Oh-zone!

What do we do now?

Simple changes to change the planet

By Natalie Serafini

henever scientists announce
that the planet has marked
another milestone in its slow

march towards destruction,

it’s easy to feel like there is no hope
for salvation. Well, steel yourselves,
because it was recently announced

that the Arctic has lost a substantial
amount of its ozone layer, so much that
it now rivals the hole in the ozone over
Antarctica. An article from the Journal
of Nature stated that “For the first time,
sufficient loss occurred to reasonably be
described as an Arctic ozone hole.”

So what can we do to help the
planet? Little adjustments to your
everyday life will make an enormous
difference. For instance, there’s always
a way to reduce, reuse or recycle, but
if you can’t come up with one, here are
some simple changes:

¢ Try switching to products that
don’t have a lot of packaging.
I use LUSH solid shampoos,
and they’ re fantastic. Lush
shampoo is like a bar of soap
for your hair and work as well
as regular bottled shampoos.
I was skeptical at first, but all
you need to know is your hair
type. For oily hair, try Jumping
Juniper or Seanik; Dry hair
is better off with Godiva or
Trichomania. These little bars
last for months (I’ve had mine
since July and it’s still going
strong), and are convenient
for travel as they are so small.
Obviously, the best part is that
there is no packaging. If you
decide to give “soap for your
hair” a try, my advice would
be to spring for the travel tin
because it definitely sucks
waiting for your bar to air dry.

° Try buying fewer disposable
products. They may cost more
than regular expendables, but
they last longer.

¢ Purchase a reusable water
bottle or thermos, you could

 

save some serious money and
cut down on the energy used
to produce and recycle plastic
bottles!

¢ Reuse the wax paper sleeves
from your cracker and cereal
packages to transport snacks,
rather than buying plastic
baggies.

* Consider limiting the amount
of meat you consume. I’m
not telling anyone to become
a vegetarian, as that’s a
completely personal choice,’
but there are some pretty huge
environmental benefits to
passing on a burger. According
to PETA, you save more water
from not eating a pound of
meat than by not showering
for six months. There’s also
the energy, land, pollution, and
food spent on raising animals
for the grill. Of course,
abandoning meat can be tough,
and if you don’t want to give
it up, think about eating more
local foods. It supports local
farmers and doesn’t waste as
much energy on transportation.
Another benefit: food is so
much better when it’s actually
fresh and ripe!

Hopefully you no longer feel like
you’re in that dream where you’re
taking a test and know none of the
answers. Hint, hint—] just showed you
some of the answers. While the world’s
global warming crisis needs to be taken
seriously, it’s far from unmanageable
as there are many things we can
incorporate into our daily routines to do
our part. Take a look at where you’ re
wasting resources, and change your
habits based on that. It may feel like
these changes are inconsequential, but
they do add up. Just think: thirty years
ago, almost nobody was recycling, and
now it’s a part of everyday life. Aim
to make your life changes habitual and
you’ll change the planet one step at a time.

 

life aa styie

 

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