Earth Day 2023 is less than a month away! The holiday is dedicated to showing our support for the environment and earth as a whole. Although it is technically one day, we can choose to celebrate the earth every day, and the best way to do this is by making conscious decisions to help the environment. Here are a list of simple things you can do to become more sustainable this Earth Day. 

1. Shop Local 

Now that it is spring, and warmer weather is approaching, a super easy way to become more sustainable is shopping local. Instead of buying all of your groceries at big name stores like Target and Walmart, consider attending local farmer’s and food markets for your shopping needs. Shopping local doesn’t only support small businesses, but it also helps to reduce the amount of fossil fuels used for transportation of products. These locally grown foods and locally made product are often great quality, and definitely a good way to protect the environment.

2. Un-plug Energy Vampires 

How often do you leave devices or lamps plugged-in to outlets throughout the day, even when they are not being used? Probably all the time, without even realizing it. It is incredibly important to un-plug devices when we are done using them because they could be energy vampires. Energy vampires are appliances or devices that continue to drain energy even after they are powered off. These “vampires” are wasting energy, so by simply un-plugging your devices, you could significantly reduce your energy use, all while helping the environment. 

3. Find Reusable Products 

One of the worst things for the environment is single use products. They require lots of resources to produce and are only used once before they are thrown away. The biggest culprits are plastic shopping bags and plastic water bottles. Most of the time these items are produced, used, then instantly thrown into the trash. By bringing sustainable shopping bags (like a tote bag) to the store and purchasing one reusable water bottle, you’re extremely reducing your plastic use and waste, and helping to preserve the earth.

4. Reduce Greenhouse Gas Emissions 

As many people know, car emissions have been one of the biggest issues regarding the environment for a while. One possible solution is to buy an eco-friendly car that doesn’t require fuel to run, but this is not a viable option for most people. Instead, try to carpool with friends or family whenever it’s possible. This will help to reduce the amount of greenhouse gas emissions from car exhaust. Another simple thing that everyone could do is turning your car off when you are parked and not actively driving. As someone who is guilty of this, oftentimes it is so cold in the mornings that we keep our cars running for an extra 15 to 30 minutes before going into school to keep the car warm. By simply turning off our cars in the mornings, we could make a difference in the amount of CO2 and greenhouse gas emissions from vehicles. 

If you care about the environment and have been wanting to become more sustainable but didn’t know where to start, these are four simple things that anyone can do to help this Earth Day. No matter how small something may seem, if everyone starts to make changes then we can really make a difference and protect the environment.