3 Straightforward Ways to Help Earth Out
Earth could use a hand. Far too much nonsense going on environmentally to just sit back on the hands and do nothing. But here at RGP, we don’t focus on problems — we focus on solutions.
I’m not going to ask you to do something ridiculous like sell your house and move to the woods, ditch the car and walk 15 miles to work, or do something marginal and useless like making wind chimes out of plastic. These are actionable items.
Here’s 3 easy ways to deliver a little benefit to Earth that you can do.
- Donate Old Clothes
Old clothes, particularly fast fashion items, don’t tend to biodegrade. They tend to stick around. In places like Chile’s Atacama desert, clothes just pile up, and stay…for years.
Donating old clothes is not the perfect solution, but in theory, the more people who have clothes, the less people that will buy new clothes. Not only is this an eyesore, but many of these clothes won’t break down. They’ll just sit until they degrade into microplastics which stick around more or less indefinitely.
A couple people donating their clothes won’t make a huge difference, but this article is about doing the little things to make an impact yourself. So unless you want to dedicate your life to taking down fast fashion, just donate your old stuff.
2. Buy Some House Plants
Hell, you don’t even have to buy ‘em. Just take a seed & soil from somewhere and grow one in an old plastic container. Earth could always use more plants. They suck up CO2, spew out oxygen, and bring a little touch of nature to your humble abode.
Not only is it proven that owning plants contributes positively to your mental health, but you also create a little habitat for whatever kinds of creatures need plants around to thrive. It’s a win-win. So get out there, google something that’ll grow well in your house, and water it every once in awhile. You’re helping yourself and the planet.
3. Pick up & Throw out Litter
Not all trash is created equal. A water bottle floating in the Pacific is worse than a water bottle sitting in a landfill. They both got made, they’re both the same amount of biodegradable (not very much), but one is in a place where it’ll cause harm and the other is out of the way.
So you can take it from somewhere harmful and put it somewhere benign.
Everyone goes to the grocery store and inevitably gets some of those plastic bags. Tuck one in your back pocket, and when you see litter on the ground that’s not disgusting, pick it up, toss it in the bag, and throw it out.
To be honest, you don’t even need the bag. If you see a coke can laying on the street, conspicuously near a storm drain, and you can pick it up and toss it?
Do it.
These little actions compound. Everything good in life does not come from some radical overnight shift, but from small progress over time. If you have the chance to help out the planet in small, actionable ways — take action.
It’s that easy.
I’m the biggest proponent of option #3, though all options are easy to mix in.
If you love that we clean trash, every day, 7 days a week (2550 bags cleaned), follow on here, follow on IG @theregrowthproject to keep up with that mission, and subscribe on patreon. I love you. I think it’s true love.
