Why You Should Feel Compelled To Reduce Your Footprint

Why you should feel compelled to reduce your footprint

It’s no secret that humans are suffocating our planet. The mere notion that this is “fake news” is simply unacceptable. From carbon emissions, to plastic and garbage pollution, mankind has now rightfully earned the title as the most dangerous threat to Earth. As humans, we have an innate desire for beauty and mystery. As a millennial species, we have a desire for convenience and comfort. These two combining forces have paved a path for disaster and destruction on a global scale. Forests are being burned by the hectare for palm oil, an ingredient found in nearly everything in your pantry and bathroom. Carbon emissions continue to destroy our permeable atmosphere that protects us from, well… everything. Glaciers formed long before man walked the Earth, are melting and disappearing. Wide accumulations of plastic that cannot biodegrade due to its chemical structure (that humans formulated for this very purpose) have formed LITERAL islands of trash in our oceans. Over a million marine life animals die each year because of plastic and trash pollution. These are not speculations, they are not theories- they are FACTS.

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And unfortunately, the consumption habits of mankind have been, and will continue to- suffocate and destroy Earth and all that depend on it. Which is, you know… kind of a big deal.

This impending future is slowly manifesting with each passing year. Unless we do something about it.

And who is “we” might you ask? It’s everybody.

It’s you. It’s us. It’s our parents sitting at home refusing to watch another incoherent and dismissive speech from political leaders who deny the future of our planet’s health. It’s my 5th grade teacher. It’s the guy who works at McDonalds making minimum wage who could honestly care less about whether he should give a straw to the car in the drive-thru or not. It’s the young Indonesian woman who makes more money off refrigerated water sales than any other product in her store. It’s the businessman flying home who just wants a cold Coke with his quick pre-flight meal. It’s the tourists who spend millions of dollars everyday worldwide, stimulating the economy with their passion for convenience and beauty. It’s you, me, us, them, it’s everyone.

It is no one else’s responsibility but our own.

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The greatest threat to Earth is the belief that someone else will save it.

Collectively as a species, we absolutely have to adopt different consumption habits. The ideology of convenience and single-use items are no longer acceptable. As humans, we have the keen ability to adapt and change our behavior. As travellers, we have the ability to spread our ideas, our habits, and our behavior on a global scale.

THIS is what we need to change. Our behavior.

So yeah, I guess you could say that we get pretty worked up about the environment these days. After travelling to some of the most magical and beautiful places our planet has to offer, and seeing it littered with trash and rubbish, can you really blame us?

As millennials, we have a responsibility to avoid making the same mistakes as the generations before us. As travelers in pursuit of beauty, mystery, culture, and adventure- we have a responsibility to protect the places we’ve been, and the places we want to see. From the most remote mountains of Nepal, to the smallest of Indonesian islands, there is a massive and mostly nurturing community of backpackers and travelers who are passionate about our planet’s unparalleled beauty, and who want to protect it, but simply don’t know how.

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At The Green Shoestring, we feel compelled to adopt behavioral changes that are symbiotic with our planet. We feel compelled to reduce our footprint as much as humanly possible; by cutting out plastic and other pollutants whenever we can. We feel compelled to document our behavior and habits, so that we may be held accountable for them. We feel compelled not only share what we learn, as we learn it, but to influence others to adopt a similar eco-conscious approach to life and the way we travel through this life. We feel compelled to help foster a community of passionate and environmentally responsible travelers on a global scale. We feel compelled to continue to educate ourselves about consumption choices, and pass along any new insights. We feel compelled to inspire a change of behavior in the world of tourism. We feel compelled to be advocates for Earth.

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Our goal for The Green Shoestring is not to be insta-famous or profitable, (I mean… the chances of that happening are about the same as the chances of disposable plastic being globally banned.) We don’t want fame, or fortune. We simply want to inspire others to think more consciously about how they travel and it’s effects on the environment.

For more information on how you can be a part of the Green movement, subscribe to our blog. We are always adding new content and ideas. Additionally, we are always looking for new ways to help our planet while we explore its splendor. If you have suggestions, we want to hear them! Subscribe & let’s connect!

Together, we can be the change we want to see.

Together, we can ensure that our planet remains beautiful and healthy.

Together, we can ensure that we will always have magical places to explore.