Addressing the huge challenges facing our world can sometimes feel overwhelming, so I'm starting a new series on Beyond Dogma called "Small Steps." These are suggestions for small ways we can effect change, and my goal is have them appear infrequently enough for us to have time to build new habits. When we collectively adopt these practices, and build up a number of them, the change can be profound.
The first small step is simple. Stop buying drinking water. Here's a very entertaining eight minute video that explains why this matters. Instead, buy a stainless steel reusable water bottle. Over time, you'll save a significant amount of money, and ease the burden on our planet as well.
This simple practice can have profound consequences, as bottled water is incredibly polluting. On the production end, creating plastic bottles is an energy intensive petroleum-based process. On the disposal side, plastic is incredibly problematic, with plastic being a major component of the great pacific garbage patch, and mounds of "recycled" plastic being dumped into the developing world.
Stay tuned for more small steps that can make a big difference.