Welcome to the first post of In Her Wake!
I hope you’re as excited as I am to jump into this journey of discovery and learning, and I can’t wait to start sharing ideas through this platform. Without further ado…Let’s discuss the importance of our individual roles in the future of this planet. After all, each and every one of us has the privilege of living on this Earth and the responsibility of leaving it better for the generations to come.
If you are visiting this site, you must be interested in improving your footprint and curious about how to get started. That is a great first step! I know that it often feels as though our individual actions won’t really make a difference in the grand scheme of things. Believe me, I have also experienced the paralyzing fear that the world’s problems are far too large to combat as an individual.
However, the reality is that the actions and decisions of every single person out of the 7.8 billion on Earth create a compounding effect that (fortunately or unfortunately) lasts long after we’re gone. So let’s break it down into bite-sized pieces to get started!
Speaking of which, let’s begin with our food. Because fossil fuels are used along every step of food production, from manufacturing fertilizers to transporting produce to your local market, America’s energy consumption for agriculture is second only to our vehicular use. That is 17% of our nation’s energy use. Now, this might not mean much to you on the surface, but when we dig into this resource consumption on the individual level, the implications are staggering. If every American ate only ONE organic/locally produced meal per week, the U.S. oil consumption would decrease by 1.1 million barrels every week. That is more than twice as many barrels of oil that spilled into the gulf during the entire Deepwater Horizon disaster in 2010. AKA: a massive result from a small change.
Additionally, next to climate change, plastic pollution ranks among the most concerning environmental calamities today. Personally, I find it almost impossible to comprehend the gravity of the plastic problem, and it often leaves me riddled with anxiety and dubious about a solution. In fact, there will be entire posts dedicated to the plastic pandemic in the future, but for now, let’s take a look at one small way we can contribute to the cure… My arch-nemesis: the plastic water bottle. Switching to a reusable water bottle would save an average of 156 plastic water bottles per person in the U.S. annually (not including other plastic beverage bottles.) If every American made the swap, we could save 50 billion bottles every year! Assuming each is a standard 16 oz. bottle, a chain of 50 billion bottles could circle the equator approximately 253 times.
Envisioning the good that will come from our behavioral change is much more motivating than guilt tripping over our mistakes. Moreover, breaking down goals into smaller actionable steps makes them realistic and attainable.
Finally, we have to remember to be kind to ourselves and others along the way. The issues facing our planet are urgent, but we must be a united front. That means finding inspiration in each other, contributing to healthy debate, and avoiding judgement. Although we must keep ourselves honest and accountable about our impacts as individuals, no one can do it all at once! Make the commitment to yourself and the Earth to change a few things at a time, and eventually, the adjustments will come ~ naturally.