5 Ways to Show Your Love This Earth Week (And Why You Should)!

Hello one, hello all! So next Monday, April 22, is Earth Day and I don't know about you but I love this holiday. It always forces me to be more aware of my patterns and how they affect the world around me, even if it's not something I really want to hear and for that I am so grateful! I am constantly doing whatever I can to reduce my mark on this Earth in regards to my consumption and damage that results from my lifestyle (P.S. this was one of my biggest motivators when I made the decision to go vegan! Stay tuned for that story later on, folks!) In honor, of Earth day coming up in only 5 days, I am here to share 10 easy things that you can do to show Mother Earth how much you love here in preparation for her holiday. This is also a great way to increase your positive impact while the well-being of our precious planet is still at the forefront of the collective consciousness. So, let's get started!

1. Save Water! This is a big one, especially if, like me, you live in Southern California where drought has been looming over us for quite some time. There are so many ways to do this, so I suggest creating a set of 3 rules that will force you to change small behaviors to save water. For instance, your rules could include things like shutting off the faucet when you brush your teeth or wash your hands, turning on the shower once you're already standing under the shower-head so none of that water goes to waste, shutting off the water while you shave, watering your plants in the evening rather than in the morning, cutting down on your daily coffee intake by just one cup (this alone saves about 37 gallons per cup!), and so many others!

2. Cut Down Waste! Americans generate 250-400 million tons of garbage each year. That is insane! Plus, the level of yearly waste has tripled in just the past 40 years (since the 1960s), so we know that this was not a necessary change at all. It's very recent and entirely unprompted. What can you do? Cut down on waste AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE. The key to this is to only buy when you really need to. If you decide to switch to a plastic-free lifestyle and you immediately clean out and throw away all of your plastic products and replace it all with sustainably-sourced materials and packaging, you are still throwing out products and materials that don't need to be tossed aside just yet. Instead, do what you can to go through the 5 Rs of environmental sustainability: Refuse-refuse things that you don't need, especially if you know that they will produce unnecessary waste, Reduce- reduce your consumption of things that you don't need or that could be produced in a more sustainable way, Reuse- reuse the materials and products that you already have, even if they are not made sustainably, Repurpose-repurpose the things that you already have. This is a great opportunity to try new things and explore a new side of your creativity that you may not have experimented with before, and last but not least, Recycle- we all know what this is. If it can be recycled, let it be recycled rather than letting it end up in a landfill where it threatens the health and happiness of Mother Earth and all living beings.

3.Raise Awareness! One of the best ways to take care of our dear Mother Earth is just to talk about her. Tell your friends and family what you love about her and your favorite ways to show her that. Be open to questions and be happy and loving while you educate people about their incredible home planet and, if you want to learn more about what you can do on your own, make sure that you educate yourself so you can spread love, positivity, and accurate information in order to help heal our beautiful Mama Earth. Learn More about the challenges facing our planet here.

4. Cut Down on Meat! I know, I know, no one wants to hear this one, but allow me to share some statistics with you..."Nearly half of all the water used in the United States goes toward raising animals...It takes 2,400 gallons of water to produce just one pound of meat,"according to PETA and new research shared by the Guardian,"shows that, without meat and dairy consumption, global farmland could be reduced by more than 75%-an area equivalent to the US, China, European Union, and Australia combined- and still feed the world. Loss of wild areas to agriculture is the leading cause of mass extinction of wildlife." Now I'm definitely not asking anyone to give up meat, dairy, or anything else entirely, but I will certainly suggest that you learn more about the impact of the food that we eat and what we can do to reduce that pesky carbon footprint. This is, by far, the best way to go about it. It saves tons and tons of water, CO2, and eventually saves animal lives each and every time you pass on an animal product. Your dollar is your vote for the kind of world you want to live in! Make sure you know what you're voting for!

5. Donate! If you are still unsure of what you want to commit to for Earth Day or you want to contribute even more, it can feel really good to make even a small donation to an environmental organization. Even better would be to share the link or organization with your friends and family and see how much you can raise! If this sounds like something you want to do, click here!

The bottom line is that giving back to the world feels great and isn't that what life is all about? Feel amazing by spreading loving and protective vibes to our Lovely Mother Earth because Heaven knows she deserves it!Thanks so much for reading, everyone. Please leave me a comment telling me one way that you plan to participate in the healing of our Mama Earth this week!

much love always,

Emma