This post is sponsored by OBRIST C-Transformer, an innovative new way to help the planet. All opinions are my own.

5 Innovative Ways We Can Work Together to Help Save the Planet

Ever notice how every article on how to save the planet regurgitates the same tips over and over? We all know by now that we need to reduce, reuse, and recycle. We know that we should walk more and drive less, turn down our heat and turn off the lights when we leave a room. We’ve been hearing these tips for years now. I’ve given these tips myself at times. The problem with sticking to the tried and true tips? They’re may be true, but not enough people are trying them! We’ve heard them so many times that they fade to background noise. We need to come up with innovative ways to work together to help the environment, and we need to do it soon.

Innovative Ways to Help the Planet

1- Educate Yourself So You Can Educate Others

How much do you really remember about your 10th grade environmental studies class? Me? Hardly anything, if I’m being honest. We all know that we need to take steps to save the environment, but do we know why? Saying that we need to reduce our carbon footprint doesn’t mean a thing if you don’t actually know what carbon is and why it’s such a big deal. I’m not telling you to break out the high school science books and relearn everything you forgot from 20 years ago. If you didn’t retain it then, you probably won’t retain it now.

5 Innovative Ways We Can Work Together to Help Save the Planet

Instead, take a class on an aspect of nature that really interests you. Head to your local environmental education center for free or cheap classes on weekends. Take a nature photography course, a bird watching class. Even something as quick and simple as a lesson on how to preserve leaves and flowers can help you feel more connected to the environment that we’re trying to save. Educating yourself also makes it easier to educate others. You’ll be able to more clearly and persuasively explain why conservation is so important. It’s hard to change some minds, as some people are so set in their opinions that no amount of evidence to the contrary can change them, but you’ll be able to reach the people who are on the fence or just don’t know enough to form an opinion.

2- Go Back in Time

Obviously, not literally. At least not yet, although I’m still holding out hope that someone will build a time machine in my lifetime. Hey, it could happen! Until then, go back in time figuratively! Once a month (or a week, if you’re feeling really adventurous), pretend that you’re living back in Little House on the Prairie times! Turn off everything in your house (lights too!) and teach yourself some new skills. During Hurricane Sandy, we lost power for 8 days. I went completely crazy because I wasn’t prepared. I still wouldn’t love being without power that long, but the last time our lights went out, I taught myself some basic skills, like how to cook on top of a wood stove. The surface gets hot enough that I could heat up basic canned foods. Next time, I’ll try to make something more complex. If Ma Ingalls could bake a whole cake without electricity, I can certainly learn to make something edible beyond canned ravioli.

5 Innovative Ways We Can Work Together to Help Save the Planet

We depend on electricity way too much. Going back in time once a month gives us the chance to figure out how we would survive if the lights ever go out for good and learn by actually doing. I’m not really into the survivalist thing, but everyone should at least know some basic lifesaving skills, don’t you think? You could even make a themed party out of it to spread the word and get more people on board with “back in time night.”

3- Think Before You Minimize

I know I said that the whole “reduce, reuse, recycle” tip is overstated, but bear with me, because this relates to something a little different. The new minimalist trend is fantastic for the future. Buying less material goods can only help the environment in the long run. It’s the short run that worries me. I see friends boasting about how they just threw out a dozen bags of stuff from their house. Threw out.  As in, it’s now in a landfill somewhere! Before you jump on the minimal bandwagon, spend some time really thinking about how you can reuse, recycle, or repurpose the things that are cluttering up your house.

Donate everything that is still in good shape to shelters or organizations that redistribute the items to people who have nothing. Recycle beyond the basic paper, plastic, and aluminum. Things like old electronics can be recycled by electronic repair shops, engineering schools, and even artists (think of all those abstract sculptures you see in museums and galleries). Local libraries can take many of your old books, preschools may be able to use unwanted craft supplies, and so on. Someone out there wants just about everything that you’re getting rid of, trust me!  Repurpose as much of what’s left by finding clever new uses for them. Only when you’ve exhausted those 3 R’s should you throw something out.

4- Change your diet and tell the world

If there’s one thing the internet loves, it’s a new fad diet. The problem with some of the latest fads: they prominently feature meat as one of the main sources of nutrition. Think about it: the biggest fad diets are modeled after how our caveman ancestors ate, and they ate an awful lot of meat! Now, I’m not saying you have to go vegetarian completely (unless you want to), but we need more than just Meatless Monday to cut back on the sheer amount of resources required to feed our beef and bacon hungry society. Think Tomato Tuesday, Free Range Friday, and Squash Saturday. Okay, so those probably need a little work before they catch on, but you get the drift. Share your new meat-free ideas to social media, especially Instagram, and they’ll eventually catch on! Trust me, the internet loves a good hashtag and meme.

5- Invest in New Technology

Thanks to sites like Indiegogo, you don’t have to be a millionaire to help bring innovative new solutions to market. Even if you have just a few dollars to spare, you can back ingenious new products and ideas that think outside the box, like the OBRIST C-Transformer. I’ll be honest, I don’t really understand the technical specs of the OBRIST C-Transformer, but I trust that the people involved know what they’re doing. It’s backed by a ton of research and science, and to prove it they answer close to 100 possible questions about the project and the machine in the FAQ page. I’m going to let this video do the majority of the explaining so I don’t lose any of you by trying to explain it myself. Check it out:

https://youtu.be/y-zTqJ8-CnA

Basically, the OBRIST C-Transformer uses nature to help nature. We learned way back in elementary school that trees take carbon from the air for their own purposes, which in turn helps keep the air clean for us. The problem: we have fewer and fewer trees every year yet more and more carbon going into the air. Imagine using a tiny air purifier to clear out the smoke from a raging fire in your house. Or, in my case, using a tiny handheld vacuum to keep up with my shedding cats’ fur all over the place! We produce more than the trees can handle. The OBRIST C-Transformer picks up the slack by giving the trees we do have a bit more power to clean up after us AND by making the soil around them more fertile so we can regrow our forests.

Not only does it store carbon by using old tree trunks, but it also helps replenish and revitalize the soil. It’s a win/win for the environment and for us. The thing is, it’s a HUGE undertaking, so they need our help bringing it to reality. They’ve already done the hard work. They’ve spent countless hours researching and scientifically proving the concept. Now it’s up to the rest of us to make sure the OBRIST C-Transformer becomes a reality.  Every dollar helps, and there are some really cool perks for donating (the $35 level is my favorite). They also have a ton of amazing videos that you can watch to learn more.

Head over to their Indiegogo page and donate now so we can help get the OBRIST C-Transformer busy helping nature do what it does best a lot faster!

Can you think of any other innovative ways to help preserve the environment? Share below!