WHO MOTIVATED ME TO BE SUSTAINABLE
This is the video I created a while ago trying to encourage you to adopt a more sustainable lifestyle by swapping the plastic water bottle for a reusable insulated stainless steel water bottle. CLICK HERE TO WATCH.
Because #EARTHDAY is EVERYDAY. Yesterday April 22nd was Earth Day. We celebrated the impact us human CAN do to protect and make our world a safer place for us to live in. It’s ironic to think about us being the change for planet earth since the harm we cause to it also comes from us. But yesterday, I was motivated to see how many people joined the social media world to share awareness about sustainable practices.
Today, I wanted to share my process into becoming an advocate for sustainability. I am a beginner, and wouldn’t probably qualify as an enthusiast just yet. But I want to make a change.
I am a big believer that we all care about this, but sometime we find ourselves powerless on how to make an impact. We also live in a world of consumption which empowers companies to overproduce to meet demands. We are not aware of the situation we live in, some times, we get too distracted with this new thing called technology. However, social media, for example, can play a double-edge sword role.
WHO MOTIVATED ME?
Instagram and some of the most influential peoples I follow. My attention was caught by a young lady, called Lauren Singer almost two years ago. She is one of the most influential environmenta activist, entrepreneur and blogger from today’s generation. She motivated me to take action after I bumped into her Instagram account @trashisfortossers . Today I consider myself a tad more conscious about the problems our planet faces with plastic pollution, today I can assure you I embrace more eco-friendly actions; and it all started in Instagram. For that, I strongly believe call for actions are sometimes appreciated, because if you are not interested, you can swipe your finger to the next post. But if it catches your attention, it could have a tremendous impact.
INSTAGRAM ACCOUNTS TO FOLLOW IF INTERESTED ABOUT SUSTAINABILITY:
After wanting to follow Lauren’s footsteps, I became more and more interested in reading about these types of subjects. I started following certain Instagram accounts that create fun interesting content. Some of these accounts are highly interactive and I encourage you to give them a follow. Even if its just to make sure you have an interesting topic to bring to the table next time your are with friends and family.
@worldeconomicforum I am super into this account. I started following them a month ago and all the content they create is super relevant. The talk about current issues in todays world bringing in a wide range of interesting topics from states fighting climate change, to initiative to avoid waste, to the power of lecture and a good nutrition. They also highlight important news in todays world but always brining an outside the box argument.
@wastefreeplanet a site that brings awareness to sustainability. They introduce you to either new zero-waste products and/or ideas easy to incorporate to your lifestyle. Most of my recent transformational ideas I got it from them.
@1percentftp organization that is working on inspiring businesses and individuals to support environmental solutions through annual membership and everyday actions. Some of the brands I have reached out to collaborate with and get products to try out came from here.
@nowthisnews you probably follow them already. They just get you up to date on all the current topics. I freaking love them. I recently learned about a super cool brand named @bitetoothpastebits which is a zero-waste, sustainable toothpaste pill you chew and transform into a foamy creamy toothpaste.
@leonardiodicaprio if you know him a bit you will know that I dont follow him becuase of his looks or acting talent. It is undeniable how good he is on both, but he is even more brilliant as an environmentalist activist. I sign all his petitions to fight against laws, companies and organizations to protect planet earth.
All of these account have the leadership role in common. I try to apply it to my life as well. When you excel in sports or at your job and you become a world-leading figure you are capable to draw awareness to a broader fanbase. However, it is not true that only profesional athletes or successful business people are capable to help out.
Helping out is a broad term. The end goal is to try and make a change for the better. You can help out directly to individuals or to the main source, the world we live in.
Throughout my years as a pro golfer I have help numerous times directly to people in need or associate myself with non-profit organizations. And I will continue to do so. However, I have learned that the best way to truly help the human specie is to target the origin: Earth.
“Earth day is everyday, end plastic pollution”.
Plastic pollution is one of the most important environmental problems that we face today. It impacts the environment and our health and wellbeing. And the saddest thing is that we have all contributed to this problem — most of us unknowingly.
Few inventions in modern history have been as successful as plastic is nowadays. In the last half century we have become dependent to this synthetic material. We rely on it since wake up until we go to bed. We wrap stuff in it, we store our foods in it, and even wear it.
According to an article in BBC that I read the other day, 9.1 billion US tons of plastic has been produced to date. From which only 9% of that waste has been recycled. Recycling became a thing only decades ago, and we must understand recycling only delays its final disposal into the oceans and landfills. It does not eliminate the plastic from Earth, some of the plastic produced will never decompose. When you think about this, it is imposible you don’t become more conscious the next time you buy groceries or home products.
Recycling helps, no doubt about it. Even though it just delays its inevitable disposal, at least we are helping decrease the demand of mas production and hence, create less plastic trash. And this is were I want to make a difference, and I think you can too!
To follow up on more of my readings, some weeks ago I read that in efforts to find a solution to plastic pollution, a research team in University of Stanford found that bacteria in the guts of mealworms can break down plastic. According to Craig Criddle´s research team and student Anja Brandon `A small population of a thousand worms, might manage to devour 0.32 grams of polyethylene [plastic] in a day. That is still not lightning fast. But it is quicker than waiting for it to break down in a landfill.
How about that?
Moving on.
Becoming another Lauren Singer, is pretty hard. The commitment involved to change your lifestyle that drastically is unreachable for some of us. There is also the economic part of it, even though you might end up saving money in the long run; it could be a sensitive lifestyle to bring into a low income household.
Being the loyal environmental activist she is, Laura inspired all of us with her zero waste life campaign. In one of her TED talks [ click her to watch], she showed the amount of trash she accumulated in her last 3 years, and it only came up to a simple jar!
I want to close the blog post with her video because I strongly believe there is nothing more powerful than how she speaks. I will come to you guys with steps on how I became more sustainable and some of the products I substituted to achieve my goals.
Thanks for listening, please share with me some of your initiatives and routines you have incorporated to your life that I could do too!
Love,
B