Last night, I had the incredible privilege of being honored by the New York City Mayor, Bill DeBlasio, and the First Lady, Chirlane Irene McCray, as the official honoree of the annual Asian Pacific American Heritage Celebration at Gracie Mansion for my acting and activism work.  I spoke to a crowd of about 1000 people at the ceremony and, afterwards, several people asked if they could have a written version of the remarks I made.  I only spoke for about 3 minutes and the remarks are quite short, however, for those who would like them in written form, here they are:

Thank you so much to the Mayor, First Lady and all the incredible City staff behind this event for this tremendous honor.  I am truly humbled. I also in awe of your courage in giving someone who is both an actor and a lawyer a microphone.  Any other actors and lawyers out there?  Ok, you know why!  We’re terrible like that - we’ll just talk forever and ever.  Don’t worry.  I won’t do that to you today.  I’d just like to draw some attention to one area that is near and dear to my heart and that is representation – specifically Asian American representation – in entertainment media.  I run the Film Lab, a non-profit, that provides resources and production content that highlights Asian Americans, women and others of color.  We particularly focus on Asian Americans because unlike most other racial groups, as our population percentage has increased, our representation on TV and in movies has not followed.  In fact, in many years our visibility on screen has actually declined.  We remain largely unseen and movies like “Crazy Rich Asians,” are, sadly, still the exception and not the rule.  If we are seen at all, it is too often as the “Other,” the “Fresh Off the Boat” newcomer, or any one of a number of other tired stereotypes.
 
Now, there’s a lot going on in the world today and whitewashed entertainment may seem trivial, but I submit to you that it is actually critically important. Entertainment media is the method by which we, as a society, leave our history and tell the world who we are as a people.  When the mainstream media stereotypes, marginalizes or erases us, it creates widespread societal perception that we are not Americans, not equal, and that we do not belong.  The reality is this is our country.  Asian Americans have fought and died for the United States since the War of 1812.  But regardless of whether our families came here in the 1812 or in 2012, this is our home and we belong here.  We should not and do not need to ask permission to be seen or heard. And that’s the really exciting part about running the Film Lab – the ability to reclaim our story; create and support entertainment content that returns us – and others of color – to the story that we belong in.  To the story that is our story, too.
 
The Film Lab is small and we operate on a shoe-string budget, staffed primarily by volunteers, but I like to think we provide more resources and content to the community than organizations with 10x our budget.  And that is because of the great hearts of our volunteers.  If you’d indulge me just a moment – some of the Film Lab staff are here today and I’d like to ask them to stand.  They are the backbone of the Lab and nothing it accomplishes could be done without them.  This team has a lot of heart although sometimes, of course, it can feel like we’re pushing against a brick wall, which is why recognition like this is so incredible and so meaningful.  I am truly grateful to Mayor DeBlasio and the First Lady for this honor and to all of you for your support in ensuring that our faces, voices and stories are heard and seen, not just as whispers in the corner, but as shouts from the center of the stage.  So, keep shouting everyone and thank you very much.

Gracie Mansion
May 9, 2019

​Imagine you are a female in a bar and some drunk guy keeps pushing your chair and bumping you and pushing you and then he finally escalates to actually touching you, brushing against you and being obnoxious.  Now imagine the guy is a white guy in nicely pressed business casual clothes, accompanied by a second – not obviously drunk – white guy in equally pressed business casual clothes, who is waving his Platinum AmEx around and ordering bottles of Moet.  You are wearing jeans and have had nothing to drink.  Finally, it’s all too much and you ask the guy to stop touching you. Both white men stare at you aggressively and the drunk one grabs your forearm tightly and sneers, “I would NEVER want to touch YOU” while he is – ironically – still clamping his fingers around your arm.  
 
What would you do?
 
This happened to me in the lobby of a Loews hotel in Atlanta, Georgia.  I reacted by jumping up and pushing the drunk man away from me. His friend, rather than apologizing for his handsy pal, remonstrated with me to “just let him order” and rolled his eyes at the (white) bartender and waved his AmEx and ordered more drinks, which the bartender promptly served him, while calling security over. Naively, I thought the arrival of the security guard meant assistance for me.  Not exactly…
 
So imagine you’re back in that bar and not 60 seconds has passed since you pushed the drunk guy away from you.  Imagine a security guard approaches you and tells you he will forcibly eject you if you don’t leave voluntarily, while the two white men laugh and the bartender continues to serve them drinks.  You haven’t had a drop to drink and have probably been present in the lobby bar for under 5 minutes total.  What would you do?
 
This happened, too.  I had no interest in being forcibly ejected so I walked myself to the front desk, followed closely by the security guard, and asked for the Loews manager and the Atlanta PD.  I explained exactly what had happened and the hotel manager looked confused and the security guard, well…
 
Imagine a tough, brawny security guard who weighs at least twice as much as you standing right in your face trying to stare you down.  Imagine him basically saying that the bartenders called him to remove you because the white guys looked “respectable” and were “good tippers” and had ordered lots of alcohol.  It didn’t matter that one had laid hands on you and you deserved to get kicked out for daring to push him away from you.  Then imagine a police officer from Atlanta Metro shows up…
 
All that happened as well. Luckily, this is where the story takes a turn for the better.  The Atlanta Metro Police Officer did what the security guard should have done; he calmly listened to my statement, politely asked me to wait and then went over to the white men and calmly listened to their statements.  He then determined the men were not credible and were posing a risk and he ejected them, professionally, from the bar.  
 
Now, imagine you’re still in the lobby and the drunk man shows up again and accosts you again and the security guard does not intervene.  The police officer has already left the vicinity and can’t help you.  The security guard thinks this is your fault and is furious the police officer defended you and ejected the drunk white man.  So, you start videotaping the drunk man on your phone, which scares him and he takes off and finally leaves the building for good.  
 
That all happened, too. What was even more amazing was that I was actually a guest at that hotel.  Although I complained multiple times, the hotel brushed me off.  Almost a full day passed before I got a call back from a manager and it wasn’t even the General Manager, Mark Castriota.  It was a housekeeping manager.  The whole situation reeked of sexism and racism.  Yes, the security guard was African American, however, merely being a person of color doesn’t protect you from having your own problematic biases against others based on race or gender or your perception of how “good a tipper” that person may be at the bar.
 
To me, this story is primarily about gender, but race plays a role as well.  In 2011, nearly 1 in 5 women in the United States had been sexually assaulted.[1]  In 2014, the CDC reported 1 in 5 women have been raped.[2]  Globally, “[b]etween 15 and 76 percent of women are targeted for physical and/or sexual violence in their lifetime, according to the available country data. 
 
Quoting the Washington Coalition of Sexual Assault Programs:
 
•             Somewhere in America, a woman is raped every 2 minutes.3
•             National surveys of adults suggest that between 9-32% of women and 5-10% of men  report that they were victims of sexual abuse and/or assault during their childhood.
•             22% of victims were younger than age 12 when they were first raped, and 32% were between the ages of 12 and 17.4
•             The majority of male and female rape victims knew their perpetrator.5
Of surveyed college women, about 90%of rape and sexual assault victims knew their attacker prior to the assault.6
http://www.wcsap.org/how-often-does-it-happen
There is an incredible Jan. 24, 2017, piece in Aljazeera detailing the impact of the 2016 U.S. presidential election events on sexual violence.[3]The journalist argues that:
 
“[a] new far-right universe has come to power in the White House, and whether you listen to Jeff Sessions, nominee for Attorney General, or examine leaked Trump team proposed budgets, funding for the Violence Against Women Act will cease. That means 25 grants focused on "reducing domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, and stalking by strengthening services for victims and holding offenders accountable" will disappear.  And in scrapping The Violence Against Women Act, the new president, one who prides himself on being pro-police, will also be cutting grant programmes which teach law enforcement staff how to respond to domestic violence and sexual assault.
Trump's convenient demonisation of immigrants, minorities and Muslims will mask a real epidemic of sexual violence against women - largely perpetrated by white, middle-class men.  Think of the Vanderbilt University football players who gang-raped an unconscious young woman. Or former Stanford University swimmer, Brock Turner, found guilty of multiple felony counts including penetration of an unconscious person.”  There are many other news sources also detailing the far-reaching and significantly negative effects on women of having a high level politician openly bragging about sexually assaulting women and an administration that would repeal the Violence Against Women Act.[4]
 
Think, too, about the Kavanaugh hearings and confirmation and the devastating after-effects on many women (http://time.com/5413109/brett-kavanaugh-supreme-court-survivors-trigger-ptsd/).  This kind of thing has the power to shape our perceptions within our society and to direct how we perceive ourselves and others and how we think we “should” act within our society – in other words, is it normal and ok to grab a woman, like the man in the Lowes Hotel in Atlanta did, or not? 
 
But what about race?  Women of Asian descent, so often portrayed as sexual objects in entertainment media and as timid creatures who will be easy to dominate and who won’t tell anyone if they are attacked, often encounter a dangerous perception that can lead to higher incidences of sexual violence against them.[5]  
 
The drunk white man thought he could just bump me and grab me and it was totally fine.  The friend – who didn’t appear obviously drunk – legitimized and normalized his behavior by not stopping him, not intervening, and proactively defending him when his bad behavior was called out.  The bartender choosing the potential for big tips further normalized the man’s conduct by the eye rolling, by continuing to serve the men and by asking security to remove me and not the men.  Security and hotel management continued to enable, normalize and legitimize the bad behavior.   
 
Society tells us, as women and especially women of color, that we should be sweet and docile; that when a man – especially a white man – puts his hands on us, the default is that’s his right and, if we object to it, we ought to cry or cower or submit.  When we defy these cultural norms and stereotypes by, for example, pushing the man away, we are met with shock and hostility.
 
Personally, I think if a man puts his hands on you, you ought to break his hands and let him consider the time during which he rests them to mend to be considered a gift during which time he can reconsider the wisdom of his actions towards you.

--------------
**Of course, I mean FIGURATIVELY break his hands ... maybe.  But seriously, SPEAK UP.  Men and observers, most of all.  This kind of thing is on you.  You ignore it, you just legitimized it.**

[1]http://www.nytimes.com/2011/12/15/health/nearly-1-in-5-women-in-us-survey-report-sexual-assault.html

[2]http://www.usnews.com/news/blogs/data-mine/2014/09/05/cdc-1-in-5-women-raped-often-by-someone-they-know

[3]http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/opinion/2017/01/sexual-assault-time-trump-170124124914906.html

[4]See, e.g., http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2017/01/donald-trump-end-violence-against-women-grants,http://www.cnn.com/2016/10/14/politics/trump-women-accusers/,http://www.newyorker.com/news/news-desk/trump-and-the-truth-the-sexual-assault-allegations,http://www.refinery29.com/2017/01/137406/trump-violence-against-women-grants-cut

[5]See, e.g., http://www.countercurrents.org/bhargava060709.htm

I was buying crazy expensive "detox" and "energy" bars for long days when healthy eating was going to be tough (think generic craft services on set that were reaaally unhealthy (loads of animal products, fats, processed garbage, pesticides, etc.)).  I started thinking about the waste caused by all the plastic-y wrappers on each bar I ate and feeling bad about it.  So, I started experimenting with creating my very own and I finally have a perfect recipe to share.  You can make these in 10 minutes and you can store them for basically forever in the freezer, pop 'em in a glass jar or re-useable glass Tupperware to take to school, work, on the plane/train/car, wherever.  They're quick, yummy, easy, and give a nice clean boost of energy.  Basically, just throw all the ingredients listed below into a bowl, rub your hands with some coconut oil and knead all the ingredients together like they're a bread or a pizza crust.  Shape the well-combined mixture into a rectangle on a baking sheet lightly greased with coconut oil and pop it in the freezer.  When you're ready to eat them, just cut them into squares or rectangles like typical granola bars or go all creative and make circles or stars or go totally uncreative and just lop off however much you want to eat at that given time!

It's best to freeze them at least a half hour before eating them but I've eaten them right away and, as long as the nut or seed butter base I used was thick and gooey, instead of watery, they're still deliciously perfect.

You will need:

1.  1 cup quick organic oats

2.  4 T maple syrup OR stevia to taste (you can sample the batter as you make this; I recommend tasting as you go so you can adjust these measurements to suit your own tastes)

3.  1/8 cup organic cacao powder (I recommend Bright Earth's 100% organic cacao powder)

4.  1 T powdered organic vanilla

5.  1 T ceylon cinnamon 

6.  1/8 t cardamom

7.  1/4 t pink Himalayan sea salt

8.  1 cup creamy (or crunchy!) almond butter, peanut butter (withOUT palm oil - make sure the sole ingredient is peanuts), cashew butter, or other nut or seed butter of your choice.  

9. 1 T spirulina powder

10.  1 t L-ascorbic Vitamin C powder *optional (immunity and binds to heavy metals to help eliminate them)

11.  1 t carao syrup (to boost iron levels and athletic endurance) *optional

12.  A little coconut oil to grease the pan and to put on your hands to prevent the mixture from sticking to them while you knead it.

13.  3-4 dates

14.  A handful of raisins and/or shredded, unsweetened coconut

Other Optional Add-In's:
Apricots, figs or other dried fruits you like (each has its own health benefits - apricot for iron, cranberries for urinary and digestive health, dried tart cherries for their anti-inflammatory properties, etc.), crushed chlorella tablets for extra detox, walnuts for additional Omega-3's, MSM organic sulfur (to boost skin and joint health), the contents of a probiotic capsule for additional gut health benefits, etc.  For even more protein, add a scoop of Garden of Earth unflavored, unsweetened, vegan protein powder.  You can really create the perfect clean on-the-go meal to suit exactly what you need.  

For ease, I've put links to some of the harder-to-find ingredients below, however, you should be able to get most of these easily from any good health food store.

Enjoy!

The headlines are screaming at us that the world is ending.  We have about 12 years to fix the planet or we’re all going to die!  By the time our grandkids are born the earth will be uninhabitable for humans!  Our fruits, veggies and grains aren’t safe because the earth is so polluted! Our meat isn’t safe because industrialized farming is packing it full of scary hormones and antibiotics!  Nothing from the ocean is safe because it’s all full of microplastics that cause cancer and infertility!  Even our air is so polluted, it’s going to kill us if we breathe it!  Don’t drink! Don’t eat!  Don’t breathe!  
 
At this point, most of us are tempted to just go to bed and pull the covers over our heads and eat some (probably-also-going-to-kill-us) chocolate.  Our planet’s problems seem so enormous and dire; they’re practically beyond our scope of comprehension and certainly out of our control, right? Well, hold up.  Not exactly.  It’s easy to do nothing because you can’t solve the whole thing, but if we each do a few small things, it can all add up to one big save.  With that in mind, I have some individualized one-person-saves-the-planet tips and tricks for you to incorporate into your daily life that are low-key, not dramatic and totally doable.
 
This isn’t about the politicized phrase “climate change” or about politics.  Because whatever you believe about rising sea levels (or not), I think (hope!) all of us can agree on two things:  (1) we would like to have clean water, clean air and clean soil so we can live happily and healthily – or, to put it another way, we don’t want anyone sticking us with filthy water, air or soil; and (2) if we wait for our politicians (of whatever party) to save us, well, we’re all gonna die.
 
Are we with each other on this one?  Clean planet for us and our progeny and screw the politicians?  

​I have 8 simple suggestions.  I originally wrote them all into one blog post, however, it was so long I thought it might be easier if I broke it down.  If you want to read the whole thing in one go, the long, detailed blog post is here.

If you prefer it broken into segments, just click on them in any order you choose for more details:
 
1.  Ditch the Plastic
This one is the hardest because we are surrounded by plastic!  It's in everything from our water bottles to our grocery bags.  Never fear, though, I have some easy tips to incorporate into your daily living that will not only help you reduce your plastic impact on the planet, but will improve your health and even add some green to your wallet!  Read on here!

2.  Recycle and Re-Use and (of course) Reduce
You hear this ALL the time, but, specifically, what does it really mean for each of us as an individual and, again, how we can we do these nice things to help clean up our earth, air and water while, at the same time, creating immediate benefits to ourselves.  What about furniture and fixtures and electronics and clothing and old sheets and towels?  I am so glad you asked.  Read on here!

3.  Eat Organic
Cutting back on your intake of chemical pesticides and herbicides can drastically improve your health and that of your earth, air and water.   Curious how and why?  Click here.

4.  Eat Plant-Based
A plant based diet will make you leaner, healthier and happier.  It also just happens to be awesome for the earth.  Want the 411 behind how and why?  Of course you do.  Check out how you can easily "health" up your eating without dieting and while still enjoying all your fav comfort foods here.  For those of you commercially producing animal meat and dairy, there are amazing organizations like my own beloved A2Px out there that will help you transition to often more lucrative plant-based farming to supply the burgeoning plant-based protein/meat/dairy industry instead.  Don't knock it til you try it.

5.  If You Drive, Drive Electric.  Regardless, Make Your Commute Eco Friendly
For some of us, driving is a necessity, however, we don't want to breath in all the nasty chemicals that the exhaust of the typical conventional car produces.  Car exhaust is super bad to breath in and diesel engine exhaust is a "Group 1" carcinogen (that means it most definitely causes cancer in humans - more on that here).  Let's try not to get cancer, shall we?  For more on making your commute clean, click here.

6.  Use Your Energy Thoughtfully
Most of us (me included) don't really think much about the planet when we pay our electric bill or run a load of laundry, however, a ton of tiny things we do in the way we use energy can improve our health, make the planet cleaner and even provide us with some financial benefits.  Read on here.

7.  Consume Thoughtfully
Even small choices in your shopping, like what brand of shoes you buy, can have significant impact on the planet.  I have some cheat sheets for you here (don't worry; they're not long or complicated).

8.  Garden (even in a city apartment)
My personal favorite:  easy ways to green your space to make your air cleaner, your mind more relaxed and possibly even give you some free fresh herbs, fruits, veggies, and/or flowers.  Even if, like me, you are the opposite of a green thumb and live in a small urban apartment, you can still enjoy some green!  Check it here.
​*****************************************************************************************************
Some people will argue that some of these changes are worth more or less than others.  Cool.  Put the emphasis wherever is easiest or makes most sense to you.  Customize this to you and don’t get overwhelmed because if we each do some small things, it all adds up to one gigantic thing.  Get out of bed, put down the chocolate and go save the world … because you actually can!
 
Footnotes & References
[1]See, e.g., https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/microplastics#health-effects,https://www.cnn.com/2018/04/22/health/microplastics-land-and-air-pollution-intl/index.html,http://www.exeter.ac.uk/research/feature/microplastics/,https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/microplastics-have-been-found-in-peoples-poop-mdash-what-does-it-mean/,https://www.nationalgeographic.com/magazine/2018/06/plastic-planet-health-pollution-waste-microplastics/.  
[2]See, e.g., https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2018/feb/19/are-we-poisoning-our-children-with-plastic
[3]See, e.g., https://food.ndtv.com/facts/storing-your-vegetables-in-plastic-bags-heres-why-you-need-to-stop-1729511
[4]See, e.g., https://www.latimes.com/science/sciencenow/la-sci-sn-organic-food-cancer-20181022-story.html
[5]https://www.consumerreports.org/pesticides-herbicides/easy-way-to-remove-pesticides/
[6]See, e.g., https://www.parents.com/baby/diapers/cloth/eco-friendly-diapering/?slideId=slide_b68e1d04-72ec-455b-9acc-19a4600a3d3a#slide_b68e1d04-72ec-455b-9acc-19a4600a3d3a
[7]See, e.g., https://www.ewg.org/release/massive-study-finds-eating-organic-slashes-cancer-risks
[8]See, e.g., https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3569688/,  https://www.ewg.org/release/massive-study-finds-eating-organic-slashes-cancer-risks,https://www.newsweek.com/eating-organic-foods-linked-lower-cancer-risk-1182713,https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2015/jun/29/usda-diet-nutrition-environment-sustainability-omega-3-beef,
[9]https://news.nationalgeographic.com/2015/03/150311-cow-agriculture-cattle-dairy-beef-health-food-ngbooktalk/
[10]Id.
[11]See also https://www.latimes.com/science/sciencenow/la-sci-sn-plantbased-diets-weight-20150122-story.html
[12]https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6132564/
[13]https://www.healwithfood.org/articles/buckwheat-complete-protein.php
[14]See, e.g., https://healthyeating.sfgate.com/list-amino-acids-grain-quinoa-1405.html
[15]https://www.cleancult.com/blog/substitutes-for-dryer-sheets/
[16]https://www.thespruce.com/vinegar-in-the-washing-machine-1900128

Garden (even in a city apartment)

This has so many benefits beyond just making our air cleaner and enriching our soil.  It’s also extremely calming and studies show we are happier when surrounded by greenery and plants.  “I hate being happy,” said nobody ever.  

For those, like me, who live in big cities and can’t run around planting trees or creating big gardens outside (we’d probably get arrested), there are awesome home kits.  

If you’re lucky enough to have a balcony, put out some tomato plants.  Not only are they neat-looking and fast-growing, you can eat the resulting tomatoes, which are rich in lycopene which improves your cardiovascular health and helps prevent cancer.  BOO YAH!  Here is a link to some tomato growing kits.  

You can also do window herb gardens or, and check THIS out (it’s on my Christmas list – please, Santa?  Please? Please?  Please?): a tabletop AEROGARDEN to grow your very own deliciously scented herbs, flowers, fruits, and/or veggies year-round:  https://www.aerogarden.com.  

For those in rural areas and/or lucky enough to have their own yards and access to land, plant away!  My favorite source for all things gardening is the Gardener’s Supply Company.  Regardless, always go organic however and wherever you plant.  Skip the pesticides, chemicals and say no to GMO seeds.  After all, you want to help yourself and the planet, not hurt both.  You don’t want to be exposed to toxic chemicals, even if you are growing non-edible flowers instead of veggies, fruits or herbs.    Gardeners.com has a lot of tips and tricks for how to avoid pests and problems without the use of nasty pesticides and, if you’re growing inside, it’s even easier.  You absolutely don’t need them.  
 
I decided to grow lavender inside (yes, it can be done!) and now everything smells serene and beautiful and I am happier for it.  And, I have the opposite of a green thumb.  I am wanted for plant murder in some states so, if I can do it, you can definitely do it.  And you will be happier, calmer and more zen if you do.  It’s like a gift for yourself that’s a gift to the world.
 
So go on! Green your space!  You’re going to be glad you did it.

Ditching plastic sounds easy but anyone who has tried it knows it’s not. If you think about it, we’re surrounded by plastic – plastic bags, straws, water bottles, plastic plates, cups, plastic wrap.  You get the gist.  This is because it’s cheap and easy.  Cheap and easy does not equal good when it is so super horrible for our environment.  Plastic breaks down into tiny pieces, not visible to the eye, commonly called “microplastics,” that pollute our water and soil.  What’s the problem?  Well, they may just be causing a whole host of ill effects from breast cancer to erectile dysfunction.[1]  Gross.  Again, who wants air, water and land contaminated with stuff that won’t degrade and can mutate and kills our cells?  Ummm.  I think nobody.  With that in mind, tips for individually saving the planet by reducing your individual plastic (and getting yourself a bit healthier and safer while you’re at it!):

Use Re-Useable Bags and Straws
We all have too many of those tote bags that seem to get given away for free at every event I have been at recently. Use them for all your shopping instead of getting plastic bags!  If you truly don’t have extra tote bags just lying around, ok, I guess, buy a cheap fabric one.  I love when store clerks start beaming when I tell them I brought my own bag.  One guy told me he was in love with me for bringing my own bag for my groceries (wow).  Who knew being eco-friendly would make perfect strangers fall in love with you?! Bonus.
 
We all saw the videos of sea turtles dying and bleeding with plastic straws caught in their noses and throats and, if you didn’t see them, don’t … unless you want to be really sad.  “I want to be really sad!” said pretty much no one, ever. In addition to being problematic for sea life, plastic straws are problematic for us because, again, they contribute to plastic pollution that is killing us off, or at least making it hard for the guys to procreate and giving the gals increased breast cancer risk.[2]  You don’t want to shoot blanks or die of breast cancer, right?  Just say no to straws or, if you must have them, get your own! Corkcicle has really cool stainless steel straws (only $5 for 2 at www.corkcicle.com).  No, they do not pay me to say that and I won't get anything if you buy a straw from them.

Grocery Shopping Tips
Again, bring your own cloth (not plastic) bags.  It does require some pre-thought but you’re smart and you can do it.  It just takes making it a routine to get into doing it consistently.  Some stores, like Ralph’s, Trader Joe’s, Whole Foods, Target, and more will actually PAY YOU when you bring your own bag in the form of discounts or other benefits.  See more details on that here.  YES!  Money in your pocket for saving the planet!  You're such a (well compensated) super hero!  
 
Bring cloth napkins or dishtowels, as well, to wrap veggies in, instead of using those plastic bags in the produce section. This is actually healthier for you and better for your produce since plastic bags increase bad humidity, lower aeration and speed up spoilage.[3]
 
A tip:  keep those re-useable bags and cloths clean.  Just remember to throw them in the washing machine when you do your regular laundry.  Easy breezy.

Food Storage
Once your veggies are at home, keep them wrapped gently in the cloth napkins or dish towels and don’t wash them until you’re ready to use them (to make them stay fresher longer).  Always buy organic (better for you because it won’t give you cancer from the toxic pesticides and herbicides used for conventionally grown produce.  [4]. Growing organic helps increase our soil, air and water quality and it's obviously way healthier for you.  However, because I know sometimes organic is impossible, price-wise, a way you can at least reduce pesticides on the exterior of fruits and veggies when you just don’t have enough $$ to buy organic is to soak them in a mixture of salt, hot water and baking powder.[5]  For mushrooms, just dunk them in the mixture and rinse them quickly because mushrooms absorb everything really fast and it won’t be yummy to eat salty, baking powder-y mushrooms.
 
I also really like re-useable glass “Tupperware” instead of plastic and glass bottles for carrying around my beverages instead of plastic bottles (better for my own health; better for the planet).  Links to some examples of good glassware you can order are below the text of this post.

Diapers & Bottles
Hey Moms and Dads!  According to the Clean Air Council, Americans throw away 49 million diapers per day, accounting for two + percent of all garbage generated in the U.S., making diapers are one of the largest contributors to landfills.[6]  Don’t fret! It’s possible to reduce this landfill conundrum.  
 
You actually have a number of options.  My personal favorite are these brightly colored re-useable cloth diapers from Target for the baby with the heightened sartorial sense (click here). There are multiple other options though, from the re-useable cloth diapers to the admittedly not-as-good-but-still-something disposable diapers that are at least biodegradable (see a list of them here) to, if you have that oh-so-nice extra disposable income, services that will do it all for you, like this one I just randomly googled but have never used (just google eco friendly diaper services in your geographic region and then read the BBB, etc., reviews of the business to make sure it is legit before using).
 
On bottles, again, this is more about the health of your baby than just ditching plastic, but every time you heat that plastic bottle up, the plastic is degrading and your kiddo is swallowing some and it’s not a good thing. Go glass.  LifeFactory has terrific glass baby bottles in thick, cushiony sleeves (a little plastic for the cushion; well, nobody’s perfect) to prevent breakage if excited baby tosses them or tired parent drops them.  You can google them, buy them in baby supply stores or, if all else fails, use my easy link to order them online, below the text of this blog post.

Doggie Doo Bags & Wee Pads
Don’t pick up after your dog – JUST KIDDING!!!! Ok, for dogs, we have two issues:  (1) wee pads and (2) poo bags.
 
Wee Pads
Ideally, your dog will only relieve herself or himself outside but, if you have a puppy you’re training, an older dog who has incontinence issues or just a dog you want to have an emergency option just-in-case for, re-useable, washable pads are there for you!
 
I use PoochPads for my dog and they are AWESOME.  Really. I highly recommend.  They’re not bad looking and they’re super absorbent and easy to spot clean (or just throw them in the washing machine – please, if your dog does a doo instead of a pee, scoop it up with toilet paper and flush it. Do not put THAT in your washing machine).  You can find lots of other brands of re-useable wee pads, too.  Just ask for recommendations at your local pet supply store.
 
Doggie Doo Bags
There ARE eco-friendly biodegradable bags but be CAREFUL because a lot of the advertising on poo bags are very misleading and the bag you think is all earth friendly, well, isn’t.  Rover has a great article on this here that every dog parent should read. This also lists the “good” bags (like Biobag, Flush Puppies and BioDOGradable, which I have links to below the text of this blog post if you can’t find them at your local pet supply store).  
 
For those of you who are just superstars, this is a quote from the above-referenced Rover article:

• Use a dog-waste-only composting bin. There are several commercial options like the Doggie Doolie on the market, but you can also make your own with supplies available at your local home and garden store. While pet waste compost should never be used on edible plants, it can be great fertilizer for decorative gardens!
• Flush it. Yes, depending on where you live, you can flush dog poop in water-soluble waste bags. Just be sure to check with your municipal sewage guidelines, and never flush pet waste into a septic tank.
• Bury it. This option works best if you live in a rural area with space away from the house. Waste should be buried at least five inches underground, away from vegetable gardens and water sources.
• Transport it to an industrial composting facility that accepts pet waste, or hire a waste removal company that does the dirty work for you (for example: Portland’s Green Pet Compost Company).

-Source: https://www.rover.com/blog/truth-about-biodegradable-poop-bags-in/

No Bottled Water
At least not plastic bottles.  For a whole blog post on why plastic bottled water is truly awful for you and what water is awesome for you, click here:  http://jenniferbetityen.weebly.com/ethical-is-beautiful-be-beautiful-a-blog/whats-in-the-water

Trash Bags
Try not to use them.  Chances are, you have a stash of plastic bags somewhere in your home from past shopping trips (before you read this blog, of course, right?).  Re-use those as trash bags when you simply must.  Or use biodegradable, earth-friendly bags (links to some examples below the text of this blog post).
 
COMPOST and RECYCLE!  Even in large cities, there are compost stations. Likewise, even in rural areas, there are recycling stations.  Just ask your city government offices or google it by city.  A quick and dirty guide (no pun intended) was created by another blogger on this topic here. 

​The headlines are screaming at us that the world is ending.  We have about 12 years to fix the planet or we’re all going to die!  By the time our grandkids are born the earth will be uninhabitable for humans!  Our fruits, veggies and grains aren’t safe because the earth is so polluted! Our meat isn’t safe because industrialized farming is packing it full of scary hormones and antibiotics!  Nothing from the ocean is safe because it’s all full of microplastics that cause cancer and infertility!  Even our air is so polluted, it’s going to kill us if we breathe it!  Don’t drink! Don’t eat!  Don’t breathe!  
 
At this point, most of us are tempted to just go to bed and pull the covers over our heads and eat some (probably-also-going-to-kill-us) chocolate.  Our planet’s problems seem so enormous and dire; they’re practically beyond our scope of comprehension and certainly out of our control, right? Well, hold up.  Not exactly.  It’s easy to do nothing because you can’t solve the whole thing, but if we each do a few small things, it can all add up to one big save.  With that in mind, I have some individualized one-person-saves-the-planet tips and tricks for you to incorporate into your daily life that are low-key, not dramatic and totally doable.
 
This isn’t about the politicized phrase “climate change” or about politics.  Because whatever you believe about rising sea levels (or not), I think (hope!) all of us can agree on two things:  (1) we would like to have clean water, clean air and clean soil so we can live happily and healthily – or, to put it another way, we don’t want anyone sticking us with filthy water, air or soil; and (2) if we wait for our politicians (of whatever party) to save us, well, we’re all gonna die.
 
Are we with each other on this one?  Clean planet for us and our progeny and screw the politicians?  If so, please read on for 8 simple tips.  
 
1.  Ditch the Plastic
I’m probably starting with the toughest to do and ending with the easiest so feel free to read in reverse order if you prefer.  Ditching plastic sounds easy but anyone who has tried it knows it’s not. If you think about it, we’re surrounded by plastic – plastic bags, straws, water bottles, plastic plates, cups, plastic wrap.  You get the gist.  This is because it’s cheap and easy.  Cheap and easy does not equal good when it is so super horrible for our environment.  Plastic breaks down into tiny pieces, not visible to the eye, commonly called “microplastics,” that pollute our water and soil.  What’s the problem?  Well, they may just be causing a whole host of ill effects from breast cancer to erectile dysfunction.[1]  Gross.  Again, who wants air, water and land contaminated with stuff that won’t degrade and can mutate and kills our cells?  Ummm.  I think nobody.  With that in mind, tips for individually saving the planet by reducing your individual plastic (and getting yourself a bit healthier and safer while you’re at it!):

Use Re-Useable Cloth Bags and Straws
We all have too many of those tote bags that seem to get given away for free at every event I have been at recently. Use them for all your shopping instead of getting plastic bags!  If you truly don’t have extra tote bags just lying around, ok, I guess, buy a cheap fabric one.  I love when store clerks start beaming when I tell them I brought my own bag.  One guy told me he was in love with me for bringing my own bag for my groceries (wow).  Who knew being eco-friendly would make perfect strangers fall in love with you?! Bonus.
 
We all saw the videos of sea turtles dying and bleeding with plastic straws caught in their noses and throats and, if you didn’t see them, don’t … unless you want to be really sad.  “I want to be really sad!” said pretty much no one, ever. In addition to being problematic for sea life, plastic straws are problematic for us because, again, they contribute to plastic pollution that is killing us off, or at least making it hard for the guys to procreate and giving the gals increased breast cancer risk.[2]  You don’t want to shoot blanks or die of breast cancer, right?  Just say no to straws or, if you must have them, get your own! Corkcicle has really cool stainless steel straws (only $5 for 2 at www.corkcicle.com).  No, they do not pay me to say that and I won't get anything if you buy a straw from them.

Grocery Shopping Tips
Again, bring your own cloth (not plastic) bags.  It does require some pre-thought but you’re smart and you can do it.  It just takes making it a routine to get into doing it consistently.  Some stores, like Ralph’s, Trader Joe’s, Whole Foods, Target, and more will actually PAY YOU when you bring your own bag in the form of discounts or other benefits.  See more details on that here.  YES!  Money in your pocket for saving the planet!  You're such a (well compensated) super hero!  
 
Bring cloth napkins or dishtowels, as well, to wrap veggies in, instead of using those plastic bags in the produce section. This is actually healthier for you and better for your produce since plastic bags increase bad humidity, lower aeration and speed up spoilage.[3]
 
A tip:  keep those re-useable bags and cloths clean.  Just remember to throw them in the washing machine when you do your regular laundry.  Easy breezy.

Food Storage
Once your veggies are at home, keep them wrapped gently in the cloth napkins or dish towels and don’t wash them until you’re ready to use them (to make them stay fresher longer).  Always buy organic (better for you because it won’t give you cancer from the toxic pesticides and herbicides used for conventionally grown produce.  [4]. Growing organic helps increase our soil, air and water quality and it's obviously way healthier for you.  However, because I know sometimes organic is impossible, price-wise, a way you can at least reduce pesticides on the exterior of fruits and veggies when you just don’t have enough $$ to buy organic is to soak them in a mixture of salt, hot water and baking powder.[5]  For mushrooms, just dunk them in the mixture and rinse them quickly because mushrooms absorb everything really fast and it won’t be yummy to eat salty, baking powder-y mushrooms.
 
I also really like re-useable glass “Tupperware” instead of plastic and glass bottles for carrying around my beverages instead of plastic bottles (better for my own health; better for the planet).  Links to some examples of good glassware you can order are below the text of this post.

Diapers & Bottles
Hey Moms and Dads!  According to the Clean Air Council, Americans throw away 49 million diapers per day, accounting for two + percent of all garbage generated in the U.S., making diapers are one of the largest contributors to landfills.[6]  Don’t fret! It’s possible to reduce this landfill conundrum.  
 
You actually have a number of options.  My personal favorite are these brightly colored re-useable cloth diapers from Target for the baby with the heightened sartorial sense (click here). There are multiple other options though, from the re-useable cloth diapers to the admittedly not-as-good-but-still-something disposable diapers that are at least biodegradable (see a list of them here) to, if you have that oh-so-nice extra disposable income, services that will do it all for you, like this one I just randomly googled but have never used (just google eco friendly diaper services in your geographic region and then read the BBB, etc., reviews of the business to make sure it is legit before using).
 
On bottles, again, this is more about the health of your baby than just ditching plastic, but every time you heat that plastic bottle up, the plastic is degrading and your kiddo is swallowing some and it’s not a good thing. Go glass.  LifeFactory has terrific glass baby bottles in thick, cushiony sleeves (a little plastic for the cushion; well, nobody’s perfect) to prevent breakage if excited baby tosses them or tired parent drops them.  You can google them, buy them in baby supply stores or, if all else fails, use my easy link to order them online, below the text of this blog post.

Doggie Doo Bags & Wee Pads
Don’t pick up after your dog – JUST KIDDING!!!! Ok, for dogs, we have two issues:  (1) wee pads and (2) poo bags.
 
Wee Pads
Ideally, your dog will only relieve herself or himself outside but, if you have a puppy you’re training, an older dog who has incontinence issues or just a dog you want to have an emergency option just-in-case for, re-useable, washable pads are there for you!
 
I use PoochPads for my dog and they are AWESOME.  Really. I highly recommend.  They’re not bad looking and they’re super absorbent and easy to spot clean (or just throw them in the washing machine – please, if your dog does a doo instead of a pee, scoop it up with toilet paper and flush it. Do not put THAT in your washing machine).  You can find lots of other brands of re-useable wee pads, too.  Just ask for recommendations at your local pet supply store.
 
Doggie Doo Bags
There ARE eco-friendly biodegradable bags but be CAREFUL because a lot of the advertising on poo bags are very misleading and the bag you think is all earth friendly, well, isn’t.  Rover has a great article on this here that every dog parent should read. This also lists the “good” bags (like Biobag, Flush Puppies and BioDOGradable, which I have links to below the text of this blog post if you can’t find them at your local pet supply store).  
 
For those of you who are just superstars, this is a quote from the above-referenced Rover article:

• Use a dog-waste-only composting bin. There are several commercial options like the Doggie Doolie on the market, but you can also make your own with supplies available at your local home and garden store. While pet waste compost should never be used on edible plants, it can be great fertilizer for decorative gardens!
• Flush it. Yes, depending on where you live, you can flush dog poop in water-soluble waste bags. Just be sure to check with your municipal sewage guidelines, and never flush pet waste into a septic tank.
• Bury it. This option works best if you live in a rural area with space away from the house. Waste should be buried at least five inches underground, away from vegetable gardens and water sources.
• Transport it to an industrial composting facility that accepts pet waste, or hire a waste removal company that does the dirty work for you (for example: Portland’s Green Pet Compost Company).

-Source: https://www.rover.com/blog/truth-about-biodegradable-poop-bags-in/

No Bottled Water
At least not plastic bottles.  For a whole blog post on why plastic bottled water is truly awful for you and what water is awesome for you, click here:  http://jenniferbetityen.weebly.com/ethical-is-beautiful-be-beautiful-a-blog/whats-in-the-water

Trash Bags
Try not to use them.  Chances are, you have a stash of plastic bags somewhere in your home from past shopping trips (before you read this blog, of course, right?).  Re-use those as trash bags when you simply must.  Or use biodegradable, earth-friendly bags (links to some examples below the text of this blog post).
 
COMPOST and RECYCLE!  Even in large cities, there are compost stations. Likewise, even in rural areas, there are recycling stations.  Just ask your city government offices or google it by city.  A quick and dirty guide (no pun intended) was created by another blogger on this topic here. 
 
2.  Recycle and Re-Use and (of course) Reduce

Old Clothes and Textiles (fancy term for fabrics like sheets and towels)
If your things are gently worn, donate them to Goodwill or another charity so someone else can benefit from them. If they’re ripped or stained, there are plenty of textile (fabric) donation spots.  The clothing retailer, H&M, accepts donations of used clothes and textiles at any of their stores AND they’ll even give you a discount coupon to say thanks!  
 
Click here for a terrific list of places that take old clothes and fabrics, even old undies.

Old Furniture, Appliances and Fixtures
Gently used?  Donate or sell!  I use Craig’s List to sell my old furniture all the time and it works like a charm.  
 
You can also donate!  Salvation Army, Goodwill and a host of others may be able to put your old furniture, electronics and fixtures to good use!  Here are two terrific resource guides (in some cases, you can get tax deductions for donations and free pick up’s of heavy items):

Houzz  
and
Moving.com
 
For mattresses, click here for info on how to recycle those.
 
For bigger ticket items, like bathtubs – say, if you’re doing a home renovation - just google places like Big Reuse (https://bigreuse.org, located in New York City), which can recycle and re-use this bigger items.
A lot of companies, such as Apple and Staples, will recycle your electronics, even giving you money for them if they’re recent enough and, even if they’re old, providing you with a free prepaid shipping label (for more on Apple's program, click here).  Most Staples and Bed, Bath & beyond stores have areas you can drop off old batteriesto be recycled, as well.
 
Many cities, such as New York, offer electronics recycling and you can just do a quick google search for electronics recycling in your city for the 411 there.    

If You Have Extra Disposable Income, You Can Literally Recycle EVERYTHING
This one I am putting last because, financially, it’s just not a real option for a lot of people.  If you makes heaps o’ money though and have some disposable income you’d be happy to allocate to saving our planet, you can pay to conveniently recycle pretty much anything at terracycle.com.  They send you shipping labels and boxes and you fill ‘em up with, again, just about anything and they swear they’ll recycle all of it. They do have some free recycling programs, but there are wait lists for most of them (I know; I’ve been on one of their waitlists for over a year).  The pay programs are fast and easy … however they do cost money.
 
Terracycle has free recycling programs for bigger entities like schools and companies, so, if you’re feeling ballsy, loudly advocate for your work and/or your kid’s (or your) school to get their recycling services.
 
3.  Eat Organic
Filling your body with weird chemicals is just generally unhealthy. You don’t have to be a doctor or rocket scientist to figure that out.  Unfortunately, toxic pesticides linked to cancer, such as weed killer glyphosate and organophosphate pesticides malathion and diazinon, among others, are used on conventionally grown food crops.[7]  Not only do these chemicals badly contaminate the soil and water, they can get into the plant’s root structure and, once that happens, there’s no washing them away. They’re going in your body if you eat the food.  
 
If I gave you a bottle of weed killer or bottle of insecticide and told you to drink it, you’d tell me to go to someplace not very nice, wouldn’t you?  So, why are you eating food awash in that gunk?  Stop.  I want you to live a healthy life.  You want to live a healthy life.  Go organic.
 
Also, for those looking to whittle their waistlines: guess what?  Toxins like those mentioned above are stored in your fat tissues and, if you consume too much, guess what your body does?  Makes MORE FAT to store those toxins.  Yup.  Makes more fat just as a little gift to you along with that increased risk o’ cancer! That’s according to an NIH study, among other sources.  Not “Fake News”!  Unless you feel like getting sick and fat, the best thing to do is go organic.  According to the British Journal of Nutrition, organic produce has 70% more antioxidants (yay!  Anti-aging!) than conventionally grown produce and study after study after study shows eating organic can slash your risk of a whole host of health problems, such as cancer.[8]
 
The downside is organic can be more expensive. Many of us joke “Whole Foods Whole Paycheck.”  That being said, a great way to get less expensive organic produce is by using local farmer’s markets.  It’s also a great way to support local, organic fruit, vegetable and grain farmers who are improving our planet through responsible organic farming.  Just good “organic farmer’s markets in [insert name of your city]” and you should get a whole host of results.
 
Cut Back On Or Eliminate Meat, Dairy & Seafood (don’t freak out; I’ll explain why and give you lots of good substitutes)
Industrialized slaughter of cows and pigs and other animals, as well as the dairy industry, causes all kinds of pollution; more, in fact, than every single car’s emissions in the country.[9]   If you're the owner of or worker in one of those slaughterhouses or dairy farms, don't get mad at me.  Join me in producing supply to meet the demand of the biggest up-and-comer around:  plant protein.  You can stay in the "meat" and "dairy" industry; but switch to plant-based farming which will allow you to actually enrich the soil through the organic farming of crops desperately needed to fill a gigantically growing demand from the plant-based milk and "meat" markets (sunflower seeds, peas, quinoa, buckwheat, the list goes on and on).  Indeed, the vegan (plant-based) snack market is set to be worth $73 billion by 2028 (read more here) and more and more consumers are becoming educated on the significant health benefits of plant-based eating.  Companies like my beloved A2Px exist specifically to help animal farmers transition to more lucrative plant-based farmers to create vibrant and much-needed new plant supply chains; breaking antiquated old chains that harm our farmers, planet and overall health.  Message them to learn more at https://www.facebook.com/A2Px1/.
 
Further, the meat product of industrialized slaughter is not good for us despite what too many of our politicians and lobbyists might say (as they line their pockets with cash from special interest groups – ahem).  As National Geographic put it:  "industrial feedlots where castle stand knee-deep in their own feces, pumped full of antibiotics and growth hormones for them; clogged arteries, obesity and heart attacks for us."  See National Geographic (emphasis added).  In other words, being carnivorous in our crazy world is polluting the planet and making us fat and sick.
 
Only 1 in 10 Americans eats the recommended amount of produce and, if we increase our fruit and veggie consumption and go to a primarily plant-based diet, we could prevent 20,000+ cases of cancer EVERY YEAR!  While we’re at it, we will also lower our risk of high blood pressure, stroke and cardiovascular disease.  
 
On the fat thing, the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine found that people on plant-based diets lost around 10 lbs/month when they first began going plant-based, regardless of calorie counting or exercise.[11]  Obviously, your weight will stabilize at some point.  This is a study of overweight people trying to lose weight.
 
Seafood doesn’t save you because remember the microplastics issue we discussed above?  Fish, lobster, shrimp, etc., are full of them! According to a terrifying NIH study that I read so you don’t have to, we are looking at some serious microplastic contamination with all the associated health risks.[12]
 
Around this point, a lot of people start screaming, BUT PROTEIN!!  First of all, ALL plant-based foods contain some protein.  Animal flesh is not the exclusive protein holder of the world.  The difference is some plants do not have “complete proteins” – in other words, all 9 amino acids.  Note: buckwheat[13] and quinoa[14] have all 9 amino acids and are thus complete proteins on their own.  Take that, hamburger!  But even for the rest of our plant protein friends, you just have to “stack” them (in other words, eat two different types together – like rice and beans, for example) to get your complete protein.  There. That wasn’t so hard.
 
Now, I know.  So-called comfort food is full o’ animal flesh and dairy. But what if you could have your cake and eat it too?  You can! There are amazing veggie burgers, vegan milks, plant-based seafood, ice-cream, basically anything your heart desires.  It just takes a little gumption and a commitment to your and your family’s health and well-being (oh, yeah, and the planet).  
 
I blogged extensively on this here:
 
General Overview of Excellent Brands Supplying Plant-Based Comfort Foods - http://jenniferbetityen.weebly.com/ethical-is-beautiful-be-beautiful-a-blog/the-best-nom-noms-for-health-home-heart
 
Plant-Based Dairy - http://jenniferbetityen.weebly.com/ethical-is-beautiful-be-beautiful-a-blog/for-the-love-of-cheese
 
Plant-Based Meats - http://jenniferbetityen.weebly.com/ethical-is-beautiful-be-beautiful-a-blog/ethical-meat-lovers-meat-guide
 
Plant-Based Seafood – some good options here are Sophie’s Kitchen (I love their seafood jambalaya) and Good Catch.  Just check in with your local health food store or order from the companies’ websites.
 
If this seems overwhelming, check out my recipes on this blog and, if you need someone else to jump start you, try a food delivery service temporarily just to get ideas and the hang of it, such as Sakara (https://www.sakara.com) or Purple Carrot (https://www.purplecarrot.com).  

A well-reviewed (but not free) app that helps you find healthy plant-based restaurant options near you, virtually anywhere in the world is "Happy Cow":  www.happycow.net/mobile
 
Basically, eating plant-based is good for you and it’s good for the planet.  According to the Guardian:
 
Appealing to the various drivers of people’s diet choices could help address not only the nation’s obesity problem, but also the environmental impacts of food production, even the stability of the food supply chain. For example, decreased consumption of meat could have a major impact on water usage. According to Arlin Wasserman, founder of food consultancy Changing Tastes, Americans currently get about 15% of their protein from plant-based sources. Shifting that to 25% could result in enough water savings to provide two-thirds of California’s water supply.
https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2015/jun/29/usda-diet-nutrition-environment-sustainability-omega-3-beef 

So go eat your plants, vegetables and grains and be happy, healthy and free!
 
5.  If You Drive, Drive Electric.  Regardless, Make Your Commute Eco Friendly
Electric cars are awesome.  I know. I drive a Tesla.  https://www.tesla.com  My costs in NYC come to roughly $8-10 per 300+ miles for charging my vehicle and they even have a converter with which, were I ever in a pinch, I could just plug MY CAR into a regular old outlet.  Heck, yeah!  If you’re lucky enough to have a house, you can install Tesla’s solar panel (see  “Solar and Powerwall” on their website link above) and charge both your home and car for free, courtesy of our friend the sun.
 
There are a gajillion electric and hybrid car choices.  Many states offer you tax incentives and other $$ help if you go green, so ask the car dealership for information on this when you go car shopping. There’s also an awesome free app called Plug Share that will locate chargers nearby for you.  Why be a dinosaur?  Join me in the future with fast, gas-free cars that are safe, environmentally friendly and, best of all, so freakin’ fun to drive.  If you live near a Tesla dealership, go and test drive a car even if you’re not in the market to buy.  If you like to drive and you like fast cars, you are going to have fun.
 
Regardless of awesome cars, consider walking or biking whenever you can because it’s good exercise as well as good for the planet.  Use ride shares and/or public transit to cut down on air pollution.  In other words, just be sensible.
 
6.  Use Your Energy Thoughtfully

Home
Use an energy provider that uses clean energy, like Green Mountain. It’s super easy to enroll and you will be on the exact same energy grid you were on before.  I use it and my bills are actually quite a bit less now with no decrease in service.  They have no idea my blog exists and they definitely aren’t paying me to say that. Check it out here. 
 
As I mentioned above, if you’re lucky enough to have a house, you can install Tesla’s Powerwall and charge your home for free, courtesy of our friend the sun.

Laundry

Use a biodegradable, chemical-free, dye-free, fragrance-free detergent (I love Go by Greenshield Organic – link to it below the text in this post) and wash in cold water as much as you can. Try not to wash until you have a full load’s worth of clothes to save energy.  Simple stuff but it matters.  I use pureWash which uses oxygen to clean laundry so I can skip hot water and detergent.
 
Also, ditch the fabric softener and dryer sheets.[15]  You can substitute vinegar for fabric softener[16] and, for freshly scented clothes, just put a few drops of your favorite essential oil on a bit of fabric and throw it in the dryer with your clothes.  Gorgeous!
 
7.  Consume Thoughtfully
Do a little research before you buy.  Whether it’s shoes, clothes, jewelry, or cars, a little research to make sure what you’re buying is responsibly sourced goes a long way.  C’mon.  You can do it for the planet (and yourself).
 
For anything made of fabric, I recommend making sure it is Oeko-Tex certified. For more on that and to search all products, click here.
 
To save you time, here are some links to helpful outside sites:
 
Furniture - https://ecocult.com/ultimate-guide-eco-friendly-ethical-furniture/
 
Clothing and Shoes - https://www.peta.org/living/personal-care-fashion/vegan-eco-clothing-belongs-in-your-closet/
 
Jewelry - https://www.treehugger.com/slideshows/sustainable-fashion/looking-ethical-eco-friendly-jewelry/
 
In general, it’s sort of the same rules as for foods – the items that are the best for your health and that of our planet’s tend to be free of animal products, chemicals and toxins.  Kind of a no-brainer.
 
8.  Garden (even in a city apartment)
This is my favorite because it has so many benefits beyond just making our air cleaner and enriching our soil.  It’s also extremely calming and studies show we are happier when surrounded by greenery and plants.  “I hate being happy,” said nobody ever.  

For those, like me, who live in big cities and can’t run around planting trees or creating big gardens outside (we’d probably get arrested), there are awesome home kits.  

If you’re lucky enough to have a balcony, put out some tomato plants.  Not only are they neat-looking and fast-growing, you can eat the resulting tomatoes, which are rich in lycopene which improves your cardiovascular health and helps prevent cancer.  BOO YAH!  Here is a link to some tomato growing kits.  

You can also do window herb gardens or, and check THIS out (it’s on my Christmas list – please, Santa?  Please? Please?  Please?): a tabletop AEROGARDEN to grow your very own deliciously scented herbs, flowers, fruits, and/or veggies year-round:  https://www.aerogarden.com.  

For those in rural areas and/or lucky enough to have their own yards and access to land, plant away!  My favorite source for all things gardening is the Gardener’s Supply Company.  Regardless, always go organic however and wherever you plant.  Skip the pesticides, chemicals and say no to GMO seeds.  After all, you want to help yourself and the planet, not hurt both.  You don’t want to be exposed to toxic chemicals, even if you are growing non-edible flowers instead of veggies, fruits or herbs.    Gardeners.com has a lot of tips and tricks for how to avoid pests and problems without the use of nasty pesticides and, if you’re growing inside, it’s even easier.  You absolutely don’t need them.  
 
I decided to grow lavender inside (yes, it can be done!) and now everything smells serene and beautiful and I am happier for it.  And, I have the opposite of a green thumb.  I am wanted for plant murder in some states so, if I can do it, you can definitely do it.  And you will be happier, calmer and more zen if you do.  It’s like a gift for yourself that’s a gift to the world.
 
So go on! Green your space!  You’re going to be glad you did.

​*****************************************************************************************************
 
Some people will argue that some of these changes are worth more or less than others.  Cool.  Put the emphasis wherever is easiest or makes most sense to you.  Customize this to you and don’t get overwhelmed because if we each do some small things, it all adds up to one gigantic thing.  Get out of bed, put down the chocolate and go save the world … because you actually can!
 
Footnotes
[1]See, e.g., https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/microplastics#health-effects,https://www.cnn.com/2018/04/22/health/microplastics-land-and-air-pollution-intl/index.html,http://www.exeter.ac.uk/research/feature/microplastics/,https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/microplastics-have-been-found-in-peoples-poop-mdash-what-does-it-mean/,https://www.nationalgeographic.com/magazine/2018/06/plastic-planet-health-pollution-waste-microplastics/.  
[2]See, e.g., https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2018/feb/19/are-we-poisoning-our-children-with-plastic
[3]See, e.g., https://food.ndtv.com/facts/storing-your-vegetables-in-plastic-bags-heres-why-you-need-to-stop-1729511
[4]See, e.g., https://www.latimes.com/science/sciencenow/la-sci-sn-organic-food-cancer-20181022-story.html
[5]https://www.consumerreports.org/pesticides-herbicides/easy-way-to-remove-pesticides/
[6]See, e.g., https://www.parents.com/baby/diapers/cloth/eco-friendly-diapering/?slideId=slide_b68e1d04-72ec-455b-9acc-19a4600a3d3a#slide_b68e1d04-72ec-455b-9acc-19a4600a3d3a
[7]See, e.g., https://www.ewg.org/release/massive-study-finds-eating-organic-slashes-cancer-risks
[8]See, e.g., https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3569688/,  https://www.ewg.org/release/massive-study-finds-eating-organic-slashes-cancer-risks,https://www.newsweek.com/eating-organic-foods-linked-lower-cancer-risk-1182713,https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2015/jun/29/usda-diet-nutrition-environment-sustainability-omega-3-beef,
[9]https://news.nationalgeographic.com/2015/03/150311-cow-agriculture-cattle-dairy-beef-health-food-ngbooktalk/
[10]Id.
[11]See also https://www.latimes.com/science/sciencenow/la-sci-sn-plantbased-diets-weight-20150122-story.html
[12]https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6132564/
[13]https://www.healwithfood.org/articles/buckwheat-complete-protein.php
[14]See, e.g., https://healthyeating.sfgate.com/list-amino-acids-grain-quinoa-1405.html
[15]https://www.cleancult.com/blog/substitutes-for-dryer-sheets/
[16]https://www.thespruce.com/vinegar-in-the-washing-machine-1900128

Many people have read about the controversial maternal deprivation research on baby monkeys at the University of Wisconsin, among others.  One need only google psychiatric experiments on baby monkeys to see the stuff of nightmares.  For me, the grave difficulty with psychiatric experimentation on non-human animals is that, for the experiments to have any real value for treatment, you must begin from the foundation that the non-human animals are psychiatrically identical or at least substantially similar in their emotions and cognitive functioning to humans. That is, that the non-human animals are sentient; that they have an identical or substantially similar emotional spectrum; that they feel the same emotions such as fear, pain, joy, loss, and so on, as humans do.  If they do not, after all, of what utility is the psychiatric and behavioral research performed on them to humans?  Little at best and, I argue, none.  However, beginning, as one must if one is to argue in favor of these experiments’ utility, from the supposition that the non-human animals feel in the same or substantially similar way as humans do, the ethical and moral implications of treating them as one would not or should not ever treat a human in these types of emotionally and often physically violent experiments are insurmountable.

It is my privilege to be able to use this blog as a vehicle to share a series of stories from across the country about the American immigrant experience.  More on this project here.  The ninth story is:

Us_me vs. Them_ME by Widelyne Laporte
 
            I was born in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, which is commonly known as the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere. Which was wrongly stated by a powerful leader in America, as one of the “shit hole” countries. Before I was born, my father moved to America, leaving behind my mother and 5 older siblings, to build a better life for his family. He worked hard as a building super to live in a building for rent-free, in exchange for his services. My father knew little to no English, yet he somehow made it work, and I greatly acknowledge his hard work and perseverance. When I was 3 years old, my father was able to file for us to come to America. When we came, we lived in the basement of the building which my father worked at, for over 8 years. I remember this building being infested with rats, mice and flying roaches. We started off sleeping on the floor to my father saving enough to buy one bunk bed, which was shared amongst my sister and I.  We made the best of our living lifestyle.
​

            Despite of our living conditions and being an immigrant, I was not embarrassed at a young age. However, as I got into elementary and junior high school, students often made cruel statements about immigrants. About me.  At that time, there was a rumor spread that Haitians were bringing HIV/AIDS to America. Often times I would be told to go back home and called names because of what I wore and what my parents could not afford. I did not ever feel like I was an estranged person, an outsider, or loner until I started school. But, my lack of embarrassment of being an immigrant had a lot to do with my parents. My parents always spoke Hope and Faith in our God. Always said, “this was TEMPORARY. Everyday is a stepping stone.”


            My father is now the owner of a house, my older siblings married with kids, in their own homes with promising careers. And as for me, I am working as a nurse, giving back to my parents for their hard work and sacrifices. I am also giving back to the country that has given me the opportunity that I might not have had in my country, Haiti.  I am a hard-working individual and also helping American citizens in a country which I was not born into. Being in the healthcare industry, caring for people of all ages, races, and ethnicities, I’ve learned a powerful thing; no matter what we are, we all are born into a world and will die into a world. Therefore, there shouldn’t be divisions, separation, inferiority, and human rights violations. The way immigrants are being treated with injustice is inhumane. Yet, it is the same immigrants as myself, who are able to give back and help PEOPLE as a whole.

Widelyne Laporte
​
Widelyne was born in Haiti and migrated to the United States at the age of 3 with her mother.  Widelyne is now a citizen, a licensed practical nurse and an actor.  
Facebook.com/widelyne.laporte
 
**Special thanks to Ricardo Arechiga for his graphic design of the project logo**
 
 

It is my privilege to be able to use this blog as a vehicle to share a series of stories from across the country about the American immigrant experience.  More on this project here.  The eighth story is by Valery Valtrain:

Like most children immigrants, I didn’t have any say in the big move to the United States of America. For some children, the move may seem like an adventure. But for others, the adventure involves leaving behind all that was once familiar in order to try to adapt to a world that even your parents are lost in. My mother, the only parent I’ve ever had, relied on me so much so; it sometimes felt as if we had somehow switched roles. Slowly, I began feeling the burden of being responsible for my mother. Feeling like it was my duty to ensure she was able to navigate around this new world, since I was the one adapting to it with greater ease. 
 
I grew up sooner than most. After all, I was responsible for so much more. I was often praised for having more maturity than my peers. Such is the life of an immigrant child. There is a duality to our nature that most of our peers could never embody. Our minds have to think in twos, always translating from one dialect to another. Always having to remember whom it is we are speaking to in order for the correct language to be spoken. We have to see the world through the lenses of our audience in order to ensure that we can truly relay the messages we are telling them. It often makes us more empathetic and more selfless. 
 
I bond better with people. I believe many immigrant children have an understanding of the world around us that most aren’t privy to. We are analytical by nature because we had to study the world around us more than once. We have to first make sense of the world for our own comprehension, and then have to continuously revisit it to explain it to our parents and anyone else in our families that aren't able to quite grasp it. We take in all of the information the world has to give and then we must scrutinize it in order to share it. Such a role, causes you to be attentive, to listen, to care, Perhaps that is why strangers tend to share intimate details about their lives with me, and friends often seek my advice.
 
Feeling compassion for others, seems to be a constant with immigrant children whose roles mirror my own. We are given the task to be responsible for our parents and in the process, we tend to feel responsible for the world.




Valery Valtrain
Val Valtrain is a writer, a mother, an American, an immigrant, and the daughter of immigrants.  She is interning with the Film Lab.
 
**Special thanks to Ricardo Arechiga for his graphic design of the project logo**

It is my privilege to be able to use this blog as a vehicle to share a series of stories from across the country about the American immigrant experience.  More on this project here.  The seventh story is by Rosa Soy:

I arrived in the United States on February 9, 1962, a day forever etched in my memory.  I was sent here by my parents through the “Peter Pan” program, curiously named after a boy who would not grow up, which allowed children from Cuba to be welcomed to the U.S.  The political undertones of this project were, of course, unknown to us at the time.

Having been uprooted from the relative comfort of our middle class lives, we were called “refugees,” and placed in shelters, orphanages, and foster homes.  We came alone without our parents who, we were told, would later join us.  The program had the dual purpose of embarrassing the Castro regime, and protecting us, so that we would not be taken from our family and sent to the Soviet Union.  Our parents assured us this was only temporary and they would join us in a short time.  

Temporary or not, the wounds of separation left lifelong scars. The interrupted childhoods the loss of homes, relatives, friends and pets, all that was familiar and dear to us, took its toll.  The promised protection came with a price -- separation from those we loved the most. And, as our parents encountered numerous obstacles to our reunification, the separation was often unbearably long and painful.  In spite of Peter Pan, we did grow up, apart from our families, making choices we did not always understand. We learned to relish our independence as immigrants to this nation.  We mastered a new language, became accustomed to new landscapes, tastes and smells.  Grateful for our good fortune, we pledged allegiance as new citizens, while longing for the people and places we had left behind, which had slowly begun to fade from our memories.
​
Today, as an immigration attorney, I am often taken back to the pain and struggles of the early years. But I am rewarded by assisting a new wave of young people who long to be accepted and welcomed as immigrants to their new land.



Rosa H. Soy
Rosa Soy received a “Meet the Composer” grant for the “Future Feminine”a mixed-media project, and is the co-writer of The Rose Slippers,a children’s musical, an award recipient of the 2004 Jackie White Children’s theater competition. Rosa’s plays Esperanzaand The Planhave received staged readings at New Jersey regional theaters. Her play Venial Sinswas selected for the 2004 Samuel French festival in New York.  And her short playPigeonswas presented at the 2005 Samuel French festival in New York.  Her play “Off Balance” was presented at Luna Stage Theater Company in Montclair NJ.  Rosa served as playwright in residence for Passaic County Community College during 2009 and 2010.  She is currently working on a book about her experiences as an immigration lawyer.

​**Special thanks to Ricardo Arechiga for his graphic design of the project logo**