10 Climate Conscious Ways to Make the New Year a New You

As New Year's rolls around, have you asked yourself what you can do to make a real impact? Instead of setting unrealistic goals for yourself, check out a few of these actionable resolutions to be the one who makes a true difference.

1. Try purchasing produce in bulk to avoid wasting the packaging of many products

2. Consider buying fresh fruits and vegetables as opposed to canned ones; it's both better for you and for the environment

3. Try focusing on one room to minimize waste in at a time

   1. In the bathroom you could:

      1. use reusable facial rounds instead of single-use cotton ones (https://www.thetaremarket.com/products/facial-rounds)

      2. use shampoo and body wash bars instead of the liquid alternative to save plastic

      3. try out bamboo instead of plastic toothbrushes to compost after use

   2. In the kitchen you could:

      1. Use leftovers in soups and discarded meat scraps as nutritious broth

      2. Use glass containers as opposed to plastic ones; they also keep your fresher because they are non-porous

      3. Freeze food that is quick to perish such as bread and fruit

      4. Store food correctly (ie keeping onions and potatoes in the pantry, storing milk and eggs in the main fridge and not the door)

4. Avoid any products with palm oil as an ingredient; The production of palm oil is instrumental in causing deforestation, destroying animal habitats, producing excess greenhouse gases, and even unsustainable farming practices

5. Always choose the organic alternative to produce in a store; it uses fewer resources, prevents both groundwater and air pollution, and is generally healthier for you to consume

6. Minimize digital carbon footprint too! Everything you use your device for requires energy

7. Limit AI usage; training models require energy from fossil fuels, increasing greenhouse gases, consuming 2-4% of global electricity. GPU's used in AI production use rare elements that are mined unsustainably and cooling all that hardware requires massive volumes and water and even more energy

8. Learn to mend clothes or accessories to avoid buying replacements

9. Avoid fast fashion brands and support ones with high environmental standards such as Patagonia, Veja, Outerknown, and Boody

10. Donate money to plant trees; organizations like Eden Reforestation Projects can plants 10 trees for every $1 you donate

Make sure to follow along with The Conscious Planet to learn about even more ways you can make a real, tangible impact!

Sources:

• 25 sustainable New Year’s resolutions for 2025. Way of Being. (n.d.). https://wayofbeing.co/blogs/news/22-sustainable-new-years-resolutions-for-2022?srsltid=AfmBOoolPv--C4Ho6LpAAtkYxZzF5SfUFn9I6QV8of6ikc4MWeHVjjwU

• Environmental Protection Agency. (n.d.). EPA. https://www.epa.gov/recycle/preventing-wasted-food-home#:~:text=Make%20sure%20you%20are%20properly,be%20used%20for%20soup%20stock.

• AI has an environmental problem. here’s what the world can do about that. (n.d.-a). https://www.unep.org/news-and-stories/story/ai-has-environmental-problem-heres-what-world-can-do-about