It’s no surprise that the environment is in peril. The modern age of industry has not been kind to this pale blue dot, and the most pressing issues of the day are climate change and litter. It can be frustrating to witness these problems going largely unhindered in the face of a bureaucratic slog, but there are actions that an individual can take to do their part to reduce their carbon footprint. Here’s what you need to know.

Look For Sustainable Products

There are countless iterations out there of any given product, and that means that for every product that creates a negative impact on the environment, there are eco friendly alternatives. Finding these alternatives will take some research, but many products you use every day can be replaced with sustainable alternatives. For example, essential oils can create a negative impact on the environment during the distillation process, but Young Living Essential Oils are more ethically produced. However, pursuing eco friendly products can be detrimental if done poorly. For example, buying a bamboo toothbrush is a great way to reduce the detriment to the environment that disposing of a plastic brush entails. However, trashing a perfectly good plastic brush that you already have in favor of the eco friendly alternative is ultimately harmful. On a similar note, electronic toothbrushes can serve as the best of both worlds, as they offer the most effective tool for the job, and the only waste it produces is the brush head that needs replaced periodically.

Switch To Clean, Renewable Energy

One of the most impactful ways that an individual can make a difference is to use green energy. Solar panels can be costly to install, although that cost pays for itself with the money you’ll save on your monthly power bill. Regardless of cost, solar power generates virtually none of the pollution associated with the standard method of burning fossil fuels to produce power. While the process of manufacturing solar panels does produce carbon emissions, it does almost nothing when compared to the consistent use of fossil fuels to generate electricity for a given consumer, let alone everyone that relies on that model of electricity. Solar panels are also fairly compact, meaning that they can be installed virtually anywhere. Furthermore, this also allows you to customize the amount of power you can generate, because you can add individual panels at your leisure. However, solar energy is by its very nature only available during the day, so be sure to install not only solar panels, but also a battery to store excess energy for night time use.

Zero Waste

An unfortunate downside of modern consumerism is that man products come packaged in plastic that serves little purpose and is therefore designed to be trash. The problem with this is the plastic itself, as plastic isn’t biodegradable, meaning that once it goes to the landfill, it just sits there for an estimated 1,000 years. This number is all the more troubling when you realize how many times you’ve thoughtlessly discarded plastic wrappers and how many people do the same. The Zero Waste lifestyle attempts to counter this problem by avoiding the purchase of products packaged in plastic, among other noble goals related to the thoughtless production of waste. The basic premise of the Zero Waste methodology is, for example, avoiding processed products and buying whole ingredients. This does a ton of good when you also bring your own reusable or even paper bags to the grocery store. It’s also worth noting that mushrooms in particular keep better in a paper container than they do in plastic wrapping.

The burden of combating climate change and litter lies not with the individual, but with policy makers. However, policy changes come slowly and are few and far between. This incentivized individuals to take matters into their own hands, at least to what extent they can. Using these tips, you can reduce your carbon footprint, and if enough people follow that same lead, bigger changes will follow.