21 Ways to Help the Environment

At treeppl we’re here to help you offset your carbon emissions by planting trees. No matter how careful you are, just by going about your life you will (knowingly or unknowingly) be responsible for using energy that contributes to CO2 being released into the atmosphere. In addition to this, various products you buy and choices you make will also be responsible for deforestation around the globe.

Below is a list of actions you can take to reduce the impact you have on our environment. Try and implement as many of them as you can over the next few weeks, then sign up to plant trees with us to offset the rest of your carbon footprint.

Cut down on meat

According to Oxford University eating a purely plant based diet would reduce food related emissions by 70%.

Stop drinking bottled water

Bottled water has a carbon foot print of around 82.8g per half liter – it is one of the least eco things you can consume. Only 23 per cent of water bottles bought in the UK are actually recycled, the rest end up in landfill or the ocean – stop drinking water from plastic bottles – please!

Buy your electricity from renewable sources

Do some research to see if there are any green energy suppliers that can supply your home.

The Green Electricity Marketplace http://www.greenelectricity.org/ is a good place to start.

Recycle

Recycling of aluminum cans saves 95% of the energy required to make the same amount of aluminum from its virgin source. Recycling plastic, paper and glass is also as beneficial.

Stop using products containing unsustainable palm oil

Production of palm oil is devastating rainforests and jungles all over the world.

Buy organic foods and products

According to the FOA (Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations) “By opting for organic products, the consumer promotes a less polluting agricultural system.”

Try and buy foods grown locally

The maritime shipping industry emits more CO2 than Germany that’s more than 1 billion tons of CO2 per year. If you buy your products locally you can reduce your reliance on this industry.

Work from home one day a week

According to The Live Earth Global Warming Survival Handbook, if one million people worked from home one day a week, it could eliminate three million tons of CO2 per year.

Carpool

Less cars on the road means less CO2 in the atmosphere.

Slow down

Slowing down while driving and maintaining one speed without the need for multiple gear changes will use far less petrol.

Use the carwash

Washing your own – according to Prevention.com – drains 10 gallons of water every minute, as opposed to 15 to 32 gallons over all in an automatic wash.

Buy groceries online

Rather than every household making a trip to the supermarket, one truck can deliver to multiple homes.

Switch off

Turn off your computer, lights, TV, radio, microwave when you’re not using them

Use your dishwasher if you have one

Dishwashers use half the energy, one sixth of the water and less soap than hand-washing.

Stop using Teflon

Teflon is environmentally damaging, created by the application of toxic chemicals that are then released into the air (and your food) when you cook. Cast iron pans are naturally non-stick

Eliminate the use of household cleaners with toxic ingredients

Instead of using the toxic cleaners, you can find alternative cleaners to keep your home and surrounding environment safer.

Get some plants in your home and office

Plants can absorb toxic gasses and produce oxygen. Particularly effective are peace lilies, palms and Fiscus plants, which remove formaldehyde from the air.

Cancel junk mail

Production of junk mail and catalogues has a massive impact on the environment and it’s mostly just crap.

Cancel paper bank statements and bills

Do everything online, it’s 2016 FFS.

Use reusable bags

The United Nations Environment Program estimates that every square mile of ocean contains approximately 46,000 pieces of plastic floating in it. You can help reduce this by making use of reusable bags.

Replace plastic products with glass

Plastics manufacture makes up 4.6% of the annual petroleum consumption in the U.S., using roughly 331 million barrels per year

Don’t use microbeads

Some toothpastes or beauty products contain about about 100,000 microbeads each. They end up polluting our environment. The same results can be achieved from biodegradable natural ingredients, so use those instead.

Compost

If you live in a city and don’t need compost yourself, there are typically companies that will collect it from you. You will not only be creating less waste, but by composting, the creation of greenhouse gases, like methane, is avoided.

Think about your pets

WWF reckons each pet (cat or dog) consumes 16 times the resources (food, water, energy) that a person living in poverty in Africa does. Feed them responsibly.

Go outside

If we have a relationship with the planet, we are more likely to connect with it, and feel a responsibility to protect it. 

Vegetarian Recipies

Meat consumption contributes to global warming and environmental degradation. It’s estimated that about 20-50 per cent of global man-made greenhouse gas emissions come from livestock, and that beef production makes up 41 per cent of those emissions.

These figures might seem high but look into the emissions and waste produced by the animals themselves, deforestation to make room for grazing and crops for feed, transportation and refrigeration and all of the pesticides and antibiotics used in the supply chain and you start to realise that the way we currently consume meat is not sustainable.

So are we telling you to become vegetarian? No, you can live your life exactly how you want, however, if you want to reduce the negative impact you have on the environment, why not try and reduce the amount of meat (especially low grade beef) you eat. To help you do this we have put together a number of delicious (they are we’ve tried them) vegetarian recipes for you to use.

We’ll add more recipes each week.

We think that crispy pan-fried gnocchi with crème fraîche is not only super tasty but incredibly easy to make! The gnocchi has a crispy coating and a pillow-like centre, accompanied by ‘meaty’ chestnut mushrooms, tasty broccoli, cheese and flat leaf parsley. We think we’ve made our own delicacy with this twist on a classic Italian dish! Click the image for the recipe.

Quick, easy and packed with healthy veg, this is a great midweek meal for vegans and veggies.

Ten Facts About Trees

Welcome to treeppl, we are people who are passionate about trees and preserving our wonderful planet. So for our first blog post we thought we’d share some interesting facts about trees:

1. A tree can absorb as much as 20kg of carbon dioxide per year and can sequester 1 ton of carbon dioxide by the time it reaches 40 years old.

2. Trees help our soil remain healthy by reducing soil erosion and by creating a soil climate suitable for microorganism to grow.

3. One large tree can provide a day's supply of oxygen for up to four people.

4. One large tree can lift up to 100 gallons of water out of the ground and discharge it into the air in a day.

5. There are over 23,000 different species of trees in the world.

6. Each year, one person uses wood and paper products equivalent to a 100 foot tree 18 inches in diameter.

7. It can take 10 minutes to walk around the crown of a giant banyon tree in Calcutta.

8. Trees are some of the oldest living organism on earth

9. Trees trap more of the sun's energy than any other group of organisms on earth -- they are in essence big batteries -- the largest on earth. Only 0.1% of the sun's energy is trapped by organisms -- trees account for 50% of all energy trapped by organism

10. Trees need food to grow but you can't buy food for them. They make their own food from sunlight, water, carbon dioxide and nutrients from the soil. 

If you would like to start a tree planting project of your own, just click the button below.

Benefits of living near trees

Could living near trees really improve your health? Researchers who set out to examine this very question say it might. A recent study found that residents in urban neighbourhoods with more trees reported feeling healthier and had fewer cardio-metabolic conditions, such as heart disease and diabetes.

There have been some studies that suggest green space is better for your health, but few studies have analyzed the relationship between individual trees and health. So, the researchers decided to quantify just how much a tree on a street could improve health.

They collected the health records of 31,000 adult residents of Toronto, which included the residents' cardio-metabolic conditions, household income, years of education and their perception of their own health. Researchers combined this data with satellite imagery and public data on half a million trees in Toronto.

The study, published in Scientific Reports, found that planting 10 or more trees in a city block, on average, increased how someone rated their health and decreased cardio-metabolic conditions. These improvements in health were comparable to an “increase in annual income of $10,000, moving to a neighborhood with $10,000 higher median income or being 7 years younger,” according to the study.

Co-author Marc Berman told The Washington Post that after controlling for income, age and education, the study "found a significant independent effect of trees on the street on health".

Researchers chose Toronto to study as residents benefit from Canada’s universal health care, so access to doctors shouldn’t vary as much as places without universal health care, which reduces the health impact of trees. Though, universal health care doesn’t remove all disparities as “Canadians with lower incomes and fewer years of schooling visit specialists at a lower rate than those with moderate or high incomes and higher levels of education,” the study explains.

While the results of the study found a correlation between trees and health, it cannot show cause and effect. Researchers were unable to pinpoint why trees seemed to improve health, but suggest it might have something to do with an improvement in air quality, relieving stress, or promoting physical activity. The study was also limited by the data it used. Although researchers controlled for a number of factors, someone’s perception of their own health is subjective.

Researchers hope to test their current findings in a “more comprehensive manner that obviates the mentioned limitations.” For the time being, the study recommends that every block plants 10 more trees – about a 4% increase in street tree density – in Toronto, which they suggest is “logically feasible.”