We are all faced with worrying global issues. Climate change is creating almost daily headlines about extreme weather; we are living in a time of rising pollution and deforestation. This has all contributed to 2018 being declared the 4th hottest year on record globally. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change has said we have just 12 years to bring global emissions down to sustainable levels. The threats we face are real and to address them we all need to adopt environmentalism into our lives. Here are three steps you can take to help.

1. Buy reusable products. 

Every day in Britain we use 7 million disposable coffee cups. In theory these cups are recyclable, however, as they are often lined with plastic and contaminated with drink they can only be recycled at special processing plants, resulting in less than 1% of them actually being recycled. Purchasing a reusable coffee cup can help stem this tide of waste. 

Why stop at reusable coffee cups? More and more eco-friendly products are becoming available, reusable water bottles are widely available. Toothbrushes and straws made from bamboo allow a further reduction in our use of plastics.

2. Eat less meat

Intentional deforestation occurs to allow more land to be used for raising livestock. The greatest single thing anyone can do to help the planet is to adopt a vegan lifestyle. If everyone did so, then global farmland could be reduced by 75% while still producing enough food for everyone. Going fully vegan straight away isn’t for everyone, and you can still make an impact just by reducing your consumption of meat and dairy. 

3. Take action in your community

Individual actions like using eco-friendly products, eating less meat, and taking shorter showers are all steps in the right direction. However, the problem of climate change is too large for individualistic solutions. To solve the problems we face we need to work collectively. This means creating organisations in our towns and workplaces where we can come up with solutions drastically cut our energy consumption. It also means supporting eco-friendly companies.