FLINT, MI—While many
environment enthusiasts will spend Earth Day this weekend doing mass activities
to make their communities cleaner and healthier, a local environmentalist says doing little things year-round
can go a long way as well.
"It's difficult, almost impossible, to clean up a
damaged ecosystem and restore it to its natural state, so it's preferable to
not pollute it in the first place," says Rebecca Gale-Gonzalez.
Along with a job as marketing assistant and web developer at Mott Community College, she also works with campus teams like Green Recycling Inititative Team (GRIT) and MCC Gardening Association, and MCC Environmental Club, and more.
important to teach this to the next generation, so that individuals as well as
businesses are responsible consumers of natural resources to preserve what we
have for future generations."
Here's a list of small, easy ways readers help the environment, courtesy of Gonzalez.
1. Reduce the size of your lawn.
Gonzalez says that typical turf grass has short roots, so it requires a large amount of chemicals and water to maintain a green appearance. "Plus," she adds, "you will be reducing your labor and carbon footprint by not having to mow."
2. Dispose of cigarette butts properly.
"Cigarette litter contributes to water contamination," Gonzalez says, "and can harm fish and wildlife, as well as humans with the carcinogens."
3. Drive as rarely as possible.
Use public transportation when possible, and walk or ride a bike for short errands. If you must drive, maintain tire pressure and car maintenance to limit the amount of gas that your car emits into the air.
4. Buy local, organic produce.
Eating locally-grown, organically-grown produce helps in multiple ways. "This will reduce toxic loads in the environment and your body," Gonzalez says, "improve nutrition uptake, and increase your immunity to local allergens."
5. Use eco-friendly cleaning products.
Gonzalez suggests using eco-friendly cleaning products that don't contain phosphorus or other harmful chemicals. Many household cleaning challenges, she says, can be handled with vinegar and baking soda, via recipes on web sites.
6. Reduce and recycle all plastics.
The environmental harm of plastic has been well-documented—"the chemicals in plastics never break down fully in the environment, but leach harmful chemicals into the ground and ground water," Gonzalez says. Throwing soda bottles in recycling containers is only the beginning: use reusable containers for beverages, and shop with your own bags instead of the plastic offerings at the grocery store. Nature may have come up with its own combat, though: Gonzalez refers to recent reports of an Ecuadorian mushroom that may be able to break down indestructible plastics.
7. Plant native Michigan plants.
Plenty of homes decorate their yards with plants, and Gonzalez says that using prairie plants that are native to Michigan helps the environment even more. "[They] are adapted to our soils and weather conditions, and can take drought and still survive," she explains. She also explains they provide for a diverse diet, and their maintenance is as simple as weeding and cutting like other perennial fall plants.