The air that we breather today is full of toxic and hazardous pollutants. Pollution in the environment could leave mother Earth sapped of its beauty and biodiversity. Each year millions of people die all around the world due to different pollution related problems. The key to live a healthy life is to identify the sources of air pollution and implement practical ways so that you can help stop air pollution.
If you have been looking to get in on the whole environmental movement, then you’ve likely been trying to look at the various options that you have when it comes to preventing pollution problems from becoming a bigger issue. In this article, we’re going to give you 41 different ideas that you can try out for yourself so that you can contribute to stopping air pollution in your area and in the world around you.
All of us face a variety of risks to our health as we go about our day-to-day lives…. Indoor air pollution is one risk that you can do something about.
– US EPA
1. Use Public Transportation: Use your vehicle a lot less often. Carpool and rideshare when you have the ability to do so and consider using public transportation instead of walking; that way, you aren’t contributing to all of the issues that the air is already dealing with before adding your car to the mix.
2. Drive Smart: If you are driving on a regular basis, make sure that you are driving smart instead of wasting gas. Drive within the speed limit, make sure that there aren’t a lot of things in your car that will weigh it down, and do all that you can to conserve the amount of gas that you will be using on a regular basis.
3. Do Regular Car Check Up: Its important for you to go for regular check up of your car to make sure it does not consume extra fuel. This will not only save you money but your car will also last longer.
4. Keep Car Tires Properly Inflated: Car consume more fuel when tires are not properly inflated and aligned. Keeping them properly inflated will lessen your impact on the environment.
5. Buy Energy Efficient Vehicles: Buy vehicles and other items that are helpful to the environment. There are so many options that you have now that are either efficient on gas or they are hybrids, so you don’t have to worry about them putting additional gas and pollution into the atmosphere. If you’re looking for a new car, go energy efficient if you can.
6. Consider “going green”: There are so many options for going green out there and a lot of them come with tax breaks that can make it even easier for you to do so. Look into your local, state, and even federal initiatives in order to see if they have something that can help you change your tune.
7. Plant a Garden: Plant a garden that is going to give the air the nutrients that it needs to be cleaner. There are so many plants out there that will eat up the junk in the atmosphere. Do your research and see what one(s) you can grow easily and that will help the world around you.
8. Use Low-VOC or Water-based Paints: Use paints that are based with water and not oil. The less oil products that you are using, the better off that you’re going to be because that means less oil is being produced overall.
9. Turn Off Lights When not in Use: Don’t keep the lights or other electric devices on. The more traditional power that you are using, the more energy you’re wasting and the more that you’re polluting the air.
10. Buy Green Electricity: Buy electricity generated from renewable energies i.e. hydroelectric, wind or solar power.
11. Make use of Solar Energy: Consider using solar power instead of regular power. Solar power can save a ton of energy for you and, on top of that, it could also end up saving you a lot of cash in the long run as well.
12. Use Natural Gas Instead of Charcoal: Use a propane or natural gas grill instead of charcoal. Then, you’re not putting fossil fuels into the air, which can be incredibly detrimental to the world around you.
13. Use a EPA Certified Woodstove: Use a EPA certified woodstove or fireplace instead of oil. Once again, the less oil you use, the better it is for the atmosphere.
14. Dry Clothes on Clothesline: Dry your clothes on a clothesline instead of trying to dry your clothes in a dryer. The less energy that you use, the better off it will be.
15. Always Use Recyclable Products: Always use recyclable products if you have access to them and the ability to choose them. They take less power to make than other products.
16. Use Both Sides of Paper: Use both sides of a piece of paper. Otherwise, you’re just being wasteful with the things that you are using.
17. Reuse Paper Bags: Reuse paper bags; they work really well for almost anything you can imagine and they are recycled in the first place.
18. Avoid Plastic Bags: They are made from oil products and they can hurt the environment because it takes them forever to decompose (and some never decompose).
19. Choose Products With Minimal Packaging: When it comes to buying items from outside, consider buying those with minimal packaging and are reusable. Even if they are packaged, try to buy the one with least packaging.
20. Use Broom Instead of Leaf Blower: Don’t use items that are going to kick up a lot of dust into the air; consider using other items instead. For example, instead of using a leaf blower, why not consider using a broom instead?
21. Don’t Use Hazardous Chemicals: If you’re using materials that have a lot of chemicals and smell strongly, consider using them outside and/or not using them at all.
22. Quit Smoking: Quit smoking and encourage those around you to do the same. The smoke is terrible for you and for the air quality around you as well.
23. Insulate the Leakages: Utilize insulation in and around your home in order to make it so that you don’t have to use as much energy in order to heat your home.
24. Consolidate Your Trips: Try to make sure that everything that you’re doing can be done in one trip instead of going out several times in your vehicle. That way, you’re using less gas while you’re out and about.
25. Get an Energy Audit Done: Get an audit on your home that is related to energy efficiency, and ask the auditor about changes that you can make in order to ensure that your home is as energy efficient as possible. They can give you recommendations that will help you out and even save you money in the long run.
26. Use Surge Protectors: Use surge protectors if you have areas that are going to use a number of different appliances and then, if you can, make sure that you turn it off when you aren’t using anything on the surge protector. This saves energy and the items that you have plugged in as well.
27. Use Fan Instead of AC: If it isn’t incredibly hot outside, you may want to consider using a fan instead of air conditioning if you can. It takes a lot less power and energy to take care of it.
28. Use Blankets When it is Cold Outside: On the other side of that coin, if it isn’t exceptionally cold, consider just putting a blanket or extra layers on to take the chill off instead of wasting heat.
29. Reduce, Reuse, Recycle: Recycle as much as you can so that it can be reused later on in other products. That way, you aren’t adding to the problem by adding additional products to the mix of what is going on.
30. Buy Items Made From Recycled Materials: If possible, purchase items made up from recycled materials rather than buying fresh products. This will reduce the need to buy new raw materials to produce fresh items. When you are on a shopping spree, look for items having a recycle logo or are at-least made from recyclable content.
31. Cut Down on Junk Mail: If you’ve been receiving a lot of junk mail every week, its time for you to avail services of various such companies that can help you to get rid of these mails in your mailbox and save millions of trees that are being axed worldwide to produce paper.
32. Buy Rechargeable Batteries: Every year billions of batteries are sold and then disposed off after use. Buy a charger and few sets of rechargeable batteries and that should pay off in no time.
33. Buy ENERGY STAR Products: Whenever you buy new electronic products for your home or office, always buy ENERGY STAR products. These products have to meet certain requirements for energy savings.
34. Use Cold Water Instead of Hot: It’s better for the environment if you opt to go ahead and use cold water for your laundry instead of hot water, because you aren’t going to have to use your hot water heater, which uses extra fuel and puts it into the environment.
35. Eat Organic Food: Eat things that are made locally, like vegetables and meats. That means that they don’t have to get transported as far to get to you (on top of that, it’s also making a big difference for your local economy as well, which can help you even more in the long run).
36: Grown Your Own Fruits and Vegetables: If you have a lawn at your own backyard, consider starting a garden to grow fruits and vegetables. The fruits and vegetables that you buy from the market have had to travel several miles before reaching your plate. So growing then in your home would be a great way to stop air pollution.
37. Ask your Employer For WFH Facility: For a change, ask you employer for work from home facility. With so many options available for audio and video conferencing, it shouldn’t be difficult for you to carry left over work to home. This will not only help you to reduce you trips to office and save money but also helps you to reduce pollution.
38. Contribute: See if your state or local government already has initiatives that could end up helping you to contribute to making the air quality in and around your area better than it would have been otherwise.
39. Talk to Local Representatives: Talk to your local representatives and government officials about the concerns that you have related to the clean air issues in your community and encourage them to act on it and take care of those issues so that we can leave our world a better place for our children.
40. Educate Your Companions: Let the people around you know about how they can contribute to clean air initiatives and educate them about all of the different ways that they can take care of the environment themselves.
41: Join an Environmental Group: In case you are willing to contribute towards growing pollution in your area, consider joining any environmental group. You can meet people, discuss issues and share ideas on what you can do about it. Spread the work and ask to join in this noble cause.
These, obviously, are not the only ways that you can go ahead and stop air pollution from an even bigger problem than it already is. What are you doing that we have listed on this life? And, what did we miss that you think could make a huge difference when it comes to trying to help the atmosphere and the environment in general? Leave us a comment so that we can all learn from each other and explore the big world of preventing issues that are related to pollution in our environment and around the world that we currently are living in.