Has the Heat Wave Gotcha Down?

by Lee Ann Hopkins July 22, 2019

Worried about climate change? Wondering how we are going to survive this heat and progressively more aggressive, volatile weather events?

Worry, as you know, will never help move the needle for change. We all know this, but operate as if this time we are in is an exception.

Action is the only cure for us.  (Well, that, and a nice luxurious bath or shower with soaps that soothe or invigorate! ;-)  Remember the Calgon commercials? The woman--always a woman--exclaims, "Calgon! Take me away!" Then she's all happy and smiling in her tub of bubbles, supposedly Calgon soap bubbles...)

I digress. Sorry.

Action is the answer for our worries. As we continue to say from Alexandria, Virginia: "Use less sh*t. Do more good." and "Give up the bottle. Go to the bar." These are things we can do, instead of worrying ourselves to death.

In this moment, this hour, this day, this week take one small step toward change.

Here are a few discrete steps you can take (or choose your own because there are so many actions that are possible):

• On your lunch, go outside and pick up litter with your colleagues. (Everything is better with friends AND you model good citizenship to all who participate and all who see your actions.)
• Write or call one of the businesses you routinely support with your dollars asking them to change their behavior regarding plastics and waste. (You don't have to support businesses that are blind to the troubles we face and that they are actively participating in the planet's demise.)
• Send money to an environmental cause that is actively engaged in solving our problems: Environmental Defense Fund, Natural Resources Defense Council, Ocean Conservancy, National Parks Conservation Association, Earth Justice, Earth Watch, 350.org,  Jane Goodall Institute, and many, many other worthy organizations.
• Follow an organization on social media that puts out daily or weekly "actions" to take. It's a wonderful way to get reminders to "do good".  In fact, Do Good Soaps and Suds provides small doses of motivation and eco-tips via Instagram (@DoGoodSoapsAndSuds) and Facebook (facebook.com/dogoodsoaps). Other ideas can be found at @easyecotips or @trashisfortossers.
• Decide today, in this moment, to give up your addiction to something you think you can't live without that is plastic...straws, water bottles, your tooth brush and razors, all those tubes of toothpaste that end up in the dump, your Starbucks, your favorite lunch place that only uses plastic clamshells for take out or any number of items you can't do without from the grocery store. (When you start to notice ALL that is packaged in plastic and petrochemical films, you understand why we have all the problems we do.)  Just one item this week.  Another item next week.  You'll be zero-waste or reduced waste in no time.
• Choose to ride your bike or walk for doing your errands as much as you can. In the alternative, if you can't physically do so, then plan your shopping for just one day a week and schedule your trips so that you're not wasting gas.  So often, we jump in the car and do quick jaunts to the store when a "need" strikes us. There are very few things that we "need" right now. That desire can wait until it is scheduled with other errands.
• And lastly, "Give up the bottle. Go to the bar." Make purchasing solid soaps, shampoos, lotions deodorants and balms a habit. We're glad to help with that endeavor.  Seriously, we're most interested in changed behavior, consuming less of the planet's resources and doing more to save this precious earth.

Alright, that's it for today. Write us at blog@dogoodsoapsandsuds.com if you've got submission ideas, suggestions for Do Good or just a "hello there!"  We'd love it.

Please stay out of the heat this week as best as you are able. Drink lots of water...and hey, find a place to go skinny-dipping!  We'll be right behind you! (No pun intended!)

 

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