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- Nominate a World Environment Day hero from your world.
- Notify us about the great environmental work they’re doing and why they should be a World Environment Day hero.
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- Optimize the use of your washing machine — use the cold-wash option to significantly save energy and reduce your daily carbon emissions.
- Offset your travel whenever possible — most airlines provide an option to offset your travel when you book your tickets.
- Opt for public transport whenever possible.
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- Plant a tree this year. Why not celebrate by planting a tree with friends or family?
- Pile up. Lay the grounds for a compost pile and start sorting your garbage.
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- Quantify how much money you could save each cold winter if you lowered the temperature inside your home by 2 degrees Celsius. It could reduce your energy consumption by 14 percent.
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- Reduce. Reuse. Recycle.
- Register a World Environment Day activity at worldenvironmentday.global/en/register-event.
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- Sacrifice something small each month — eat locally grown vegetables instead of imported vegetables; do without steak as cattle ranching is high-impact; carpool with co-workers; take your bike to work, etc.
- Support and motivate companies that use certified materials and operate in ways that are environmentally responsible.
- Switch your lightbulbs to energy-efficient LEDs. You will see substantial savings on energy bills.
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- Think. How green is your daily routine? Just by making a few small changes, like remembering to turn off the lights, turning down the heat, stop running the water while you brush your teeth — you could cut your daily emissions by more than 60 percent.
- Think again. Before you toss, consider if the item can be reused or recycled.
- Think outside of the bottle. Bottled water costs 1,900 times more than tap water.
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- Use your common sense.
- Understand your options. Learn about the small ways you, as an individual, can make a positive impact on the environment.
- Use rainwater for your indoor plants — they love it, and you’ll save water at the same time.
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- Visit the World Environment Day website regularly to see how you can get involved. Bookmark the website, subscribe via RSS, Twitter, or Facebook.
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- Whenever you feel like buying books, magazines, or newspapers, go to your local library or borrow from friends and neighbors.
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- X-plore. Get out into the forest and enjoy what our planet has to offer.
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- YOU. You can make a difference — individual actions, when multiplied, can make an exponential difference to the planet.
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- Zip around town on your bike, on public transport or your own two feet. Avoid your car whenever possible — it’s cheaper.
This article was originally published in the Summer 2011 issue of Brain World Magazine.
