New Year’s Resolutions for 2021

Alex Re

Hello, welcome to on wildlife. I'm your host, Alex Re. Normally, we would start to learn about a specific animal. But because we're nearing the end of 2020, I thought I would do something a little bit different. Every year, I think it's important to look back on all you've accomplished and ways that you can make next year even better than the last. This is why for this episode, I'm going to talk about 11 New Year's resolutions that you can try that helps out the conservation of wildlife. Let's get into it.

Number one, support organizations that are helping wildlife by donating volunteering, and just raising awareness. I've talked about a lot of problems that animals are facing this year. There are so many issues out there and one person can't do everything. Luckily, there are a lot of organizations that are doing important work to help conserve our earth and the creatures that live here. That's why you can pick one or a few organizations that mean a lot to you, and support them in any way that you can. You can even symbolically adopt an animal, which supports the conservation for that specific species. adopting an animal is a great gift for someone. And sometimes you can even get updates on how your adopted animals doing. Number two, cut down on your fossil fuel use. Carbon dioxide is a major greenhouse gas that contributes to climate change. And climate change is really hurting a lot of the world's plants and animals. Some things that you can do to cut down on your usage are walking or biking to places that are close by supporting local farms instead of large chains, limiting the amount of air travel even though that's probably not a hard thing to do right now. And even cutting down on your electricity use. Small things that you do can make a huge impact. On our website, I've linked an ecological footprint calculator that actually measures how many Earths we would need if everyone lived like you. It's really eye opening. I recommend taking it and seeing what you can change about your lifestyle to make the world a better place. The website is footprint calculator.org. Number three, plant a tree. It's no secret that trees are important for a lot of species, including us. They provide homes for all kinds of organisms. Plus, they give us clean breathable oxygen. Trees give us over 100 trillion pounds of oxygen every year. But don't worry, you don't have to go outside in order to plant a tree. The National Wildlife Federation has a program called trees for wildlife where you can buy shirts, necklaces, ornaments and more in order to support their program. The program gives resources to people who want to teach our youth about the importance of trees. They even give you seedlings if you want to be the one to teach. They can also help you organize a tree planting party. Definitely go and check them out. Number four, make your backyard wildlife friendly. Having a garden in your backyard is so fun, and it's even more fun knowing that you can be helping the wildlife that lives around you. An easy way to make your backyard wildlife friendly is by planting flowers that are native to where you live. They usually aren't hard to keep alive and they give pollinators like butterflies and bees much needed food. If you listen to my episode on butterflies, you probably remember that the monarch butterfly only likes milkweed plants. Without that plant, we could lose monarchs for good, which is why planting native plants is so important. Another way that you can make your backyard more wildlife friendly is by putting out water bowls for animals. This is especially true during the summer where dehydration is a major issue. You can also buy a screech owl box to set up on a tree near you to promote owls to hang around. I promise you that watching native birds and other animals in your backyard is unlike anything else. Number five help clean up trash in your community or in ecosystems around your community. Unfortunately, a lot of animals don't know the difference between a piece of plastic and a piece of food. This is especially a problem in our oceans. And chances are that piece of plastic that you see on the ground is going to end up in a body of water somewhere. When fish eat plastic particles, eventually we eat that plastic. This can cause serious health problems one of the most common being cancer. That's why it's so important to keep plastics off the ground so that we can recycle them. You know that feeling of satisfaction when you finish cleaning your room or an area of your house. You'll feel bad and more when you clean up your community because you know you're helping the wildlife that live there. Number six, try to eat less meat. In the United States alone, over 27 billion pounds of beef are eaten every year. This takes its toll on the environment. First of all, in order to raise these animals, we have to take up a lot of land that was once inhabited by native wildlife. Second, meat production takes up a lot of clean water. And unfortunately, water isn't unlimited. Many places around the world are struggling to find clean water. And not only that, but meat production also releases a lot of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere, which contributes to climate change. Of course, it's not always easy to cut out meat completely from your diet. So you can start by doing meatless Mondays. On the on wildlife website, I've included some cool resources that give you healthy, protein rich recipes that don't use meat that you should try out. Number seven, and this one might be the easiest one to do. Watch nature documentaries. There are a lot of great nature documentaries out there, including Planet Earth, our planet blue planet, night on Earth, chasing coral and many more. These documentaries educate people about the natural world around us, and more current documentaries have highlighted how humans have impacted wildlife. Plus, who doesn't want to listen to David Attenborough. Talk to them for hours on end. Number eight, use your voice. A lot of people think that one individual can't make a difference. But this couldn't be further from the truth. You can use your voice and talk to elected officials about supporting acts that help wildlife. One of the most important laws in the United States is the Endangered Species Act, which has protected a lot of threatened organisms from becoming extinct. Some other important laws in the United States are the Marine Mammal Protection Act and the wild bird Conservation Act. Let's help keep these laws in existence and even work to improve them so that they're more effective. Number nine, visit national parks in your area. Not only is it a great way to really take a closer look at the wildlife around us, but it also helps with the conservation of a lot of different species. Usually these areas are preserved and protected so that nobody can build on around them. By going there, you're supporting that conservation. National Parks also bring in billions of dollars to the economy and provide a lot of people with jobs. So helping the environment can go hand in hand with helping the economy. Number 10. Commit to the wildlife selfie code. This code is a promise to not take selfies with exotic animals. I talked a little bit about this in my episode about sloths, but taking selfies with these animals can be extremely harmful to them. Especially if these pictures are taken through a company that has these animals held captive. It promotes the exotic pet trade and gives money to people who take wild animals from their natural habitat to exploit them. Instead, you can take pictures of them from a distance and in the wild, where they're not being disturbed by humans or exploited. Number 11. Educate friends and family about animal conservation and ways to help. This may be one of the most important and effective resolutions that I've talked about today. I truly believe that the solution to many of the world's issues starts with education. And I'm not just saying that because I'm a biology teacher. That's one of the reasons that I started this podcast, I wanted to share with you how amazing these creatures are and how important it is that we do our part to help with their conservation. If we can all talk to at least one other person about some of these issues. I know that we can make a difference in this world and make it a better place to live in for wildlife and for us. Thank you so much for listening. New Year's resolutions are really hard to keep. But every little thing that you do can make a positive impact. Don't forget to tune in next Wednesday to learn about a new animal and that's on wildlife.

Jess Avellino

You've been listening to on wildlife with Alex Re brought to you every Wednesday.

Transcribed by https://otter.ai