How to “sea” change

Being in a born and raised Californian, I have learned the importance of the environment as well as wanting to keep our world blue and green. But, can we also make it clean? Maintaining a clean planet will have a huge impact on us because it can only be beneficial. Examples:

A clean environment helps animals and their inhabitants

no toxic wastes in the oceans,

litter that is harmful to animals,

- Our health can only improve

Walking or riding our bikes can help us with exercise

Clean air is good for our lungs.

Can keep plants and flowers healthy

We can save money:

Carpooling which can save gas money

Not paying for plastic bags (We pay for bags in California)

Recycling cans and bottles

These are just some of the things that are beneficial for our planet and if we can do anything at all, whether big or small, it will have a great impact for our planet. I will write about what I do to help our planet and then I will write about what I want to do for our planet.

What I do:

So, sometimes I do not feel that I do too much for our planet or the environment. Yet, I try to do something either way. So for the past couple of years, I have been recycling bottles and cans. At first, I did this for a little pocket money, but then I found myself picking up cans and bottles from the streets (pre-Covid). It felt good to collect and clean bottles and cans because it made the streets less cluttered, Furthermore, it can be hot in California. During the summertime, I do not use my air conditioner in the morning and instead of using the air conditioner all night, I turn on the fan as well as open my windows and wear less clothing. But the one thing that I have taken to doing now more than ever, is not driving to places that are short distance. My sister lives less than one minute from her grocery store. Now, I would usually drive to the store. However, I thought to myself: Why do I need to drive and waste gas to go to the store for five things? It is beneficial that I walk because I am using less carbon emission. Speaking of the grocery store, in California you have to pay for bags at the store. It can range between 10 cents per bag to 25 cents. It used to be irritating to have to pay for plastic bags but one thing that I have came across doing is using tote bags or using a huge purse bag. Even my parents have gotten more eco-friendly. My father loves to garden and lately, he has been making compost to help with his gardening. He takes peelings, egg shell and other stuff from food to help him with his gardening. My mother has also decided to take recycling more seriously and separates our recycling from garbage. We have even refrain from throwing garbage out of the window (I know its bad, but we now have learned better and stopped doing this). Over the years, I was not too eco-friendly, but now I am learning. I do not feel like I do enough, but I know I am doing something and it has led me to want to do more.

What I want to:

I want to do more! I do not just want to do things because I have to. I want to do things because I want to and now, I am more determined now more than ever to do things for our planet. I never told anyone this, but for my birthday, I always wanted to go to the beach and clean up the garbage at the beach. For starters, I love the beach but I also feel that a beach is an utopia and it should be clean for our animals. Garbage can be dangerous to the animals, especially at places like the beach. Think about the plastic six pack rings and how dangerous it is when they are not cut. It can suffocate the animals. Or the plastic straws that are dangerous for the oceans. Cleaning a beach might seem difficult, time consuming and unsanitary, but doing something like this more beneficial and beautiful for our environment.

Conclusion:

We do not have to do a lot for our planet, but if everyone did something, it can only improve our planet. In 2020, when the global lockdown occurred, carbon emission was so low that the air quality in the world improved. Reading about the improvement of low carbon emission was the reason why I started to walk to the grocery store, mailbox or the drugstore more often instead of driving. If we pick up after ourselves more often, then it can lead to the earth being cleaner and healthier for that matter. Some tips that can help as well:

If you do not want to recycle your bottle and cans, reuse them for other things:

Flower pots, christmas decorations, etc.

Take public transportation to work, carpool more often, or find other transportation methods that can reduce carbon emission.

Instead of throwing away paper, reuse paper

My niece and nephew are always cutting up paper, so instead of throwing away scraps, we use them and make arts and craft pictures with them

Might be a little extreme, but brush your teeth and shower at the same time to reduce the use of water.

Don’t spit in the shower!

You can reuse the plastic bottles, fill them with water and freeze them so they can be used as ice packs in the summer.

Wear more clothes in the winter when you cold

Use candles to reduce electricity

These are just a few simple, fun and zany things that some can do to help with our environment. While it may take awhile to help our planet, we can help improve our planet. We can reduce our carbon emission and our carbon footprint one step at a time and work towards keeping our planet blue, green and clean.