Celebrating Earth Day at Home – 10 Things You Can Do for Our Planet From Your Couch (1/2)

Every year “Earth Day” is celebrated on April 22nd. On this day in particular, initiatives, aid projects and activities related to environmental protection take place in over 150 countries. And you can also help from home. I would like to introduce you to some of these options.

What is Earth Day and why is it celebrated?

Earth Day began in America in 1970 after a young senator joined forces with some students. Together they organized demonstrations and protests against the negative effects of 150 years of industrial development and against the destruction of the environment.

In order to make it easier and possible for as many students to support as possible, they chose April 22nd as the date for the protests - because that day was between the last final exams and the start of spring break.

Very quickly, thousands of universities and associations joined in with protests, and in the first year 20 million (!) people took to the American streets . People from a wide range of political orientations, social classes and professional groups gathered.

The actions were not without impact: at the end of 1970, the events of the very first Earth Day led to positive developments such as the creation of the “United States Environmental Protection Agency”, an independent agency of the US government to protect the environment and protect human health. In addition, the movement paved the way for the passage of important environmental laws such as the “Clean Water Act” or the renewal of the “Clean Air Act” (legal regulations for keeping surface water and air clean).

Over the coming decades, Earth Day became increasingly popular and global. A variety of projects and campaigns soon emerged all over the world to support the campaign.

Photo by v2osk on Unsplash

Today, Earth Day feels more urgent than ever before. A solution-oriented approach to the climate crisis requires active action and awareness of the problem among the general population.

Young people in particular should be involved in creative environmental projects and educated about environmental problems. In addition to these practical measures, it is also important for more people to think about the consequences of their consumer behavior and to act more responsibly and sustainably .

In this sense:

Now let's talk about what you can do to celebrate Earth Day from home.

(You can of course use all of the suggestions listed below as an opportunity to give something back to our home planet or to live a more sustainable life on any other day of the year 😋 ).

10 ways you can contribute to Earth Day from home

The options for action that I list here are aimed at all people who want to change something and take the next step towards sustainability. No matter whether you're just new to the topic or have been there for a long time - there's always something to do! 😎

I would be thrilled if this post inspired you to tackle one or more of my suggestions. Please let me know in the comments which of the ideas you would like to implement. If you have any further ideas for suggestions for action around Earth Day, please feel free to share them! Ultimately, we all benefit from this. 🤗

The impulses for action at a glance:

1. Inform and educate
2. Eat more plant-based
3. Save water & energy
4. Donate
5. Watch documentaries

(You can find recommendations numbers 6-10 in the second part of this article .)

1. Inform and educate

Let's start with an option that sounds pretty trivial at first: constant information and further training. What that can mean in a specific case varies greatly. After all, topics such as climate protection, the environment and sustainability cannot be dealt with in an afternoon. From everyday tips to scientific findings to fake news and myths – there is a lot to learn. It is therefore important to continue your training regularly.

In recent years, more and more research and publications have been carried out on environmental topics, and scientific findings can of course sometimes turn out to be wrong. Staying on top of things can be exhausting from time to time. Nevertheless, I think it's important to inform yourself and just be ready to learn something new. What's important to me is that I don't force myself too much, but rather approach the subject that interests me with a childlike curiosity.

What is a topic that you have always wanted to know more about? I hereby officially challenge you to use your trusted search engine to do this right away. 😋

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2. Eat (more) plant-based foods

It's no longer a secret that a plant-based diet is one of the easiest yet most effective ways to do something good for the planet. In this article you will find out more about the background to this.

It also helps to eat vegetables more often (which your body will thank you for) or to leave out the piece of meat more often or replace it with a plant-based alternative. The same applies here: inform. And of course: try it out. Openness to plant-based nutrition is the prerequisite here. 😌

If you need inspiration, feel free to take a look at our blog . Social media such as Pinterest and YouTube also offer a lot of ideas and simple recipes.

After years of eating without meat, I can at least tell you this: I'm fine! Plant-based nutrition is super diverse (even if you don't think so at first)! And best of all: I'm having more fun with nutrition and eating than ever before!

What “eco-friendly” recipe could you implement to celebrate Earth Day? Which dish could you use to bring joy not only to yourself and your loved ones, but also to the environment?

3. Save water and energy

Let's start with energy: Approximately 40% of global CO2 emissions arise from the generation of electricity . Fossil fuels are particularly responsible for this. It is therefore worth changing your energy provider and purchasing green electricity.

This is often easier than initially thought! Comparison portals offer a good opportunity to find an electricity provider that is reasonably priced and at the same time supplies electricity primarily or even exclusively from renewable energies. Utopia recommends, for example, Bürgerwerke, EWS Schönau or Fair Trade Power.

Changing providers can now be done entirely online or by telephone. So nothing you couldn't do from the couch! ;)

Domestic water consumption, on the other hand, often takes place away from the couch. When cooking and showering, for example. Here, too, there are a lot of little things you can change to use less water. This not only saves valuable resources, but also money. You can find tips for saving water here .

4. Donations

If you have the means, donating is a great way to give back to the earth. We often have the feeling that we can't do much as an individual or that we don't have the upper hand. Aid organizations, on the other hand, have a plan and the necessary contacts. You can use your money to help them put their plans into action.

There are a whole range of incredibly great initiatives to protect our planet. Here you can start on a variety of levels and paths. Websites like effective-spenden.org help you find a project where your money actually reaches its destination. This way you know that it is a good investment and at the same time you find a project that you really believe in.

Take Earth Day as an opportunity to set aside a monthly budget (no matter how small it may be!) to support an initiative that is close to your heart. Even with one-off donations - the same applies here: no matter how small they may be - you can make a difference!

5. Watch documentaries

This point follows on from the first, but at the same time goes one step further. Because (good) documentation is ideal for imparting knowledge. They manage to convey information and entertain the audience at the same time. Furthermore, film is arguably the best medium for evoking emotions and initiating plot changes.

Earth Day would be the perfect occasion for a documentary film evening, right? And even if film evenings cannot be held as usual at the moment - they are also possible virtually! Netflix and Amazon Prime now offer so-called “watch parties” where you can essentially watch a film “together” online. And both streaming services have a lot of nature and environmental documentaries in their programming.

Documentaries are also a great way to educate people about a topic who have little knowledge of it or are afraid of moral discussions. Because people are often more open to “entertainment media” - after all, they are less offensive and are fun because they also want to entertain.

Here are a few suggestions for environmental documentaries that you can watch with your family, friends or other loved ones:

• Cowspiracy
• Sustainable
• Thrown away
• Minimalism
• A Plastic Ocean
  
• Seaspiracy
• Tomorrow

If you are now saying: “I already know them all!”, then I have another tip for you: On filmsforearth.org you will find a whole series of other (also less well-known) documentaries on the subject of the environment and earth.

So, those were the first 5 tips for sustainable actions on the occasion of Earth Day. The second part of the series awaits you here with 5 more options . With our blog newsletter you will never miss a new post (no unnecessary spam, we promise! 😆). Until then, take care!

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