All of us make choices every day that affect the air we breathe. There are some common activities, such as driving the car, mowing the lawn, burning wood in the fireplace, and so on. Although you can’t single-handedly solve air pollution or global warming, your choices matter! Here are the five actions you can take to reduce air pollution.
Join a cleanup
One of the simplest ways to help reduce pollution is to join a local cleanup in a nearby area. Beach cleanups are pretty common in coastal towns. They are often held on a regular schedule and hosted by local parks and rec or environmental organizations.
Participate in a tree planting
Many cities and organizations host things called work parties or tree plantings. This is when a group of people gets together to maintain or restore a park or piece of land. They remove invasive plants and often plant native ones like trees that naturally grow in that specific habitat. It’s not too labor-intensive because you go at your own pace, and the trees are usually still fairly small.
Turning off lights and appliances when they are not in use
If you’re not using them, turn them off. They’re the least efficient light and 90% of the energy they use is heating. Turning them off will also help cool a room in summer, which could potentially affect other energy costs as well, such as air conditioning. Halogen lights should also be turned off when not in use.
Taking a bus or carpooling
Try to take a bus or carpool. Carpooling is an effective way to cut down on the amount of traffic that occurs during the daily commute. It allows workers who live near each other and work at the same office or within the same area of the city to pool their resources so that commuting expenses can be saved and it also is helped to reduce air pollution.
Research your recyclables
Recycling is not just for glass and plastic anymore. Almost anything can and should be recycled; it’s just a matter of finding out where. This varies depending on your location, but some places even allow you to mail recyclables to them.