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12 Eco-Friendly Resolutions For The New Year
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12 Eco-Friendly Resolutions For The New Year

Wave Tribe

Out with the old, in with the new. With the new year looming, it’s customary for us to think about resolutions.

Published by Wave Tribe

That’s because the new year is all about new beginnings.

Resolution making is a time-honored tradition in our society. And it’s not an empty exercise since it is beneficial. Current research shows that setting a resolution can get you closer to your goals. One study found that 46 percent of individuals who made resolutions were successful compared to four percent who wanted to achieve a certain goal and considered it but didn’t actually create a resolution.

So while you formulate your list of new year’s resolutions, be sure to include a few goals focused on sustainability. We all know how 2019 hasn’t been a great year for the planet. Our glaciers have accelerated their melting and we’ve already gone over the carbon threshold. But we all share one planet so that means we have to do our part to make it last. Even the smallest initiative can lead to big results.

So if you need help with your resolutions, here are twelve eco-friendly resolutions for you to consider for the new year.

1. Eat Less Steaks and More Veggies
2. Use a Reusable Bag to the Grocery
3. Recycle More
4. Use a Glass Drinking Bottle
5. Shift to Eco-friendly Surf Gear
6. Wear Less Synthetic Clothes
7. Switch to an Eco-Vehicle
8. Always Carbon-Offset When Travelling by Plane
9. Organize More Beach Clean-Ups
10. Hang Your Laundry to Dry
11. Make Your Home Eco-Friendly
12. Support Marine Conservation and Protection Projects

1. Eat Less Steaks and More Veggies

Eating meat can be wasteful for our environment.

Beef production, in particular, is resource-intensive and results in 5 times more greenhouse gas emissions. According to one expert, cutting down on red meat would actually have more impact on carbon emissions than abandoning cars.

So how about reducing your meat consumption and eating more sustainably produced and organically grown vegetables in 2020? Not only does organic agriculture help mitigate the effects of climate change, but shifting to a diet rich in vegetables and fruits makes you leaner and more active.

In fact, several popular surfers who have become vegan report that eating more vegetables and fruits has made them more active mentally and physically to play competitive surfing. That’s a win-win, right?

2. Use a Reusable Bag

If you’re buying groceries, bring your own reusable bag. Use bags made of sustainable cloth like hemp. You can easily wash them when they become dirty.

Stop using plastic bags. It pollutes our environment. Here in America, we use more than 100 billion plastic bags each year. That’s equivalent to 300 bags per person. And yet out of these billions, only 1 percent is recycled. Breaking it down, it means that the average American family will only recycle 15 bags annually. The rest gets thrown away to the landfills or the sea where the plastic bags kill marine wildlife.

3. Recycle More

If you’re an occasional recycler, consider going full-on recycling this 2020. Recycling saves energy, prevents pollution, and reduces the amount of waste sent to landfills and incinerators.

For instance, if everyone recycles their single-use bottles regularly, it can significantly reduce plastic pollution in our environment. In the latest Ocean Trash Index, plastic bottle beverages are the second most common type of plastic debris collected in clean-ups all over the world. So if we commit to doing this consistently in 2020, it can make a significant impact on the health of our oceans.

Also, never refill a single-use mineral bottle for drinking. After one use, mineral bottles tend to degrade. They might leak toxic chemicals or micro-plastics. Just put the bottle in the recycling bin when you’re done with it.

4. Use a Glass Drinking Bottle

Even better than using plastic mineral bottles, switch to a glass drinking bottle instead.

Glass water bottles have more benefits than plastic ones. They’re refillable, free from toxic chemicals, and hold temperatures better than plastic. You also don’t need to replace them. Unless they break, of course.

5. Shift to Eco-Friendly Surfing Gear and Products

If you haven’t gotten on the green surf wave, you should think about doing so in 2020. Traditionally, the surfing industry has relied on petroleum by-products to produce surfboards and other surfing-related products. This has made the surfing industry a contributor to large scale carbon emissions which have worsened global warming.

These days though, there’s a new breed of surfer-entrepreneurs who have made it their mission to provide eco-friendly alternatives for surfers. From hemp-based surfboard travel bags to organic surfboard waxes, these products help minimize your negative impact on the marine environment.

6. Wear Less Synthetic Clothes

Polyester, nylon, and acrylic are some of the worst plastic-based textile fibers to hit the fashion industry.

Not only do they have a large carbon footprint, but they also easily degrade into microfibers when they are washed. These microfibers are washed into the ocean where they contribute to the worsening microplastic pollution.

As an alternative to synthetic textiles, look for clothes made from natural fibers instead, like hemp or organic cotton. If you’re looking for rash guards, there are also eco-friendly alternatives as well.

We all share one planet so that means we have to do our part to make it last. Even the smallest initiative can lead to big results.

— Derek Dodds, Wave Tribe Founder

7. Switch to an Eco-Vehicle

If you’re planning to get a new car for 2020, consider getting an electric vehicle or a hybrid because they are good for the environment. These electric vehicles cut down on carbon emissions because they run on electricity and not fuel. Also, they produce less carbon emissions during their manufacturing process than diesel-fueled cars.

Or you can ditch the car option in 2020 and resolve to walk, cycle, or commute to work. Not only does it have a lesser carbon footprint, but it also benefits your health.

Brisk walking, particularly, can help you beat obesity more than other forms of exercise. And when you commute to work, it makes your outlook happier.

8. Always Carbon-Offset When Travelling by Plane

When planning your overseas surfing trips in 2020, always choose the carbon-offset option when purchasing a plane ticket.

Airplanes have large carbon footprints. The crap that Duchess Markle and Prince Harry got for flying a private plane was due to the fact that airplane fuel burns a lot of energy and emits a lot of carbon. So it’s more wasteful to fly private than commercial because you’re adding more carbon emissions to the atmosphere.

Carbon-offsetting is a way to make up for the trouble your trip is causing the environment. These are voluntary schemes where people pay additional fees which goes to supporting environmental projects like reforestation and renewable energy that help offset the carbon emissions your flight is going to produce.

An example of this are Qantas’ Future Planet scheme which claims to be the largest airline offsetter. Others include Air Canada’s Less Emissions, Brussels Airlines with CO2 Logic, KLM’s CO2ZERO, and Austrian Airlines with Carbon Austria.

9. Organize More Beach Clean-ups

Resolve to participate in more beach clean-ups this new year. More than ever, we need to clean up the trash that’s accumulating on our beaches.

A polluted beach is not only bad for the environment, but also for the local economy. Nobody likes to take a dip at a dirty beach. Not only is the debris a hazard for swimmers but it’s also deadly for marine wildlife.

If you haven’t tried organizing one in your local beach, resolve to do so in 2020. It’s a great way to get people involved in solving the issue of pollution. And if you’ve already done so, make it a habit to organize one regularly. Because the trash that gets dumped on the beach never stops.

10. Hang Your Laundry to Dry

If you love doing laundry, consider hanging your clothes to dry.

A dryer emits more than a ton of carbon dioxide per year. If there are at least 88 million dryers in America, just imagine the impact it will have on our carbon emission levels. Not only that, it also uses so much energy which also adds to the carbon footprint since we generate our electricity by burning petroleum.

That’s why hanging clothes out to dry is more eco-friendly for the environment. And the good news is that clothes last longer when you line dry them because there is less wear and tear.

11. Make Your Home Eco-friendly this Year

Looking to renovate your home this 2020? Remember to think Green and always consider upcycling first.

It doesn’t have to be a major league renovation. There are simple ways that one can do to make one’s home more energy-efficient and eco-friendly.

For instance, you can change your light bulbs to eco-friendly ones. You can also install a solar panel to help with electricity or set aside barrels for rainwater catching. Don’t throw out stuff that you no longer use. Upcycle them or swap them with your neighbors for the things you really need. In doing so, you cut down on the waste.

12. Finally, Consider Supporting a Conservation Project

Whether it’s your time or money, a lot of ocean conservation non-profits will benefit from your contribution. Our beloved ocean is being threatened by a lot of problems and we all need to pitch in and do what we can to solve it.

Here at Wave Tribe, we created our Heal the Oceans page which compiles every worthwhile marine conservation project that needs support. This makes it easy for you to find noteworthy projects that you would like to support by donation or by volunteering your time.

Looking back, 2019 was a great year for us here at Wave Tribe. This 2020, we hope it will continue to be an awesome year of growth and discovery, not only for our tribe of stoke-fueled, eco-friendly surfers, but also for the rest of you out there. Let’s continue on surfing waves and saving the ocean.

Essential Wave Tribe Reads


Why Being a Vegetarian Can Help Save the Environment
How to Make your Surfing Travel Plans Eco-Friendly
The Ultimate Guide on How To Lower My Carbon Footprint - Surfer's Edition

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