Reusable Water Bottles:
This is probably the easiest way to start reducing our carbon footprint. You can find reusable bottles in almost any store from Starbucks to Target to your local grocery store. They now come in a plethora of colors, shapes and sizes; I literally bought one the other day that holds almost 40oz of water!!!! That is over half of the recommended daily water intake for the average American. I think the priciest one I have seen (I own this one too) is the one from Starbucks at about $11.95 and I can fill that bad boy up for pennies a day. Of course we all know that water bottles pile up in our landfills but that isn't even the worst part of why you should make the switch. Here are 3 facts about the production of water bottles:
1. 3 times the amount of water in the bottle is used to make just the bottle alone!
2. 17 million barrels of oil are used in one year to make bottles, that amount of oil could fuel one million cars for a year!
3. The waste and Carbon Dioxide emitted by the factories is far worse for the planet then the bottles in landfills themselves.
When Sheryl Crown was diagnosed with Breast Cancer she admitted that she drank a lot of bottled water that had been left in her car and the dioxins in those bottles contributed to her cancer. 95% of the reusable bottles I have seen are BPA free. Bottom line, go buy one of these reusable bottles and save the planet's green, a little green of your own and reap the health benefits of being BPA free.
Reusable bags:
I have to admit when I first bought my reusable bags I forgot them in the car 50% of the time, I used to think 'oh well next time.' Now I feel horrible if I forget my bags and will either carry my Target loot to the car or run back to the car to get the bags. For literally a dollar a bag I am not sure why some people leave the grocery store with 500 grocery bags or bag things like their bananas in the produce bags. I know sometimes, for example when you buy meat, it is a necessary evil but lets be real your bananas aren't going to leak on the other food in your cart. Everyday when I take my oldest to school I see tons of these bags strewn along the freeway and it breaks my heart. The flowers have started to bloom in Southern California and what catches my eye the most are these bags drifting along or caught on a bush. I do sometimes get these bags at the grocery store and I use them for various things like garbage liners or to put dirty diapers in when we are out and about. In Canada where my mom lives they charge 5 cents a plastic bag, you better believe most people do not forget their reusable bags. Three facts about plastic bags:
1. 12 million barrels of oil are used in the production every year.
2. Only 1-2% of all plastic bags get recycled each year.
3. Thousands of marine animals and an estimated 1 million birds die each year as a result of plastic pollution, most confuse it with food and die from trying to consume it.
These are two simple things you can do to make a huge difference for our planet and for those we share it with.
Till Next Blog
Recycle, Reduce, Reuse
T.Sadd
P.S. One of my favorite quotes from Modern Family:
"I haven't been judged by this many people since I forgot my canvas bags at Whole Foods." ~Mitch
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