5 Ways We Can Help The Burning Amazon Right Now

The Amazon is burning. Everyone is talking about it. The big leagues are squabbling at their summits about it, and we’re all sat here feeling tremendously guilty and helpless. Well, instead of twiddling our thumbs, we can put our guilt into action in five very simple, yet significant ways.

Download Ecosia.
Ecosia is an Internet browser, with a difference. For every 45 searches, a new tree is planted, “where they are needed most.” What’s more, the morally conscious browser utilizes all profits generated to plant trees, and give back to Mother Nature. You can use it as you would Safari or Microsoft Edge; and if you’re too attached to the aesthetic of Google Chrome, you can simply add it as an extension to your Chrome browser. No excuses!

 Support The Earth Alliance Amazon Fund
As if we needed another reason to love Leo; he has now pledged to raise $5 million for the Amazon fires through his Earth Alliance Foundation. The money raised will be sent to help combat the wildfires and repair the damage. Leo posted on his Instagram on Monday evening, “Now is the time to take action. Help support @EarthAlliance Amazon Forest Fund. Please visit ealliance.org/amazonfund (link in bio) for more information and to donate.”  Leo has spoken.

Use Products That Contain Sustainable Palm Oil
Palm oil is the most efficient use of vegetable oil and is widely used in beauty products, as well as a diverse range of food. However, the uncontrolled clearing of forests for palm oil plantations to meet the huge consumer demand has led to a reduction in biodiversity and many species becoming endangered. Instead of swearing off palm oil entirely, look for products that contain the RSPO label (Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil). The RSPO label signifies that the products have been sourced in a socially and environmentally sustainable way; to ensure the least possible damage to environments and communities.

Reduce Your Beef Consumption
Now, I’m not telling you to become vegan, but if we all play our part in reducing our beef consumption, we can have a serious impact. The facts are: two-thirds of the countries in Central America have been cleared to raise cattle, in order to produce beef for the U.S food industry. The less we eat, the less damage we cause. It’s a no brainer.

Use Your Reusable Coffee Cup
Logging companies cut down some of our most biodiverse habitats and forests so that we can enjoy caramel lattes out of cardboard cups. We’re not saying you must completely stop using cardboard and paper, but bringing along a KeepCup for your morning brew, is an easy way to cut back. Many sustainable companies are also reclaiming wood products from wine barrels, demolished barns or by-products, to provide us with the same cardboard materials, free from guilt.

In truth, it is easy to let our fears of hypocrisy keep us from making these changes, that are all too easy to make. We worry that we like cheeseburgers too much to be veggie, we are too forgetful to bring our Keep Cup to Starbucks and, we are too lazy to remember to wash those reusable cotton pads, but this is completely normal. Helping out doesn’t have to mean being 100% green, 100% of the time but, small changes in big numbers add up.“The World’s lungs” are struggling for Oxygen. How will you help?

Image credit: The Leaders

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