I have a confession to make my dear ones, I write about the environment and yet I am not completely aware of Mother Earth and the carbon footprints I leave.

I read over the weekend a report about coffee, water and new clothes. I have been feeling guilty ever since. I try my best but I am failing. You must be wondering what this is about?

Coffee, how many of us drink coffee? We drink coffee, first thing in the morning, lunch time and maybe an espresso and for recreation. What is happening? It is overconsumption and it is causing severe habitat loss. The plants’ species are being endangered. Coffee’s carbon footprint is not light. With non-organic farming, processing, packaging, transport etc, one pound of roasted coffee produces eleven pounds of carbon. Ensure that one drinks sustainably grown coffee.

Water is a shared resource, and often wasted. A ten-minute shower takes 100,000 glasses of drinking water. There is water scarcity which impacts four billion people worldwide. Fix leaky faucets, and control lawn watering times. A lighter diet will help, a meat burger demands 1600 liters of water.

I am adding to this my own understanding. The water footprint of Californian almonds is twelve liters of water. Cashews, pistachio nuts are also water guzzlers. They have huge water footprints. Do we have to consume so many almonds, cashews, pistachio nuts? One ounce of peanuts needs minimal water and it is a zero-waste crop. So much is written about diet and if our awareness is heightened then we have a friendly diet with tiny footprints.

I love clothes, new clothes more so. Don’t we all, I hope I am not the only baddie.

However, 85% of textiles reach dumps each year, one garbage truck of clothes being burnt each second. Think before you discard—making one cotton shirt takes 700 gallons, enough for one person to drink eight cups per day for three years.

How many of us lack awareness about our wasteful nature? It is true and becoming conscientious about this, will enable us to save the planet. Read the labels of products before purchasing. What are the values of the company, producing these items? It is difficult but if we are particular about what we eat and drink, we pass this on to our children. Do not throw clothes away. Share them, give to a thrift shop, or charity and let others enjoy them.

Minimize water usage

As a child I used to have a bucket bath. It is very common in India, and a half bucket which would be 80 glasses of water is enough for a bath. Now I also have a shower but shorten the time to three to five minutes. Cooking can also be done with less water, recycling the water for plants.

It is not easy; however, we can do it. Awareness and through the practice of a yogic lifestyle we can lower our carbon footprints. Understanding Mother Nature, protecting the rivers, plant and animal species we can achieve saving the planet.

Source: Harvard Business School.

Aim Hrim Klim

Photo by Photo Boards on Unsplash