Five small changes we can try to do to help Mother Earth

In the Philippines, summer runs from March to May. But the past years, we can still feel the summer heat until August to September. We’ve read and heard on the news that glaciers and ice caps are melting, causing sea levels to rise. Greenhouse gas emissions are the leading cause of Climate Change resulting in different impacts like extreme weather events and changing wildlife populations and habitats. Because of the negative results, people are joining different movements to help reverse or slow down the effects of Climate Change. We have to start somewhere, and all the little lifestyle change can add up to massive effect. Here are top five small changes we can try to do to help mother earth.

1. Buy products without or minimal packaging

Innovation is on the rise. More sustainable products are available in the market like bar soaps and shampoos, which use less packaging than those in bottles.

2. Regrow kitchen scraps

Growing your own produce can help you in a lot of ways – reduce waste, save you money and help the environment by increasing sources of oxygen. Most fruits and vegetables sold in the supermarket are wrapped in plastics. Also, having your own produce will less likely expose you to toxic chemicals like pesticides.

3. Bring your own container

More and more stores are allowing people to bring their own container to cut down the amount of plastic and packaging wastes. You can bring your tumbler when ordering a drink at Starbucks or use your own reusable container when buying meat in the supermarket.

4. Ditch disposables

There are items we can slowly swap to a more sustainable alternatives like cloth pads for diapers, menstrual cups for napkins or tampons, and cleaning cloth instead of paper towels.

5. Take advantage of what is free

Nature has given us free things in life that we need to take advantage of. For example, we can collect rainwater that can be used for flushing the toilet or cleaning the car. Or instead of using the dryer to dry clothes, opt for line drying – not only saves you money, but it is also a good form of exercise.