School is back in session and it is a perfect time to rethink school-related routines to help protect the environment. Between transportation, lunches, supplies, and after-school activities, there are a lot of areas where families can fine-tune their habits to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, reduce waste, and protect the climate.
Instead of driving your kids to school, consider adopting active transportation such as walking, scootering, or biking to school. Doing so incorporates some exercise, saves on gas, and reduces congestion, pollution, and emissions. Plus, it’s a lot more fun!
Strive for no-waste lunches by using reusables such as lunch boxes or bags instead of paper bags, reusable baggies or glass or metal containers with lids instead of disposable zip lock bags, and cloth napkins instead of paper napkins. Reusables save money, reduce waste, and protect the climate. Buy snacks in bulk and use reusable containers instead of single-serve disposable packages.
Also consider healthy low-cost plant-based lunch foods such as celery with peanut butter and raisins, hummus with cut-up veggies for dipping, a good old peanut butter and jelly sandwich, a hummus and sliced veggies sandwich, or peanut butter with apple slices for dipping. Plant-based food has a much lower carbon footprint than meat-based meals, tends to be less expensive, and can be healthier than other choices. Give these suggestions a try with your kids.
For school supplies, buy paper items made of recycled paper whenever possible. Refillable mechanical pencils never need sharpening and use less material than wooden pencils. The same goes for reusable pens.
It is also time for after-school sports. Organize carpools with other parents for practices and games. Doing so saves much-needed time as well as gas, and reduces emissions. A side benefit I discovered while taking my kids and their friends to their after-school sports practices is that the kids would talk to each other about what is going on in their lives as if you didn’t exist in the driver’s seat. I learned lots of interesting things during my carpool duty!
Climate action doesn’t have to be hard. It starts with the everyday choices we make in our lives. Let’s lead by example for our kids this back-to-school season, and show them that small actions, done consistently, make a difference in protecting our planet.
Joyce Mercado is the author of Save the Planet in Your Spare Time: A Climate Protection Handbook for the Busy Person, a member of Community Action for a Sustainable Alameda (CASA), and President of the Rotary Club of Alameda. Her columns are collected at alamedapost.com/Joyce-Mercado. She can be reached at [email protected].
