From the NYT’s Student Opinion prompts: “Do you think you make good climate choices?”
To be honest, probably not. I know I am conscious of how long I am using the water in the shower, turning off the lights in rooms that no one is in, I drive a hybrid car, and I turn off the faucet when I brush my teeth. These are the basics, however.
I strive to be climate conscious, but those are only a few aspects and decisions I make on a daily basis. For example, I try to minimize the amount of water I use in the shower, but what about the potentially harmful plastic bottles that contain the soaps. I can barely clearly recall a single time I took their empty plastic shells and recycled them. I turn off the lights in my room, but I don’t always unplug chargers that I am not using because I will just “use them later so there is no need to unplug them”. Although I drive a hybrid car, that is not to say that I am not contributing to the immense amount of carbon emissions that pollute the air every single day. I turn off the faucet when I brush my teeth, but what about the “polypropylene plastic and nylon” in my toothbrush?
Along with all of those shortcomings, I still sometimes eat meat, buy from large companies, and occasionally travel (though, not as of the past year of course). I still make mistakes because I am human and humans are needy and sometimes even selfish. It is especially difficult to make the “harder” decision to be active and more conscious of your climate choices because we are so used to everything being at our fingertips, or as easy as the flip of a switch, but especially because most people just aren’t even educated on the subject.
Even though I don’t necessarily think I make good climate choices all the time, that doesn’t mean that I have to give up. There is always room for improvement, especially when it comes to doing your part for the planet we all live on.
Here are some tips on how to be conscious and a fun quick quiz on your knowledge of the difference you can make for the climate!
TIPS: https://climatechoice.co
QUIZ: https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2020/08/30/climate/climate-footprint-quiz.html?mtrref=www.google.com&gwh=BCBA3275639936CB20824D99CF87D1B7&gwt=regi&assetType=REGIWALL
-
Sources:
https://www.onegreenplanet.org/environment/plastic-toothbrushes-waste/
To be honest, probably not. I know I am conscious of how long I am using the water in the shower, turning off the lights in rooms that no one is in, I drive a hybrid car, and I turn off the faucet when I brush my teeth. These are the basics, however.
I strive to be climate conscious, but those are only a few aspects and decisions I make on a daily basis. For example, I try to minimize the amount of water I use in the shower, but what about the potentially harmful plastic bottles that contain the soaps. I can barely clearly recall a single time I took their empty plastic shells and recycled them. I turn off the lights in my room, but I don’t always unplug chargers that I am not using because I will just “use them later so there is no need to unplug them”. Although I drive a hybrid car, that is not to say that I am not contributing to the immense amount of carbon emissions that pollute the air every single day. I turn off the faucet when I brush my teeth, but what about the “polypropylene plastic and nylon” in my toothbrush?
Along with all of those shortcomings, I still sometimes eat meat, buy from large companies, and occasionally travel (though, not as of the past year of course). I still make mistakes because I am human and humans are needy and sometimes even selfish. It is especially difficult to make the “harder” decision to be active and more conscious of your climate choices because we are so used to everything being at our fingertips, or as easy as the flip of a switch, but especially because most people just aren’t even educated on the subject.
Even though I don’t necessarily think I make good climate choices all the time, that doesn’t mean that I have to give up. There is always room for improvement, especially when it comes to doing your part for the planet we all live on.
Here are some tips on how to be conscious and a fun quick quiz on your knowledge of the difference you can make for the climate!
TIPS: https://climatechoice.co
QUIZ: https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2020/08/30/climate/climate-footprint-quiz.html?mtrref=www.google.com&gwh=BCBA3275639936CB20824D99CF87D1B7&gwt=regi&assetType=REGIWALL
-
Sources:
https://www.onegreenplanet.org/environment/plastic-toothbrushes-waste/
I think you did a good job on this blog post. You were honest, saying that you aren't 100% perfect, but still talking about the good things you do do. I particularly liked the sentence, "Even though I don’t necessarily think I make good climate choices all the time, that doesn’t mean that I have to give up." I think that's something really important that isn't talked about enough. Great post!
ReplyDeleteI think that this blog post is really great, and I appreciate your honestly with yourself. It is really easy to get bogged down and feel that there is no point in making personal climate choices, but I'm really glad that you have such an optimistic perspective. I think that it's really important to remember that we are human and are bound to make mistakes and always have ways to improve and grow in our choices.
ReplyDeleteI like how you put the quiz in at the end of the post. It was helpful to organize how my daily routine impacts the environment. I like how optimistic you are about growing and making better decisions in the future.
ReplyDelete