Things You Can Do This Earth Day to Protect Our Planet

The climate emergency is exactly that – a matter of great urgency. And most of us can feel overwhelmed and helpless from the sheer weight of it all. We offer Insight Timer Earth to you, a space to encourage and engage our community through environmental education, eco-conscious content, and meaningful connections. This collection brings together guided meditations, sounds of nature, courses, and challenges to widen our awareness of the world around us, bring us together to make change, and tap into the power of Mother Nature. All earnings from this account are donated to our featured organizations.

Here are some easy ways you can connect with, and protect our planet this Earth Day (or any day of the year!):

Connect with the Earth

Take time to connect with the Earth, the land you live on and the place you call home. An action as simple as taking your shoes off the next time you’re at the park or in the garden to feel the grass beneath your feet can help you connect. If you live near a beach, make time to walk in the sand and put your feet in the water, or simply take a walk outside and look at the trees. A walking meditation can be a great way to slow down and deepen your awareness of your surroundings.

Join Garth Stevenson for Earth Day 2022: Reverence for our planet as he carries his double bass into the woods of Massachusetts for a live performance. A chance for us to gather and revere in the beauty of our planet, showing support for a sustainable future for generations to come.

As individuals, we have the simple yet effective power to do what it takes to protect our planet. This Earth Day, make a pledge to start making small and big changes to your everyday choices, actions and interactions. What each of us chooses to do, and how we do it, has a huge ripple effect.

Switch to reusable bags

It’s estimated that we use 4 TRILLION plastic bags each year worldwide. We often never reuse them and sadly they are not recyclable. The switch to reusable bags is easy. The hardest part is remembering to take them with you! Leave them by the door or in the car and if you do forget them, try looking for empty boxes in the supermarket or pick up a bag for life.

Use a reusable water bottle

Another easy and impactful habit is to stop buying plastic water bottles and carry a BPA free stainless steel water bottle with you. It will save you money; the average American buys an average of 167 disposable plastic water bottles, costing you $266, a year. And it will help save the environment; approximately only 23% of plastic bottles are recycled each year. The rest ends up in our oceans, landfills, and communities—polluting the environment and killing thousands of fish, dolphins, whales, turtles and birds every year.

Eat less meat

For your next meal, pick something plant based. According to extensive research, if everyone went vegetarian for just one day, the U.S would save 100 billion gallons of water, and we would reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 1.2 million tons of carbon dioxide! That’s just for one day, imagine what we could do if we made more ongoing changes to our diet.

Say no to plastic

Next time you’re buying your groceries, take a look at how many cleaning, beauty and food products come wrapped in plastic or in plastic boxes. 300 Million tons of plastic gets created yearly, and this weighs the same as the entire human population, and 50% is single-use only. And an estimated 8 Million tons of that plastic enters our oceans every year. By making changes where we can, selecting products and shopping with brands who offer paper, glass or other recyclable packaging options.

Say yes to sustainable fashion

The fashion industry is responsible for 10% of annual global carbon emissions, more than all international flights and maritime shipping combined. At this pace, the fashion industry’s greenhouse gas emissions will surge more than 50% by 2030. Daily decisions about where and how you buy clothes are crucial to preventing more damage to our planet due to the fashion industry. Do your research and ask questions of the brands you are buying from. Better yet, reuse or repurpose what you already have, organize clothes swaps with friends or buy secondhand clothes.

Organize a community clean up

Investing in our planet can start in your own neighborhood. Organizing a community clean up might involve taking a rubbish bag out with you and picking up trash you see on your local streets, parks and beaches. Organize a recycling system or talk to your local council about how to take care of the area you live in. This is the fastest way to get immediate results and make permanent changes to your local area. If we all did this, we could reduce a lot of waste pretty quickly!

Advocate for climate education

Education is key to addressing climate change, so we must look to our local schools, colleges and communities. New UNESCO data from 100 countries shows that only 53% of the world’s national education curricula make any reference to climate change and when the subject is mentioned, it is almost always given very low priority. Education is crucial to promote climate action. It helps people understand and address the impacts of the climate crisis, empowering them with the knowledge, skills, values and attitudes needed to act as agents of change.