With local and national parks being closed around the country to help reduce the spread of COVID-19, it may feel as though we are losing touch with the natural world around us.
While we are stuck inside, the outside world is still changing, even though we may not be able to see it like we used to. Though we are all restricted to our homes, there are still many things that we can do to help protect and preserve the environment right now.
Tracy Richardson, young adult science fiction author of The Field, utilizes her degree in biology and desire to protect and sustain the planet in her writing.
Her upcoming book, Catalyst (Brown Books Publishing Group – eBook releasing June 2, 2020; paperback releasing September 22, 2020), highlights the dangers of fracking and all the other destructive activities humans do that cause climate change.
During these challenging times, Tracy believes that we can still be active in our efforts to save the planet and has developed a list of activities that families and people of all ages can do to help the environment.
“So, what can we do to stop climate change?” she urges people to ask themselves. “Reducing our carbon footprint is one thing we can do. It essentially refers to our personal contribution to the carbon emissions that cause climate change.”
Here is Tracy Richardson’s list of top 10 things you can do to help the environment during what she prefers to call “physical distancing and social connection:”
1. Plant Trees. Trees consume carbon dioxide and emit oxygen.
2. Eat a plant-based diet or have one “vegetarian day” a week.
3. Start a vegetable garden from seeds in your house. When the weather warms up you can dig your garden and grow your own vegetables!
4. Reduce household water waste. Install efficient shower heads and toilets. Turn off the faucet when doing dishes or brushing your teeth. Take shorter showers.
5. Upcycle, repurpose, and REPAIR clothing and household items instead of buying new or discarding them.
6. Reduce the amount of plastic packaging in the products you buy.
7. Eat locally produced food to reduce the ‘Food Miles’ it takes for your food to travel to you.
8. Tell your legislators to act on Climate Change legislation.
9. Join environmental groups like the Sierra Club, the Natural Resources Defense Council, or the World Wildlife Fund.
10. Follow Teen Climate Change activists on social media, such as Greta Thunberg, Autumn Peltier, Mari Copeny, Xiye Bastida, Isra Hirsi, Bruno Rodriguez, Helena Gualinga, Jamie Margolin, and Jerome Foster II. Speak up about the dangers of climate change to anyone who will listen.
Thank you,
Glenda, Charlie and David Cates
