How to Save the Earth

Can anything you do really matter to the Earth? On a universal scale, no. The Earth will keep on spinning, evolving and sustaining life no matter what humans choose to do. There's much to do, however, to reduce the pressure on our Big Blue Marble's limited resources.

Instructions

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

1. Consume less. Everything people do, including eating (especially meat), watering lawns, heating homes and driving cars, consumes resources. Everything people buy requires resources to produce and ship. Be conscious of all the small decisions you make in your everyday life that increase the total human impact on the planet. See related eHow articles How to Live With Less, How to Live Off the Land and How to End World Hunger.
2. Choose to have fewer (or no) children. The pressure on Earth's resources by its ever-increasing human population is one of the most dire issues that the planet faces.
3. Learn what types of fish are in danger of being overfished and don't buy them at the store or order them in restaurants. The United Nations site offers background information (see Additional Resources). For specific recommendations on which fish are caught and farmed in ways that support a healthy environment, check out Seafood Watch at the Monterey Bay Aquarium's site (in Resources).
4. Consider driving a smaller or hybrid car. Of course, buying a new car equals more consumption, so approach this issue with some caution. But if you're already looking for a new car, get one that's energy efficient.
5. Support international agreements to limit the output of greenhouse gases. Reduce your own energy use as much as possible. See the eHow titled How to Prepare for Skyrocketing Energy Costs.
6. Downsize your life. See Related eHows How to Get Organized and How to Get Rid of What You Don't Want.
7. Buy organic food. Pesticides take a toll on the environment and frequently spawn pesticide-resistant pests. Buying organic food directly from the growers supports small farms and promotes biodiversity. See the eHow on How to Prepare an Organic Vegetable Garden.
8. Lend your energy to protecting the drinking water supply on both micro and macro levels. Access to and availability of clean drinking water is a growing global crisis. Cut back on personal water use with water-wise gardens (How to Design a Dry Garden) and promote development of sound water policies in your town or region (How to Manage Growth in Your Community). Or join forces with scientists working to perfect the difficult and expensive process of desalinization (waterdesalination.com).

Tips & Warnings

• Read 50 Simple Things You Can Do to Save the Earth by the Earthworks Group.
• You can recycle many things, not just newspapers and bottles. Rather than throwing away old lumber, bicycles, furniture and clothes, give them to someone who will put them to use.
• Read the vast array of books by authors dedicated to educating readers on global resources. Rachel Carson's famous Silent Spring is frequently credited with starting the environmental protection movement in the United States. Marc Reisner's Cadillac Desert describes the story of water use (and abuse) in the American West. It's a chilling description of how business and government manipulate the environment to serve economic development.
• Water-related disease is the number one cause of death and responsible for 80 percent of illness worldwide. Investigate online sources such as the Worldwatch Institute or NationalGeographic.com for information on the global water crisis.
• Thorsten Veblen, a 20thcentury American economist, coined the term conspicuous consumption, the intentional buying of unnecessary goods to satisfy vanity and show status.