5 Habits for a Healthier Earth

Positive or negative, the things we do, eat and buy each day have an impact on the environment. So why not start habits that make the planet healthier? In honor of Earth Day, here are some you can try.

Put more plants in and around your home.

Plants are great for making your surroundings look—and feel—better. Did you know they clean the air in a process called photosynthesis? First, plants absorb energy from sunlight. Then they use it to turn water in their soil and carbon dioxide in the air into nutrients to feed themselves. Finally, they release health-giving oxygen into the air. How cool is that?

Find your Foodprint.

Just like your footprint leaves your personal impression on a hiking trail, your foodprint is the mark your food choices leave on the planet. Want to know how your eating habits play out around the globe? Take this fun short quiz at https://foodprint.org/. You can also get details on how to adopt more world-healthy eating habits.

Help save the bees.

All over the world, bees are dying in shockingly high rates. This puts the lives of animals and people at risk too because bees pollinate apples, almonds, coffee, squash—one third of the food we eat, which might disappear. You can help by planting wildflowers or other pollinator-friendly plants, reducing use of pesticides or donating to bee-protection funds.

Get the right lights.

The price of regular light bulbs may be less than LED lights. But LED bulbs last nearly 50 times longer and consume much less power and don’t emit as much carbon dioxide. These facts mean LED bulbs minimize greenhouse gas emissions, vastly lower your energy bill, don’t need to be disposed of as often—and are much better for the environment.

Go outside for a few minutes, or a lot.

Recent studies prove it: Connecting with nature makes you more likely to try to protect it, especially if you do it regularly. Then the great outdoors returns the favor, because being in nature helps reduce your mental and physical stress, even if it’s only for a short while. So take a break. It’s good for the environment!

The sooner people begin these habits, the happier our Earth Days will be—and the longer we’ll be able to celebrate them.

Sources:

www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2020/02/200213090912.htm

https://foodprint.org/

https://thebeeconservancy.org/

http://exclusive.multibriefs.com/content/the-environmental-benefits-of-led-lighting/facilities-grounds#:~:text=LED%20bulbs%20consume%20less%20power,by%20almost%20half%20a%20ton.