Yes, the sixth mass extinction is not entirely your fault; still, this does not suggest there is nothing we can do about preserving Earth’s biodiversity.
Therefore, I present to you a compilation of simple actions anybody can apply to help reduce loss in biodiversity:
1. Plant a Bee Garden
Action:
Plant Lavender, a reliable source of pollen, with pesticide-free seeds. You only need a plot of land to be sufficient (e.g., a window container or rooftop).
Effect(s):
Supports the declining population of bees, who are essential to our ecosystems and are responsible for 75% of our crop production and 80% of pollination worldwide .
Statistics: Honey bee pollination alone adds more than $15 billion in value to agricultural crops each year in the United States.
2. Grow your own food (or buy local)
Action:
Start an indoor and/or outdoor garden (I personally use Back to the Roots products) or buy from your local farmer’s market.
Effect(s):
Decreases air and climate pollution, lessens consumption and demand for harmful fossil fuels (with a bonus of eating both healthier and tastier food).
Key Statistic: It is estimated that we currently put nearly 10 kilo calories of fossil fuel energy into our food system for every one kilo-calorie of energy we get as food.
3. Do not idle by on cars
Action:
Turn off your car when parked and idling for more than 30 seconds.
Effect(s):
Decreases air and climate pollution, lessens consumption and demand for harmful fossil fuels and also saves money and fuel economy.
Key Statistic: Ending personal vehicle idling would be the same as taking 5 million vehicles off the road nationally.
4. Wash your car at a car wash instead (once)
Action:
Go to the local car wash (they often recycle and reuse rinse water) at least once per year.
Effect(s):
Increased water available to local streams, wetlands and their natural inhabitants and fewer water projects, thus maintaining the health of aquatic environments.
Key Statistic: 8.7 Billion gallons of water would be saved this year if every American who washes their car at home went to a car wash just once instead.
5. Go vegetarian once per week
Action:
Eat one less meat-based meal a week.
Effect(s):
Reduces water pollution and green house gas emissions due to animal agriculture. In addition, it conserves both water (2,400 gallons to produce 1 pound of meat) and habitat (7 football fields of land are bulldozed worldwide every minute because of farm animals).
Key Statistic: For each hamburger that originated from animals raised on rainforest land, approximately 55 square feet of forest have been destroyed.
6. Invest in your own coffee cup
Action:
Invest in a reusable cup for your morning joe.
Effect(s):
Cut down on the massive waste that saturates landfills and invades biological habitats (with the added bonus of keeping your beverage warm and tasty for longer periods).
Key Statistic: 25 billion coffee cups are thrown away in the US each year (with just 1 in 400 cups being recycled).
7. Buy in bulk
Action:
Buy drinks, snacks and other food items in bulk and use those reusable containers each day (be wary of double-packaging).
Effect(s):
Minimizes the amount of plastic waste polluting our environment by reducing the amount of packaging per unit item. Most plastic packaging contains harmful chemicals that can leach into water and soil, adversely affecting both the environment and the food chain.
Key Statistic: Containers and packaging make up a major portion of municipal solid waste, amounting to 77.9 million tons of generation (29.7% of total generation).
8. Rock the vote
Action:
If you live in the US, the most important thing you can do is vote (in every election) for representatives who care about the environment and are committed to stopping climate change.
Effect(s):
Supporting leaders who care about nature can lead to a variety of impacts including finding alternatives to fossil-fuels and growing crops more efficiently.
Key Statistic: Currently 57% of Americans say global warming will harm their neighbors, 56% say it will harm their family and 49% say it will harm them personally.
9. Start a blog
Action:
Create a blog to promote human interest in the loss of biodiversity.
Effect(s):
Blogs are a promising tool for disseminating complex findings on biodiversity loss, as they are easier to comprehend and are targeted at a broader audience compared to scientific publications. Yet, there are not enough blogs about biodiversity conservation.
Key Statistic: Even accounting for the existence of psuedoscience blogs, there are only several thousand blogs promoting biodiversity compared to the 500 million that currently exist.
I am not demanding that you adhere to every single paradigm shift discussed above; rather, just try your very best to do your part in preserving the Earth we all share and are inherently responsible for.
Take what you learned and advocate for the conservation of biodiversity in any way you possibly can. If you get discouraged along the way, remember that even a single tweet can have the potential to inspire millions:
Global problems require global efforts. Do you got the horses in the back? Feel free to leave your thoughts and comments below.
Love to see this every day !
Just remember, we only have one Earth.