The theme for Earth Day 2021 is Restore Our Earth™. Frankly, it would be difficult to come up with a theme that is more appropriate – and more needed – than this inspirational sentiment.
The concept of restoring our planet’s resources is always timely, given the ongoing effects of climate change and the destruction of many of our world’s fragile ecosystems. It’s a concept – and a theme, that would be relevant for an Earth Day celebration in virtually any year.
We at CLEAR2O wholeheartedly embrace the concept of Earth Day and what it represents. Our entire business is about creating products that can generate clean water, not just for RVers, but anyone who wants and needs fresh water. Our products remove contaminants, pollutants, and a wide assortment of harmful substances from a wide variety of water sources, making it suitable for virtually any purpose you can imagine. In this respect, we feel that we are doing our small part to make every day “Earth Day.”
But if we were to pinpoint a single aspect of our business that we feel can have the greatest impact on realizing the ideals of Earth Day, it would be the reduction of plastic water-bottle waste. We’ve written several blogs in the past about the amount of waste plastic generated by used water bottles and the harm that it causes the planet. But an Earth Day blog seems like an extremely relevant place to repeat some of the more salient facts:
- An article in Fast Company notes that around the globe, people are using almost 500 billion plastic water bottles per year, a number predicted to grow to 580 billion by the end of 2021 - with each bottle taking about 450 years to decompose.
- An estimated 1,500 plastic bottles end up as waste in landfills or thrown in the ocean every second.
- Only 1 out of 5 plastic water bottles ever gets recycled.
Facts like these provide us with the impetus to not only continue creating products that generate clean, fresh water but that help make the planet a little cleaner, a little safer, and a lot more pleasant to live in. It may be a small contribution, but if everyone does something small, it becomes something big.
With that said, what are some things that you can to make the planet a cleaner, safer place where our natural resources are treated with the respect they deserve? Here are just a few (since our expertise is in water, we focused on water-based activities):
- Stop Using Bottled Water. Given the facts we’ve just presented, we hope that you can see the negative impact that the use of plastic bottles has on our environment. Despite their convenience, consider using one of our filtered water pitchers or countertop filtration systems. Products like these can not only be used in your RV but in your home as well.
- Plant a Tree. Nothing gives back to the environment like a tree; the list of benefits is endless. They are nature’s natural filters, creating cleaner air and water while preventing erosion and mitigating flood damage. And of course, they are excellent at collecting harmful carbon dioxide. To help that tree grow big and strong, we recommend using our CLEAR2O® Garden & Pet Water Hose Filter to water it. This filter removes contaminants that are harmful to plant life, especially chlorine, which kills the beneficial bacteria present in the soil, while also burning the plant’s delicate uptake roots.
- Start a Garden. If we’re taking about planting things, why not go for a whole garden? This is especially beneficial for children, as gardening teaches us food appreciation, reduces picky-eating, and, like a tree, helps the planet by reducing carbon dioxide levels. And of course, watering with our garden and pet filter is a must.
- Take the Earth Day Water Challenge: Most of us take water for granted. But do you know that close to 663 million people in the world don’t have access to clean water? Check out one family’s experience with the Earth Day Water Challenge. The point was to see what it’s like to keep track of every drop of water they used and gain a greater appreciation of how much water we waste every day.