In 2018, we were warned by the UN that we had 12 years left on Earth until global warming heated the world to a temperature too high to come back from. Activists around the globe have since begun lessening their environmental footprints and sharing their tips.
The four major environmental footprints, discussed by carbonfootprintsofnations.com, are the carbon footprint, fossil energy footprint, water footprint, and land footprint.
Carbon footprints are created in our daily lives by what we choose to consume, how we travel, and how we dispose or reuse our waste. Dorothy Neufeld on Visualcapitalist.com wrote the article “The Carbon Footprint of the Food Supply Chain”. In this study, Neufeld included a chart regarding each food we consume and the carbon footprint it has.
This image shows that the consumption of meat and some dairy have the largest carbon footprints. Knowing this, many Americans have opted to cut these things out of their diets. Many Americans have cut meat out of their diet.
Gallup.com shared a two-week study in September 2019, asking Americans about their diet and meat consumption. The poll showed three out of ten nonwhite, democrat females have cut meat out of their diet, and 23 percent of Americans of all genders, races, and political parties have cut out meat as well. This study also said that seven out of ten people who cut out meat did this for environmental reasons, aside from their health. Lastly, they concluded about five percent of Americans claim to be vegetarian.
With the rise of vegetarianism came the rise of social media, at nearly the same time. Instagram, Youtube, and Twitter users have begun using their platforms to share their tips on a smaller-footprint lifestyle. The Youtube and Instagram user @Itsblitzzz, who’s real name is Julia, is not only an ASMR (autonomous sensory meridian response, meant to relax the body and mind) enthusiast, but has created numerous videos and posts regarding her low-waste lifestyle, vegetarian diet and ethical shops she purchases from.
Julia shares an Instagram photo of her travel toiletries, makeup, skincare, and hygiene products and says,
“My routine is not perfect, not fully zero waste (is anyone’s actually?), and changes periodically. I am always trying to improve my consumer choices, purchase ethically, and lessen consumption while using up what I already have to prevent waste. These are products that are effective for me currently and mostly what I am using at home in LA too.”
These products include a reusable, silicone menstrual cup, a bar of soap, makeup and serums in glass jars, and only a handful of plastic materials. While she said, this is not perfect, and plastic is the oceans leading cause of pollution according to plastic-pollution.org, this is a great start to a lower waste lifestyle.
As for producers, it is the manufacturer and designers’ jobs to shrink their footprint by choosing ethical production, materials, and shipping processes, if they wish to do so. One company trying to lower their waste is the Package Free Shop. I learned about this shop from Julia who posts about their products regularly.
The Package Free Shop is one of the many producers prioritizing a low waste and low environmental footprint in their products and shipping process. Their website also shares “We’ve diverted over 26,245,944 plastic straws from landfills!“ Lauren Singer, the CEO of Package Free Shop, also publishes articles on their website, relating to low waste gift-giving, shopping, cooking, cleaning, traveling, and plenty of other ideas. In January 2018, Singer wrote in the article “Ten Waste Free Changes That Don’t Cost Any Money”,
“JUST SAY NO– no to plastic straws, no to disposable napkins, no to plastic utensils and bags. Saying no is free, boosts your confidence, and prevents tons and tons of waste!”
Essentially, this is the best way to live a more sustainable, ethical, and environmentally friendly life. Just saying no to meat, plastic, and nonreusable things can make a larger difference if we all do it together.
These are just a few of the people and products taking the steps to shirk their environmental footprint. As time goes on, it is crucial for us to make more conscious efforts in what we consume, or climate change will negatively affect our lives for the rest of mankind. However, we can only do so much as consumers and singular people.
Thankfully, countries around the world have begun strategizing how they can contribute to aiding in this climate crisis. Sciencedirect.com shares Maria Da Graca Carvalho’s study on EU Energy and Climate Change Strategy. Carvalho’s paper discusses how Europe can reduce up to 20 percent of their greenhouse gas emissions, and by 2020, with an international agreement, they should be down a total of 30 percent, all by switching to renewable energy.
LThomps Art 