As the curtain falls on another decade in this century it’s time to reflect on the past and look forward to the future. New Year’s resolutions are a requisite item to cross off your list when the ball drops. Without them your New Year’s Day would not be complete. Unfortunately, only 8% of those who make New Year’s resolutions successfully incorporate them permanently into their lives. The main reason for this high rate of failure is that the goals are typically set too high. We are shooting for the moon instead of trying to hit a wall in our home.
The most common resolutions are eating healthier and exercising more. Again, by the end of the first week of January most have failed, and the rest will be done by the end of the month. Instead of basing your resolutions on your own personal health improvements, which we are not going to follow through on anyhow, perhaps we can look at doing things that are a bit less intrusive into our daily lives and help our environment in the process. Perhaps we can make a difference without really making significant changes.
Take water bottles as an example. If everyone reduced their use of disposable water bottles by 10% we would prevent 52 billion bottles from entering the waste stream in 2020. Let that marinate for a moment, 52 billion bottles eliminated from the waste stream. Just with a very small reduction in our usage. Go here or here for articles on our bottle usage. There are any number of options for refillable water bottles. There are BPA free plastic bottles, stainless bottles, hydration packs, and the list goes on and on. So instead of vowing to give up doughnuts for the year, which a doughnut free world is too horrific to think about, consider reducing or eliminating your use of single serve plastic water bottles. A world without 52 billion water bottles is a world that is much better.
Another idea would be to commit to planting a tree this year, or seven, or 25. This is another impactful idea. Planting a tree can have all sorts of positive effects on our environment from controlling erosion and storing carbon to providing food and cover for wildlife. Here is an article on those benefits. This is something that is simple and easy to do and can be done in a few minutes. Not like committing to exercising everyday. Who wants to get up at 5 am and hit the gym? Nobody that I know. So instead, get yourself a few trees in the spring and pop them in the ground, then get yourself a crisp cold IPA and relax, you deserve it.
What about committing to helping our local pollinators? The plight of our bees and butterflies has been well documented and there are solutions everyone can implement around their own environment to help. Planting milkweed for monarchs and wildflowers for pollinators can help reverse the loss of habitat that has occurred. This one will take a bit more work, but in an afternoon, you can convert an area in your yard to this type of habitat and the best thing is that it will be the gift that keeps giving. Not only will you create a haven for the bees, butterflies, and hummingbirds in your neighborhood but if done right, you will also reduce the size of your yard and that will mean less mowing in the future. I don’t know anyone who gets up in the morning and says, “I wish I had more lawn to mow.”
None of these are going to move the conservation needle on a global scale nor in the whole scheme of things are they going to have much of an impact on your local environment. If you really thought about how large some of our problems are you would end up in a fetal position sucking your thumb in a corner of your bedroom not wanting to go outside. However, if everyone did nothing, then nothing would get done. The point is to at least do something that is within your control. These small incremental changes will add up to huge benefits over time. So instead of vowing to give up pizza, which is a bit irrational, make a vow to end your love affair with single use plastic water bottles.
留言