What are the best ways to save the environment?

Question: What are the best ways to save the environment?
- Keywords:
  environment,
  global
Asked by anon-255923 on 29 May 2020.
- Adam Peters answered on 29 May 2020:
  
  Hi Jamie,
  Many of the best ways to save the environment often involve reducing what we use. We can damage the environment in many different ways, with carbon dioxide emissions that cause climate change, with pollutants that can poison the air, land, or water, and with the amount of natural resources that we use. It is also important to consider the overall impact of what we do, and not just think about things in isolation. Travel is something that we do a lot, and can mean using lots of resources and causing lots of pollution, so travelling less by using technology for video calls can make a big difference. Flying uses lots of resources and causes lots of pollution, so we should only fly somewhere if we really need to. Making choices that reduce damage to the environment can help a lot, so walking or cycling to school, work, or the shops rather than using a car is much better as long as its not too far. The ways that we heat our homes (and schools, shops and offices) is also important, and making sure that we need to make sure that we don’t waste the energy we use to make them warm. Having good insulation in buildings means that whatever we use to heat them we don’t need to use very much of it, so heating bills can be lower too.
- Gareth Mason answered on 29 May 2020:
  
  Because I work in forestry, I would say plant trees! But it has to be the right trees in the right places 🙂 In the bigger picture this means not only looking after the habitats we have already, but working really hard to increase, improve, and restore areas of natural habitat and forests. The more ‘nature’ there is the better, from wildflower patches in your garden, to huge expanses of peat bog in northern Scotland. It is possible to work and live with nature, and that is what we should all be striving for.
- Emma Burns answered on 29 May 2020:
  
  Hi Jamie,
  There are lots of ways we can help the environment, sometimes even the smallest actions can have massive impacts. Easy changes we can all make to our lifestyles include recycling/re-using, walking/taking public transport to work and using various forms of energy (wind, solar etc) in our day to day life.
  Hope this helps answer your question,
  Emma
- Priyan Mistry answered on 29 May 2020:
  
  Hi Jamie,
  
  As others have said, I think it is important to recognise that there are significant contributions that individuals can make to help save the environment. Unfortunately there is not one “silver bullet” that will solve every problem, and it will take a global shift in behaviours to address the challenge. What this means is that the things you do right now can make a difference.
  
  For example, it’s estimated that in the UK we throw away around 23 million slices of bread per week! When food biodegrades it releases greenhouse gases that harm the environment. If we also think about all of the raw materials and energy that have gone into producing that vital food in the first place, and consider that so much is thrown away each day, it’s clear that there is something we can do about our contribution to this – by only buying what we need and minimising what we throw away.
  
  There are many other choices that we can make, such as how we travel; the food we eat; and the clothes we wear that can all have a positive impact. And of course, your choice in career can also be a way to make a difference on a larger scale.
- Sarah Marley answered on 29 May 2020:
  
  By getting people to care about it. People protect what they love. I think not enough people have the time to go out in nature, experience their environment, and learn cool things about the world we live in! If we can help people to take the time to get outdoors and learn more, hopefully that means they’ll start to care more about our planet and take little steps to help protect it.
- Helen Roy answered on 29 May 2020:
  
  Recognising that everyone can make a difference. Small changes can collectively lead to much needed “transformative change”. There are things we can do on our doorsteps such as allowing wildflowers to thrive, by reducing mowing whether it be in gardens or street verges, so that pollinating insects have a continual source of pollen and nectar. Perhaps you could get involved with recording the wildlife we see and contributing to the large-scale datasets that are telling us about the state of nature. Encourage others to do the same. For ideas see https://www.ceh.ac.uk/news-and-media/blogs/discovering-wildlife-your-doorstep The more connected we are with wildlife the better our understanding will be of the environment and so we can make evidence-based decisions that benefit us and nature.
- Holly Grant answered on 29 May 2020:
  
  There are as many ways to save the environment as there are to harm it! Everyone can have an impact, from making small choices in your own live to getting political and speaking up and targeting companies and governments who are contributing most to climate change, pollution and damage to the ecosystem. Just one example of a great way to reduce your carbon footprint is to eat sustainably – plants over animals and processed food – as farming produces huge amounts of carbon dioxide emissions. Buying food from local sources can also reduce on transport emissions. There’s a fun carbon footprint calculator on the BBC website: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-46459714
  Hope this and the other answers help!
- Steve Thackeray answered on 1 Jun 2020:
  
  Hi Jamie, that is a really good question. There are lots of different things that we can all do as individuals. All of these individual actions would then add up to big effects. So, for instance, we could use the car less, in favour of walking and cycling. Or we could look again at how our energy supply is generated, and look for providers that use renewable sources.
  
  Very locally we can work on creating spaces for nature – so maybe leave a part of the garden unmown to benefit wildflowers and pollinators, or create a wildlife pond (https://www.wildlifetrusts.org/actions/how-build-pond). The nice thing about activities like this is that you get to explore the wildlife that appears in your garden – it’s great fun!
- anon answered on 1 Jun 2020:
  
  Hi Jamie! I work with finding alternative and more sustainable materials and packaging for the cleaning industry. I’d say that first of all, it’s all about education! Thee more people are aware of the damages being done to the environment and the more people can take some action, the better!
  
  I would suggest that some of the best ways that anyone can help would be: try to limit our consumption (simple actions like: avoid single-use plastic, only buy the food we’ll really need, turn the lights off on the rooms you’re not in, look for public transport alternatives instead of getting on the car – or walk / cycle if it’s a nice day) and up-cycling (can this glass bottle be used as a flower vase instead of putting it in the bin? Can these clothes be turned into cleaning rags?). Then of course look for recycling and using renewable energy providers.
  
  Of course, if you have passion in the area, you should definitely spread it!
  
  Hope that helps!
- Jessica Gomez-Banderas answered on 3 Jun 2020:
  
  Hi Jamie! There are a bunch of different ways you can help to keep our environment thriving. The most obvious one is don’t litter!! Recycling is very important too and try to walk or cycle as much as possible or take buses to try and do your part to help reduce pollution from cars. The important thing is that everyone contributes in some way as doing something small is better than doing nothing at all!
- anon answered on 3 Jun 2020:
  
  So there are so many different ways of doing this, eating organic food, reducing how much meat you eat, eating raw foods and reducing how much processed food you eat. Buying foods and products without packaging wherever possible. Not buying clothes brand new, and from charity or second hand shops, or buying clothing that has been made from natural substances, such as wool and cotton, and knowing where they have been made and come from. Personal care products, there are many websites that sell ‘naked’ personal care products, such as solid shampoo bars, making your own, using solid washing up liquid or making your own, avoiding cling film and even tinfoil, you can buy silicone covers that act like clingfilm and are microwaveable, beeswax/soywax wraps also act like clingfilm. The list goes on and on here for many ways you can save the environment. Also not driving wherever possible, walking to the shops and buying what you can from shops instead of ordering online.
  Essentially reduce, reuse, refuse, recycle.
  There are many facebook groups that can help you with becoming more environmentally friendly, as there is no one big way to do it, but rather lots of little ways, and lots of research too.
- Linsey Cottrell answered on 4 Jun 2020:
  
  So many ways. Firstly important to realise that pretty much everything we do has an environmental impact in some form or other. Recognising this and being conscious about what we buy and consume can help to make a difference. We can all take a part and make relatively small changes in our lifestyles – eating less meat, walking or cycling more, buying less and picking products that last.

Comments

alinefornear commented on 29 May 2020:

I would say that recycling is great, but reducing consumption and upcycling is even better ! Simple examples would be : Using refillable bottles made from compostable materials … reusing clothes that would otherwise go to landfill (they make good cleaning rags!)… avoiding single use plastic where possible. Also supporting research and boosting public opinion on renewable energy – we’ve only got one planet 🙂

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Question: What are the best ways to save the environment?