Back for Earth Day
For what it's Earth...
Good morning and happy Thursday!
We know it's been a while since you've received one of these in your inbox. After taking a long hiatus to realign with ourselves and our lives, we're back to writing. We missed the act of writing for a community and researching how we can find, build, and maintain more sustainable habits. Happy to see some new faces joining us in our Do One Better corner.
You'll find the pieces we are writing going forward to be differently formatted than what we had before. We'll be sharing bite-sized reads, giving some product recommendations, etc. If we're sponsored to show something, we will make that very clear.
Our hope is to continue to build our Do One Better community and be more action oriented. And don’t worry, we might come back to our longer deep dives some time in the future. 😉
With Earth Day coming up, we’ll talk a bit about what you can do for our planet this year, what we are reading now, and ongoing events you can join in. Hopefully we’ll see you at some of them!
As we’re pivoting and experimenting with what we want to talk about, please let us know what you think! Shoot us an email with your thoughts and personal comments.
Things You Can Do
For Earth Day, here's some simple swap outs you can make to reduce your footprint!
For those of you that wear makeup, consider swapping out wipes for cotton rounds! High quality cotton rounds are 1) cheaper in the long run, 2) don't contain chemicals, and 3) are reusable for years. We love The Makeup Eraser and Weegreeco.
When replacing your trash bag, try using biodegradable trash bags. With billions of plastic bags thrown out each year, you can definitely play your part by opting in for these trash bags which meet the requirement of composting programs and are BPI certified. They're also cheaper than regular plastic bags.
Ditch the plastic in your household cleaning supplies and makeup: we are huge fans of Blueland. Their signature bottle is chic and it's quite fun to see the cleaning tablets dissolve and turn into soap, laundry detergent, and cleaners.
Consciously assess what products and how much plastic you use on a day to day basis. For toiletries, skincare, shampoo, conditioner, deodorant, toothpaste, etc, there are plastic free options available and are only a quick google search away. For either the same or slightly premium price, you are likely to get a better quality product that is better for your body and planet.
What We’re Consuming This Week
Every six to eight years, the U.N. IPCC releases a report on the progress countries are making toward their climate goals. The most recent report signifies some challenges.
Kurzgesagt shared some great news on how Earth has made big strides in tackling climate change, but there is still more we can do.
Pinterest recently banned climate change misinformation on their site, the first major social platform to combat this type of content.
President Biden proposed a $5.8 trillion budget last week to provide more funding for climate research and environmental justice programs.
All those microplastics we talked about before? Well, we’ve finally found that these particles are now found in living patients during surgery.
Yellowstone National Park is offering a limited time offer for a $1500 donation annual pass. The catch, it’s valid starting in 2172 — designed for your descendants!
Check out The Pudding’s weather map to check if your center has broken a record-high temperature.
Here are some fun thoughts on Netflix’s film Don’t Look Up from another substack newsletter Heated.
Pique Action’s short documentaries is a great digital series to talk about human innovation. Highly recommend checking out a few of the short films.
Earth Day Events Near You
All
Fashion Revolution Week is coming together online, with the theme focused on Money Fashion Power.
Check out what events Earth Day is planning in your local city!
Chicago is hosting a mini film fest for Earth Week throughout April 18-24!
NASA collaborated on putting together an Earth Day 52th Anniversary Toolkit, so check out some fun virtual activities and resources.
The Sierra Club has also gathered some nature-focused activities to get kids and family excited about supporting Earth Day.
Check out some documentaries online recommended by Sundance Institute to celebrate Earth Day and the wonderful world we live in.
Bay Area, California
The Pacific Beach Coalition is hosting beach cleanups in the Bay Area at the end of April.
There's an Earth Day celebration on Valencia Street in SF, featuring speakers, non profits, and vendors who are focused on sustainability.
There's an Earth Day Cleanup at the Berkeley Waterfront.
The Cupertino Library is hosting an Earth Day and Arbor Day festival for the community to learn how to be more engaged with the environment, and how everyone can do their part.
Oakland Zoo is celebrating Earth Day with a “Regeneration Celebration” on April 16th!
New York City, New York
Check out your local fair, such as the Grand Bazaar in NYC on Sunday, April 17th, where there is an ongoing Earth Day event. All profits are donated to local NYC public schools.
New York City’s Union Square is hosting an Earth Day Festival on April 21st with lots of boosts and speakers on the climate conversation.
Volunteer at Queens County Farm Museum to help out with their garden on April 22nd or at Randall’s Island’s Urban Farm on April 24th to help restore woodlands and salt marshes.
There’s tree planting up in the Bronx, over at Cunningham Park, and the 200th anniversary of Prospect Park’s creator, Frederick Law Olmstead!
Whatever you do to celebrate Earth Day this upcoming month, definitely be sure to get outside and enjoy the resurgence of spring. Hope to see you back with more Do One Better content soon!
- Gibson and Maitri