Boosting your environmental conscious & why it matters
Daily, we see evidence of a collective shift towards a more environmentally friendly global conscious. McDonald’s has pledged to eliminate foam packaging and is committing to sourcing their packaging from 100% recycled or renewable material by the year 2025, retail giants such as Walmart and Costco are introducing a surcharge for single-use bags or swapping out plastic bags entirely for compostable alternatives. We see encouragement to adapt a more plant-based lifestyle in our food guides, ecofriendly stores popping up all around, and grocery stores offering zero-waste “bulk” options.
But what about us? Why is it important to boost your environmental conscious? What does it mean to adhere to a more “environmentally-conscious” way of living? In this blog, we break down how you can up your environmental conscious and why it is so important.
Being environmentally aware leads to better choices.
Getting to know a little more about your impact on the environment and the small things you can do to make a change can go a long way to helping you make better choices. For instance, did you know that your household cleaners may be contributing to chemicals in our waterways? Opt for nontoxic chemicalless cleaners as an alternative the next time you take on a spring cleaning ‘venture. Were you aware that a single gallon of milk could require twice as much water to produce as the same amount of almond milk? This number decreases even further if you ditch both dairy and almond and opt for oat or soy.
These small-known facts can help contribute to your better choices, helping to reduce your impact on the environment and start on your journey to becoming more environmentally conscious. There are plenty of environmental documents on Netflix and other streaming platforms you can watch to learn more about our Earth and the small ways we can be more “aware” which can later translate to better choices that will support our surroundings. Some great ones include Seaspiracy, Chasing Coral Sustainable, and Mission Blue.
A safe and thriving environment = a safe and thriving humanity.
We may not think about it everyday, but our environment’s wellbeing directly impacts ours. When pollutants contaminate our environment, they affect us, too. They disturb our ecosystems, killing off prey animals by harming or destroying their food sources and thereby squandering the availability of meat for many predators. Pollution can exist in numerous forms, including in the air, in the water, dirt, and even in light, heat, noise, and radioactivity .
We have seen the release of sulfur dioxide from factory fumes and chimneys directly increasing rates of global warming and increasing the chance of acid rain. This can increase our temperatures and cause unexpected and sometimes even erratic weather events, like heavy rainfall or droughts. Increased percentages of smoke in our air may even increase the chance that we can develop asthma or, worse, lung cancer.
Water pollution can prove to be a huge threat, too. One of these instances where our industrial waste imbalances water systems and causes mass death of aquatic species. This can directly influence our water systems and influence the rates of water-borne diseases, such as dysentery and cholera.
All in all, we depend on our environment. If we want to keep healthy and safe, we should make choices that help to keep our environment safe as well.
By protecting the environment, we give back to future generations.
Do you ever think of how life might look in decades, even centuries? Do you think about your children or future children and how they might react to the world around them? One of the best ways to ensure you are preserving a better future for later generations is by treating the environment well. We make the planet better not only for ourselves in the now, but for many more generations of humans to live on and enjoy. It also makes us feel better to think about protecting the environment in a way that helps to give to others rather than to benefit ourselves.
There is nothing better than the beauty of nature.
Beyond all the benefits for our health, our ecosystems, our water, air, soil, etc., there is nothing more peaceful than spending time in the great outdoors, sightseeing, hiking, camping, or simply enjoying a day that is filled to the brim with adventures that only nature can supply. Nature has contributed to some of the most amazing artwork in the world as well as to a whole host of literature, even supporting an entire era of poetry. One of the reasons we travel is to explore the different aspects of nature that our Earth has to offer – and it simply would not be unless we were on top of our environmental conscious and behaviours that directly affect the environment.
Ever wanted to visit beautiful Yosemite National Park? Or Glacier National Park? The Grand Canyon? These great national parks simply would not be unless we were tough on ensuring we are making the right decisions with the environment in mind: travelling by car less, reducing the amount of waste we produce, adhering to a more plant-based diet, and choosing reusables over single-use items wherever possible. After all, we only get one Earth!
Plant a tree (or three) with Panda7.
Panda7 wants to work with its happy customers by giving back to the environment and our surrounding communities. We plan to do this by planting a tree for every renter’s or auto quote received – and triple that for every policy purchased! Our plan is to plant 1 million trees by 2030. It won’t be easy, but it starts with you. You can request a quote today or check out our Giveback page for more information.
