10 ways to help the planet on World Environment Day

5 Jun 2015

World Environment Day (WED) falls today (5 June) and it is when the United Nations (UN) calls on the public to do something positive for the environment.

With the theme of this year’s WED being “7bn dreams. One planet. Consume with care”, the UN says that the rate of consumption of the Earth’s materials is far exceeding what we are putting back into it.

According to its research, much of the Earth’s ecosystems are at nearing critical tipping points of depletion or irreversible change, pushed by high population growth and economic development.

They estimate that, by 2050, if current consumption and production patterns remain the same, and with a rising population expected to reach 9.6bn, we will need three planets to sustain our ways of living and consumption.

With this in mind, the UN has created a list of 10 small things that will allow the first steps to be taken to change our collective mindset.

1. Go vegetarian, at least sometimes

WED tips

2. Ditch the paper board pass for flights

WED tips

3. Sick of the office? Skype instead

WED tips

4. Get your cooking skills on

WED tips

5. Bone up on your DIY handywork

WED tips

6. Recycle the old iPods

WED tips

7. Save every last drop of water

WED tips

8. Have a bright idea

WED tips

9. Recycle, recycle, recycle

WED tips

10. Get on your bike

WED tips

World Environment Day image via Shutterstock

Colm Gorey was a senior journalist with Silicon Republic

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