Imagine that you’re just waking up for the day. It’s true that for everybody, the first thing you do for the day is to step out of your bed and get ready for your day. Have you ever thought about how each and every action after that first step generally requires products and processes that affect the environment? Of course, we all know that using a gasoline powered vehicle will cause emissions that harm the environment; but what about something as simple as your breakfast? How can that affect the environment both at home and around the world? Let’s look closer at the minutiae of everyday life, going beyond the water we use, the cars we drive and the power we consume.
We’ve come a long way from using charcoal and oyster shells with mint and salt to clean our teeth. While our ancient predecessors used these locally sourced products to clean their teeth and gums, as well as add a hint of freshness to their breath, we use a commercially produced paste made with various ingredients, both man made and sometimes natural.
There are many ingredients which affect the environment when they are manufactured, shipped and sold. Around fifty percent of the average toothpaste is made up of an abrasive. We’re going to focus on the most common abrasive, Fluoride.
Fluoride, not only considered an over-the-counter drug by the FDA, is also a manufactured substance. It can be naturally occurring, but the tightly controlled chemical compounds and strength require it to be synthesized in a laboratory to be effectively stable. It’s very difficult to track down where exactly the laboratory is located that synthesized the fluoride in your particular tube of toothpaste. Assuming that you happen to have such a lab in your hometown, and that laboratory is directly involved in the manufacture of that toothpaste, you still have to consider where they got the fluoride in the first place.
Beginning as a naturally occurring mineral, fluoride is found in bodies of water all over the globe. Ordinarily, you’re going to get fluoride that dissolves through the groundwater into the water supply that we use for our drinking water. Many municipalities have extra minerals and pollutants within the water supply system, but this is not a good source of the fluoride you need for your pearly whites. The stabilized fluoride in your toothpaste started off as a natural mineral somewhere on the planet. The raw material, usually a byproduct of processing phosphate rock at another manufacturer, is then transported to a facility where it is then synthesized to create the stable version of fluoride.
Each step of the process uses fossil fuels. Initially, mining equipment will need the power to cut through the rock and transport it to the larger vehicles that will get it to the first manufacturer. The byproducts are re-loaded onto vehicles for transport to the next facility, and so on. A single tube of toothpaste, even when you’re only thinking about one ingredient, could use an enormous amount of fossil fuels just to get to your toothbrush.
There’s nothing like a fresh brewed cup of coffee in the morning. If you’re not a coffee drinker, a lot of the environmental impacts that the coffee industry has on the planet are also made by manufacturers of tea. For our ultra-modern readers who prefer energy drinks to either, just magnify the impact for each can of bubbly energy you consume.
Coffee comes from a plant, which makes it seem as though this should be a sustainable product that helps our environment in return. Unfortunately, due to the massive demand for coffee worldwide, growers need to create innovative ways to maximize their crop production. One of these practices involves heavy deforestation to provide a space for their coffee plants to receive full sun Traditionally, the plant was grown as a shade plant in areas between heavy foliage. The removal of valuable rainforests in the tropics is a direct result of supplies trying to keep up with the demand.
It isn’t impossible to make a quick lunch from sustainable, locally grown ingredients. But let’s face it, in the hustle and bustle of modern life, you’re more likely to grab a pre-packaged sandwich at your favorite quick-mart as opposed to seeking out the environmental impact of each one of the ingredients you pack in your daily lunchbox.
Packaging is the obvious environmental threat when it comes to food at any time of the day. Between the plastics used in most to-go packaging and the adhesive printed label, we could go on for several pages about how environmentally unfriendly your lunch can be when pre-packaged.
There’s no doubt that gasoline powered lawn maintenance equipment, as well as their electric powered kin will create a negative environmental impact. While machinery that uses electricity directly from a cord may be a “healthier” alternative for our planet, these types of devices are quickly becoming outnumbered by those that use rechargeable batteries. In the short term, this drastically reduces the harmful effects on our environment than using traditional, one-time-use batteries. However, cadmium, lead and mercury can still leak from the rechargeable batteries when they’ve reached the end of their life and find themselves in a landfill.
However, in this part of your routine, whether it be daily or weekly this time of year, there is actually more of an opportunity to help the environment than harm it. Many people enjoy getting their hands dirty, planting flowers, herbs and other ornamental plants. We’ve talked before about what types of plants you can use to garden naturally, with little negative effect on the environment. The routine impact of gardening can be a boost to your personal environment, as well as that of your community. Plants help remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere while producing oxygen that we in turn use.
Every family and every person has a different definition of relaxing. An average evening could include anything from engaging in an outdoor activity with family or friends, to taking a seat for the remainder of the day in front of the television. One of these things obviously affects our health more than the other. But are they equal, or are they opposite in terms of how they affect our environment?
The answer is neither. The former option appears at first glance to be a no-brainer win for Earth. Unfortunately, the impact we are having on the environment when it comes to a game of basketball in the park is greater than it should be. The negative impact of litter, debris and fluids from vehicles, high volume foot traffic and damage to natural habitats can easily be avoided. Before you pack up the kids and walk down the block to the playground, take a moment to consider the best options for any waste you may make yourself, or encounter on your excursion. Bringing an extra reusable bag to pack out your trash is a great start. Don’t risk your own health to try to clean up any vehicular fluids in a parking lot, but do be sure to steer yourself and your kids away from walking near them. Many fluids can and will stick to the bottom of your shoes. Anything on which you step afterwards can be contaminated by chemicals. This includes not only the walking path that shoeless wildlife travel on and across away from human eyes, but also the playground equipment on which everyone is touching.
There’s no reason to make drastic changes to your everyday lifestyle right away. Choose the products you consume and endorse carefully. Take the time to balance your environmental ethics with your budget. Many goods can appear to be environmentally friendly, but you don’t have to look too far beyond an ingredient label to find the truth.
Exclusive Enviro believes in “pack it in, pack it out” when it comes to anything you take with you when you leave your home. It’s one of the simplest ways to lower your own personal impact on the environment. Always bring a reusable bag with you anytime you plan to go out. Recyclable waste accumulates at the most inconvenient times, and it can be tempting just to toss it in the garbage bin on your way to or from work. Resist the urge to throw everything away before returning home, and take your waste home with you so that you can recycle, reuse or dispose of it in the most environmentally friendly way.