6 Ways To Help Save The Oceans
In honor of World Oceans Day, I wanted to take a look at some of the little things we can all do to help save the oceans. These are all very small changes we can easily make in our lives that will make a huge difference if we can get everyone on board.
Cut Back on Seafood
There are a lot of harmful practices in the fishing industry, overfishing an area is just one of them. One of the ways you can help save the oceans is by cutting back on the amount of seafood you eat. When you do have seafood be sure to look for the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) and Aquaculture Stewardship Council (ASC) labels that ensure your seafood can be traced back to sustainably managed fisheries and farms. If you don’t see these labels or you’re eating in a restaurant maybe skip the seafood this time.
Reduce Your Carbon Emissions
Reducing your carbon emissions sounds a lot harder than it actually is. The best thing you can do is make sure you turn off lights when you aren’t using them. You can also unplug electronics when you aren’t using them (many of them still draw power even when not in use), adjust your thermostat, and change your commute to a more eco-friendly one like carpooling or biking.
Check Your Tire Pressure
Another super simple way to save on your carbon emissions is checking the tire pressure on your car regularly. Not only will it save on wear and tear on your car, but it will also help you save on gas. How? Cars with underinflated tires need to use more gas to move. In fact, it’s estimated this costs Americans 1.2 billion gallons of gas per year. Using less gas not only saves the wallet it also saves on how many fossil fuels you’re burning.
Skip Single Use Plastic
If saving the ocean is important to you then you might have expected this to be higher on the list. It is absolutely true that plastic is having a devastating impact on our oceans. A lot of people have been buying plastic assuming that it would be recycled. But the truth possibly as much as 90% of our plastic ISN’T getting recycled. Many times it’s getting pressed into cubes and shipped across the ocean to underdeveloped countries. Along the way plastic is falling off these ships and ends up in the ocean, where it will stay for HUNDREDS of years. The best thing you can do to help stop this is to stop using single-use plastic. Straws, single-use coffee cups (are lined with plastic), and food wrappers are some of the biggest offenders.
Stop Using Common Home Cleaners
If you’re using household cleaners you bought in the store you’re contributing to problems in the ocean. These harmful chemicals get washed downstream and eventually end up in the ocean where these chemicals are building up. For most cleaning jobs around the house you can use eco-friendly cleaners like vinegar and lemon juice and these will do just as well as those devastating cleaners from the store.
Take Part in Local Beach Cleanups
Finally, if you’re lucky enough to live near a beach take part in a beach cleanup! These are usually arranged as Facebook events by local groups and incredibly easy to find. Even if you can’t find a cleanup event you can still do your part every time you go to the beach. Take a small bag with you to collect trash you see on the beach. Imagine how clean the beach would be if everyone did this.
For more ways to find out how you can save our oceans, look at ways to volunteer. You can serve your local beaches or fundraise for Ocean Conservancy as well.
[/et_pb_text][/et_pb_column][/et_pb_row][et_pb_row _builder_version=”4.1″ global_module=”4705″][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”4.1″][et_pb_image src=”https://motivatedmom.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/LaToyia-Sig.png” show_bottom_space=”off” _builder_version=”4.1″ width=”21%” module_alignment=”left”][/et_pb_image][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.1″]LaToyia, The Motivated Mom
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