10 Simple Ways to Reduce Your Ecological Footprint

I recently took a conservation biology class in which I learned a lot about the importance of biodiversity and just how much human activity is affecting the earth. What I learned inspired me to care and make changes in my daily habits, and my hope is that I can pass on some inspiration.

A Dusky Leaf Monkey:)

If you don't know what an ecological footprint is, it is one's impact on the environment. (You may have heard of a carbon footprint, which is just one part of your ecological footprint--it's the impact of your greenhouse gas emissions.) Greater ecological footprints are associated with affluence, which is a major reason why people in the U.S. have the greatest ecological footprint on average (just think about all of the things you buy, where they come from, and where they end up).

Everything we have comes from our planet's natural resources, and renewable resources are not regenerating quickly enough to balance out our consumption. Earth Overshoot Day is the day "when humanity’s demand for ecological resources and services in a given year exceeds what Earth can regenerate in that year." After Earth overshoot day until the end of the year, we are basically in an ecological deficit that is maintained by accumulating waste in many forms. This year, it landed on August 22, four months before the end of the year, so everything that we are consuming now is beyond earth's biocapacity.

Instead of explaining how we are destroying the earth and why it matters (since you probably already know), I wanted to share ways that you can reduce your ecological footprint. Don't worry, I won't be telling you things you've probably already heard, like "carpool" or "take public transportation." While these things do make a great impact and should be done if possible, we both know that you and I probably won't do them because they are too much of a hassle or are not available to us. And that's okay, as long as you've considered all your options. That's why I wanted to come up with specific, simple ways to reduce your ecological footprint that are easy to integrate into your day-to-day life.

1. When you get takeout to eat at home, let the worker know that you don’t need utensils so that you're not wasting single-use plastics.

2. Don't circle parking lots and streets looking for the closest parking if you don't need to. I'm very guilty of doing this because for some reason when I'm parking, my mind automatically wants to find the closest spot that I can, even if that means circling around for five minutes. If you tend to do the same, just think about how great walking is for your body:) And if that doesn't work because you hate walking, just think about how much walking your car has already saved you. Having to walk five extra minutes is not a lot compared to, like, two hours.

3. Use reusable bags for all kinds of shopping (not just for groceries). I know most people do this already, but the problem I've had is I always forget to bring bags with me! So my tip is to keep bags in your car so that you don't forget them. If you don't drive, keep a designated spot for your bags.

4. If you use cotton rounds or wipes as part of your skincare routine, ask yourself if you really NEED them. For example, if you use makeup wipes or miscellar water with cotton rounds, use a cleansing oil next time instead.

5. Before you crank up the heater or AC, consider other options first. Is there something else you can do to warm yourself up or cool yourself down? If it's cold, put on an extra layer or get cozy in a blanket before turning up the heat. If you've just come in from the heat outside, let homeostasis do its thing; eat some watermelon and give your body time to cool down.

6. Instead of blindly shopping online for beauty products that you've never tried from a store like Sephora, go into the store instead to try products and get samples first (or do thorough research before buying). When you return items they get thrown away by the store, not resold.

7. When you order multiple items online, choose the option at checkout that ships all of them together if you can.

8. Use these search engines, whose ad profits go towards planting trees and cleaning the ocean: Ecosia.org and OCG.org. You can connect them to common search engines like Chrome.

9. Don't shop from fast fashion stores. (Look out for a blog post in the future on how to shop sustainably!)

10. Use reusable food containers (i.e. Tupperware) to store leftovers instead of plastic wrap.

This is just a list to get you started. Keep it going by doing your own brainstorm catered to your lifestyle. These may seem like inconsequential actions, but they add up. And taking these small steps will build mindfulness and awareness of your impact. Although our ecological footprints are deeply entrenched in our livelihoods, we can still be mindful of our consumption, and we have power to make decisions on what we consume and advocate for change.