him to take a shower instead of a bath, do not pour water while washing dishes and cook vegetables in a small amount of water. Let these habits enter tightly into your life together!
Switch off the light
Teach to do this every time the child leaves the room. The action is simple, but saves quite a lot of electricity.
Go to the store with an eco-backpack
Sew or buy a special backpack that will be dearly loved by the child. Teach him to take his bag with him to the store for shopping. In the store, give the child the opportunity to fold their own products, and take them apart at home. You will not notice how this process will captivate the baby, and the idea of refusing plastic bags will become a matter of course for him.drink water
We must take care not only of nature, but also of ourselves. The habit of drinking water in the morning and throughout the day instead of packaged juices and tea is fundamental for people leading a healthy lifestyle. Drink yourself a glass of water with lemon on an empty stomach and offer it to your child. It will start all the processes in the body and improve digestion.
Take care
About people, animals and plants. Even a daily routine in the form of watering flowers on the windowsill will help raise a caring person, because the child will feel responsible for someone else's life. For the same purpose, get a pet (of course, if the child asks for it himself) and transfer the care of it entirely (or partially) to the baby. Such a caring child in the future will become compassionate, loving and responsible not only for himself. But also for our planet.
turn on fantasy
Teach your child to reuse things in games. Cardboard boxes, milk bags, egg shells and more can give your child a few hours of great time. A house for dolls, applications, puzzles, a mosaic, a sorter - this is only a small part of what can be created from seemingly unnecessary items. Read how to give a second life to things to throw away, and later do not be surprised if a talented inventor, architect or engineer grows out of your child.
Use 2 sides of paper
When your child is old enough to be a printer, show them how to print on 2 sides. Surprisingly, even many adults do not know how to do this, and in the meantime, a simple action will greatly reduce the young student's paper waste (not to mention the benefits to the planet). Top eco-aerobatics - use unnecessary printouts for papier-mâché crafts. Give waste-free production!
Take out a rubbish
It seems that all parents teach this, but why then do we still live in dirty cities? May you not get tired of repeating that you need to throw candy wrappers in the trash every time, may your child not be ashamed to take part in subbotniks! Lay the foundations of cleanliness and accuracy - and enjoy the fruits!
Swap books and toys
The scourge of our society is overconsumption. This is especially true for children's products. Tons of toys bought by parents, who have become unloved, are daily taken out to the trash heaps. Teach your toddler to sort toys once a month or two. Let him put aside those that he is tired of, and, if necessary, exchange them with a friend (it is necessary to agree with other mothers about this). After a while, you can change back. The toy cycle will keep your little one interested and help reduce the budget for baby purchases.
Buy quality items
The habit of buying quality items is also very useful. Such things do not lose their appearance longer, do not fade, do not stretch. So your child will wear them longer. For example, PlayToday clothes are ready to please the child until he grows out of them.
It's time! The store site not only discounts up to 70%, but in honor of the renaming. But we must hurry - high-quality clothing ends very quickly!
Saving energy, smart shopping, making small sacrifices and being creative are just a short list of everyday habits that can help save the planet.
Houses
1. Turn off the faucet when brushing your teeth. This saves 10,000 liters of water per year.
2. Instead of a bath, which requires 150 - 200 liters of water, it is better to take a shower (30 - 50 liters). This will be better for the environment and for your blood circulation.
3. In order not to buy plastic bottles, purchase a filter for purifying tap water.
4. Do not overheat housing. Install a thermostat to keep the temperature normal: 16°C in living rooms, 19°C in other rooms. Lowering the temperature by 1 degree can reduce energy consumption by 7%.
5. Replace ordinary light bulbs with energy-saving ones that consume 5 times less electricity. These lamps are more expensive, but will last you longer.
6. Don't forget to turn off the lights when you leave the room. The same applies to electrical engineering - TV, computer, CD/DVD player. Even in standby mode, they consume about 10% of electricity.
7. Defrost your freezer regularly. A layer of ice only 4 mm thick increases energy consumption by 2 times.
8. Instead of liquid detergents, use phosphate-free washing powders or, even better, soap nuts. This organic product gently removes impurities and is reusable.
9. Do not be lazy to sort garbage for subsequent processing of household waste.
In the shop
10. Ditch plastic bags in favor of durable and roomy eco-bags. The process of biodegradation of plastic lasts more than 400 years.
11. Shop for seasonal, local produce. This will help reduce the environmental pollution produced by the long-distance transportation of exotic fruits.
12. Recycle packaging such as liquid soap and shower gel dispensers.
13. Buy reusable organic diapers. An average of 5,000 regular diapers is used per child, and they take 300 years to decompose.
14. Buy organic products labeled with special labels - Ecocert, EU Ecolabel, AB, Grüne Punkt, Green Seal, etc.
At work
15. Try to print documents less. Use the back of printed sheets as a draft or for internal communications.
16. Encourage your business to go green - use air conditioning and heating wisely, recycle paper, donate old computer equipment to charities, purchase rechargeable stationery, cartridges and batteries.
17. Avoid plastic cups. Have each employee drink coffee from their own personal mug.
In transport
18. Take long train rides. This type of transport emits ten times less carbon dioxide into the atmosphere than an airplane or a car.
19. The most environmentally friendly way to cover short distances is with your own feet. Walking is good for both the planet and health.
20. Switch to the car pool method - car sharing for city trips. You can cooperate with relatives, friends or work colleagues. Today, there are an average of 1.2 people per car.
Anna Gogoleva
In Russian, there is still no such concept that would fully express the English expression "to go green" (literally: "to go green"). The closest expression is "acquire ecological habits", but in fact it goes much deeper. To go green means changing your mindset and lifestyle so that your every action is of maximum benefit to humanity as a whole. And what could be more useful for humanity than an attempt to preserve nature, ecology and resources that are running out so quickly?
Of course, each person individually can save not so much, but big things always start small. It's like cleaning: no one person can clean the whole city, but if everyone cleans their own entrance and a small area in front of the house, then the city will become clean.
To help preserve the environment, first of all, you need to spend as few resources as possible, which means reducing the amount of consumption of goods at the same time. Also, keep a close eye on any garbage you may produce. The smaller it is, the better. Almost everyone will be associated with these principles: consume less and litter less.
Fewer resources
1. Reduce your water and gas consumption
This is not as difficult to do as it sounds. First, put counters everywhere. This will help you keep track of exactly how much you're spending, and it's also likely that you'll pay less.
Secondly, do not turn on the water unnecessarily when washing dishes, washing your face or brushing your teeth.
Thirdly, if there is a choice between taking a shower and a bath, then choose a shower.
Fourthly, for the cold period, cover the wall space behind the battery with 2-3 layers of foil. This will reflect heat into the room, and the amount of energy available for heating will decrease.
Fifth, put a boiler to heat cold water. Not only environmentally friendly, but also cheaper.
2. Reduce your electricity consumption
First of all, walk around the rooms and replace all the light bulbs with LEDs and energy-saving ones. They cost a little more, but they shine brighter and last much longer, so in general they come out much cheaper than usual ones.
Next, you should check the habit of turning off the lights in those rooms where you are not now. In large rooms (hall, living room, bedroom), where you spend a lot of time, it makes sense to carry out zonal lighting, that is, lamps, sconces and floor lamps only for the corner where you spend most of your time. And turn on a large chandelier from above only when it is really needed. In addition, zonal lighting is also more comfortable.
Some amount of electricity can be saved with the help of the so-called "passive" consumption. Your electrical appliances, especially computers and televisions, use some power even when they are turned off but the cord is connected to the mains. Unplug the cord at night or weekends when not in use.
3. Pay attention to things from recycled products
In Russia, the list of items made from recycled products is not very long, but it exists. Research online sources on what you can buy from this list and try to buy this instead of your usual brands of goods, if not always, then at least occasionally.
4. Get around without cars
Try to walk and ride a bike more, and use cars and buses to a minimum, for example, for intercity trips. As public transport, give preference to all types of electric transport: trams, trolleybuses, metro.
But the transition to electric cars popular abroad is actually not so environmentally friendly. The fact is that so many natural resources are spent on the production of one electric car, which is rare at the present time, that pollution and damage to nature are more significant than in the mass production of conventional cars.
5. Use the refrigerator and washing machine properly
The instructions for the refrigerator and washing machine contain a lot of useful tips on ecology, but not everyone reads these pages. Please note that both of these household appliances must be at a certain distance from the wall (then the refrigerator does not overheat and the washing machine does not vibrate). The refrigerator needs to be defrosted from time to time and not put hot things in it. The washing machine must be fully loaded and turned on for 2-3 things only as a last resort. Then they will consume energy resources to a minimum.
6. Use natural remedies instead of chemicals
It is not always possible to replace chemical, but in household chemicals the choice is greater. There are not even hundreds, but thousands of organic recipes for cleaning, washing and cleaning - try a few and choose the ones that suit you. For example, use an essential oil instead of an air freshener, dilute it in water and use it to wash floors. Glasses are perfectly cleaned with an aqueous solution of chalk, and dishes are washed with soda or mustard powder.
7. Shop for seasonal and local produce
When you support a local producer by purchasing local produce and seasonal fruits and vegetables from local growers, you are helping nature a lot. After all, this food did not have to be carried far, and also preserved with preservatives or chemical paraffin from spoilage.
8. Drink less alcohol
In a good way, to help nature, it would be worth becoming a vegetarian, but this is not the kind of advice that should be given to everyone and everyone. But everyone can use, the production of which is very energy-intensive, and the delivery of goods pollutes the environment.
9. Don't buy Christmas trees
In fact, the full advice is: buy live Christmas trees only if you know for sure that they were specially cut down by the forestries for sale. Sometimes the forests need thinning, and besides, many farms grow trees specifically for the holiday, so it is quite reasonable to take them. If you buy a Christmas tree cheaper in a dubious place from your hands, then there is a great chance that you are helping to destroy nature and contribute to illegal logging. If you can't check the source - better buy a couple of coniferous twigs or an artificial tree.
Less shopping
10. Make lists
Impulse buying is a huge percentage, so learn to subdue your desires. Marketers go out of their way to get you to buy something, so it's no surprise that we make random purchases on whim and advertising pressure. Make a shopping list before you go shopping and follow it strictly.
11. Buy quality items
It sounds paradoxical: the more expensive things we buy, the cheaper it comes out. Not entirely true, of course, but it is important if we pay extra money really for quality, and not for the brand. Quality items that cost more than consumer goods last much longer. This means that they do not need to be disposed of once again, and this is environmentally friendly.
12. Forget packages
“Do you need a bag?”, - the cashier's on-duty phrase sounds. A real “environmentalist” always has a ready answer: “No, thanks, I have my own.” And it’s better if it’s not a plastic bag, but a cloth bag. And it will last not a week, but six months, and then there will be no problems with disposal. After all, polyethylene decomposes very poorly, and even when we send it to the trash, it will most likely end up in a state landfill, where the garbage just lies for years and nothing happens to it.
13. Give things a second life
Do not be embarrassed to dress in second-hand clothes and distribute to friends and strangers those things that you no longer need for some reason. After all, why cling to the mortal material world of things at all? We are above it.
14. Avoid surprises
Make surprise gifts only if you are 100 (and even better - 200) percent sure that the person being presented needs them. If there is even a shadow of doubt, it is better to ask in advance what this or that person wants. So you will not contribute to the accumulation of unnecessary things in other people's homes.
15. Keep track of your health
Exercise, eat right and get enough sleep, and get regular check-ups. How is this related to the environment? Yes, very simple. In a healthy body healthy mind. If your body is unhealthy, then it needs to be treated with expensive chemicals that take a lot of ecological resources to produce. A healthy person does not even need vitamins in tablets.
Less trash
16. Sort your trash
Not all waste disposal sites have the option to take it in different ways, but it's still worth a try. Boxes for biodegradable and non-degradable waste are slowly starting to appear even in small towns.
17. Don't use disposable packaging
Minimize your consumption of all plastic and disposable items. Plates, spoons, plastic containers, bags - keep them as few as possible. Purchase goods in bulk, if possible.
18. Dispose of batteries properly
Used batteries can't just be thrown in the trash. Collect them in a separate box, and then take them to the nearest collection point for old batteries. Very often there are such at the entrance to large hypermarkets, but the easiest way is to look for the address on the Internet, it is possible that they are even closer.
19. Do not throw garbage on the street
A simple rule to remember that will never be superfluous. Teach your kids to throw away their trash wherever they go, especially in the wild, on a camping trip, or on a picnic. And feel free to comment to those who litter on the street. If it seems to you that this is too simple and not enough, then take part in a community work day and clean up a small area near your own home, university or place of work.
20. Buy sustainable drinks
Glass and aluminum cans are more environmentally friendly than plastic. Glass, of course, is a little more expensive, but aluminum costs comparable to plastic packaging, so here you can choose a solution for your budget.