What can we do to protect Planet Earth? Top 10 answers

To celebrate Earth Day 2015 we asked a simple question on the social media: What do you do to protect the Planet Earth?

We received responses from people from all over the world who shared with the rest of the community the actions carried out in their everyday life to contribute to sustainable development.

From Sustainability for all we want to thank you all for the messages shared and we would like to point out the Top 10 respondents:

1. Carla Julian I switch lights off when not needed & keep windows open instead of having AC on full blast! I also use white vinegar to clean my apartment which is biodegrade & doesn't harm at all the environment!! Living in such hot region as Middle East, it's hard not to use the car instead of public transport!! I try to do car pooling as much as possible... & walk around in the area instead of silly five minute drives!! let's save the planet!!
2. Sara Naama I like to do as much as possible to help! I recycle and separate plastic, paper/carton and glass by having different containers to make it easy. I don't leave the water running when I don't use it (shower, brushing teeth). I like to use reusable containers for food. Of course turning off the lights and any electricity switches when not in use. Use public transportation almost everyday. Leaving leftovers and not throwing away food (?). Batteries can now be recycled at the new bus stops. I like to inform myself as much as possible because I find interesting things all the time.
3. Pablo Molina del Pozo To combat climate change I do the following: buying responsibly (learning well to distinguish between products and companies with the greatest environmental, social or health impact, and reject publicly, thus our social environment know and follow our example); reducing the amount of waste and recycle them well (reuse products for longer life); eating without waste (food waste worldwide is an ecological, economic and social problems rising) and, finally, choose natural and ecotourism destinations (Ecotourism provides a "green" alternative to conventional tourist destinations. When you arrive at the destination, public transport is the most sustainable option, but if there is no choice use private vehicles, at least, should be conducted efficiently).
4. Nura Naama Ever since high school, I've been really aware of the environment's degradation so in my own little ways I try to help. I always recycle and separate my trash into plastics, cans, glass, cartons....I use public transport as much as possible, I try to not use products which harm other species (for ex: dolphin friendly tuna). I try to save water and electricity . I use my bottle of water to not buy plastic bottles, the same happens with shopping; I carry my own bags so I don't buy plastic bags. And in general, I don't litter, don't smoke and will sign any and all climate conservation petitions J
5. Tommy Sinnott I think it is very important to always think of the environment first! I only buy eco-friendly light bulbs and always make sure to turn off the lights when I don't need them on. I also try to pull up the blinds and let sunlight in as another source of light. This is a more cost efficient and eco-friendly form of light! I also recycle everything that is recyclable in my house to reduce waste. Lastly, I carry around a refillable water bottle so that I don't buy plastic bottles every day, contributing to waste and trash on our planet.
6. Lauren Sherwood I am very active in our local fight against Corporate greed and manipulation and I am trying to put together an "Earth Day" type Symposium in our local community to help people make the necessary changes in their energy uses and Supply to lead us toward a future with little or no fossil fuel usage!There's no reason we shouldn't all be able to incorporate more if not all of it into our daily lives!! WE just need information and access and that is happening more and more! I am hopeful for change and it starts with each of us! Emoticono heart
7. Dolly Meintjes Very interesting comments, but my summary is there are "too many lives on one planet" all just producing new ones and not thinking of the end results - the oxygen, air, water, food etc..etc is becoming too little to cope with the load of breeding on our planet!! (Although this is not a tip or trick on what to do to be more sustainable, it is a very interesting comment that deals with the problem of Overpopulation. If you’d like to know more about this problem, watch our video on Overpopulation)
8. Leah Ellins I ride a bike to get around as opposed to driving a car or traveling by public transport. I re-use, I recycle & separate accordingly - don't forget to take your bottle caps off. I try to conserve water by not leaving it running doing dishes/brushing teeth etc. I never throw non-biodegradable things on the ground, and for that matter I don't litter. I always take the stairs as opposed to wasting energy on elevators. I re-use plastic bags if I have them, and normally I use a recyclable bag. I always turn off lights and switched off electronics to save electricity - my roommates are freaked out at how well I operate in the dark and how often I even forget to turn a light on in the first place. Basic things in my every day life that I hope contribute to a cleaner world. On top of all that, I try to spread awareness about climate change, as a surprising amount of people don't really understand that weather variability ("polar vortexes," out-of-season weather phenomena, very few glaciers growing as opposed to receding, what have you) cannot possibly negate the very clear and real global warming that is occurring on our planet.
9. Elva Cavazos Medina We recycle plastics, aluminum, metal, old appliances, paper bags, newspapers and magazines. We encourage our family and friends to recycle also. They save the recyclables and we pick them up and take them to our local recycling center. If everyone would do their part, we can leave a cleaner Earth for our Children and GrandChikdren! Happy Earth Day Everyone! Peace!!
10. Shada Edaeki From a civil engineering perspective, we're always trying to produce as eco-friendly designs as possible. In one of my recent projects we incorporated an underfloor heating system in a home to reduce some of the long term running costs. By using a geothermal heat pump in conjunction with the system the water in the pipes would be preheated using the already existing heat provided from the soil well below the ground level saving a LOT of energy expenditure. Simple and efficient!