10 Things You Should Not Buy Any More to Help The Environment

In Geography, the environment has two components, the physical environment, and the human environment. Human beings play a significant role in either conserving or destroying the environment.

Lifestyle, poor waste disposal, and pitiable agricultural practices are among some of the social practices that directly affect the environment. You need not demonstrate in the streets as a way of showing solidarity to environmental conservationists.

 Look at some of the things you have at home and evaluate their effect on the environment. From there, you automatically become a practical advocate of environmental preservation and conservation. What are some of these products in case you don’t know?

1. Paper product

The paper you see in your home as a notebook is a felled tree. Have you ever thought of that?

There is a reason environmentalists advocate for the use of paperless communication in offices.

It takes years for a tree to mature enough to make paper. Despite the afforestation and reforestation projects supported by UNEP, the best way to maintain the hydrological cycle is to prevent the felling of trees.

If we reduce the demand for paper and related products, the companies rethink other products as a business entry hence saving the environment.

2. Plastic bags

It takes up to 100 years for plastic papers to rot. In most cases, they find their way to the aquatic system leading to suffocation. In the soil, it contaminates the soil fertility by changing the soil PH, ideal for agricultural practices.

 Moreover, plumbers admit it’s a menace when it comes to blockages of the waterways. Do you know every year at least 100,000 sea turtles die due to the effect of plastic bags in marine waters?

Anytime you buy that plastic bag, think twice about the environment.

3. Wooden utensils

Yes, you love the vintage and traditional style of using wooden products as opposed to steel- made utensils.

 Every wooden tool or product you have at home is a result of a tree losing its life. Ask yourself, what happens to the ozone layer now that the environment is exposed without protection to create the hydrological cycle balance?

 You have an option; go for steel utensils and save the environment.

4. Aerosol cans

You love canned drinks and canned foods. It’s a must-have on your shopping list. As long as you continue to use these non-biodegradable products, then understand you are hurting the environment.

Aerosols products have chlorofluorocarbons which pierce the ozone layer. The direct sunlight, as a result, is what brings about the heat waves, among other climate change effects.

The depletion of the ozone layer means the sun directly hits the earth; it has skin cancer-causing organisms.

5. Menstrual pads

The natural process in menstruation is inevitable. As businesses make a kill in the menstrual product sales, it’s upon the consumer to choose environmental-friendly pads with no plastic lining.

The plastics take time to decompose. As they find their way to the water bodies, it poses fatal threats to aquatic life. The chlorofluorocarbons in plastics are not fit for human contact. Despite the convenience, it profoundly affects one’s reproductive health.

6. Razor blades

In the US, over 160 million people use razor blades annually. It’s one-man- one- use policy contributes to massive usage in home and health institutions.

 Their disposal to the environment exposes the plastic and related chemicals to cause air and water pollution. The water and the air are safe environments for aquatic and human life.

Why disturb the ecosystem with things you can avoid? Look for biodegradable options readily available in the market and save the already depleted environment.

7. Sunscreen

As you protect your eyes against the intense sun rays, oxybenzone, a chemical used in making sunscreen, threatens marine life.

 They clog at the coral reefs- the food reserve for aquatic life, rendering them food impoverished.

The long-term effect is the extinction of some of the rare species in the waters. No one is against the sunscreen but opt for the aquatic-friendly sunscreens.

8. Air conditioners

Among all the home electric appliances, the air conditioner uses up to 65 degrees of Alternating Current (AC). The hot summers are the peak times for most homes switching in their air conditioner and letting them run throughout the day and even nights, even when not in proper use.

Any energy unit exerts pressure on the electricity-generating turbines driven by environmental phenomenon- water, wind, nuclear and geothermal power.

 The pressure negatively affects the natural balance leading to long term ecological crises.

9. Glitters

The birthday parties, cakes, and all our pantries are decorated with glitters of all colors.

These non-recycled products sneak to the water systems. It means you directly consume them.

They affect your physical health – the human environment we mentioned earlier. As they also find their way to the natural waters, the fishes, worms, birds consume them.

Their terrible effect on the digestive system leads to starvation, and finally, the death of aquatic life.

10. Cosmetic beads and artificial hair

As you sit in front of your mirror, admiring your human hair and cosmetic accessories, your selfish nature is open.

The aquatic life suffers after your disposal. Remember, these are products that take centuries to decay; before that, they find themselves in the mouths of marine life, causing death.

In case you choose to burn them, do you think of air pollution? The best way is to maintain a natural state or opt for cosmetic products with a better disposal plan with minimal effect on the environment.

Never point the finger at a charcoal burner or a tree feller when you value these products anytime you go out to do your shopping. The difference is the same.