365 Sustainable Decisions Challenge

I'm excited to let you know that volume 2 of my book "A Guide to a Healthier Planet" is coming soon! It covers a wide range of new, fascinating topics and solutions related to hashtag # climateChange , hashtag # pollution , and hashtag # biodiversity ! And I just noticed that Amazon offers 5% off on pre-orders. Be quick, as I don't know how long they keep this offer: https://www.amazon.com/Guide-Healthier-Planet-Scientific-Biodiversity/dp/3031601270 More on Volume 1: https://www.sustainabledecisions.eu/guide-to-a-healthier-planet

While currently Southern Germany is experiencing floods, the importance of taking action toward a healthier planet becomes clear right in front of my eyes. While the critical situation is happening here, I don’t need this reminder of the importance of living more environmentally friendly: since 2019, I have - every single day - made a positive difference, not only in my own life but also in others’ lives. And still, I've decided to pause my online environmental advocacy. Why? The brief answer: to be able to do more. And importantly, I won’t pause all my activities, only my online activities. Before I explain more, I’ll share how it all started and where I’m at now. Continue reading: https://medium.com/@ErlijnG/why-im-taking-a-break-from-online-environmental-advocacy-d49e200164fb?sk=6ca4728aee0f8f16fe5b71edc7781673 As I’m not sure yet how long my pause will need to be (at least until the end of August 2024), I have shared loads of resources in the article you can look at in the mean...

While tourism used to be an occasional trip, it has now become a regular part of life for many, with 1.4 billion people traveling in 2019. This surge in tourism has boosted economies, creating 1 in 5 new jobs over the last five years. However, it also contributes to 8% of the world’s CO2 emissions, highlighting the need for more sustainable travel options. That is why I love traveling by train and like the possibility provided by Interrail to explore Europe with a single train ticket. Interrail, launched in 1972, has grown from an initiative for young Europeans to a popular travel option for all ages. With access to 33 countries and over 250,000 kilometers of railway, the Interrail pass offers flexibility and sustainability for modern explorers. Whether you want to visit multiple countries or dive deep into one, Interrail has a pass to suit your travel dreams. Learn more about the benefits of sustainable tourism here: https://medium.com/the-environment/how-tourism-can-benefit-tourists-...

Climate change impacts your daily life, your health, and the environment you live in. Whether you realize and are willing to see it or not. As it’s one of the biggest current planetary threats, many people are feeling grief, loss, and frustration about our situation, leading to depression or anxiety. These negative emotions are caused by learning about the consequences of climate change. When these are presented negatively, it triggers negative eco-emotions like: eco-depression (feeling miserable) eco-anger (feeling frustrated) eco-anxiety (feeling anxious) Eco-anger is the emotion that most likely inspires us to actions toward a healthier planet. In my article, I explain this in more detail for you to learn more: https://app.wedonthavetime.org/posts/974f07cb-5cd2-46c8-832d-c7c583309d64?utm_source=url-copy&utm_medium=wdht-web-app-share&utm_campaign=erlijng Negative eco-emotions are becoming more frequent due to climate change (credit:  chanintorn.v  on  Shutters...

Did you know seaweed can be a sustainable solution? In this article, I explain 5 surprising ways how seaweed can be put to good use: https://medium.com/the-environment/how-seaweed-can-be-put-to-good-use-a13dac4716fa?sk=6424c74a47bc3d2eaad298dd602621cb Seaweed can be put to good use in many ways, even cosmetics (credit:  HstrongART  on  Shutterstock )

Excessive amounts of chemicals and nutrients in the environment due to human activity and naturally occurring parasites affect the health of fish. Importantly, while both pollutants and parasites affect fish, pollutants can also directly or indirectly influence the number of parasites that in turn harm fish! This is an additional reason to reduce the number of pollutants in the environment. In this article, I explain how pollutants can increase or decrease the number of parasites and explain what we can do to reduce pollution: https://app.wedonthavetime.org/posts/548b5589-c6af-4ce3-aa3f-2e6247f17b63?utm_source=url-copy&utm_medium=wdht-web-app-share&utm_campaign=erlijng A fish parasite ( Lamprea ; credit:  Gena Melendrez  on  Shutterstock )

I'm excited to have been invited to the Shaffordshire Libraries' Book Chat event! The event is part of the Green Libraries Month, so we will be talking about my book "A Guide to a Healthier Planet". The event is fully booked, so in case there is a recording, I'll let you know! And good news: you can have a peek inside and learn more about the book straight away at https://www.sustainabledecisions.eu/guide-to-a-healthier-planet

Burning fossil fuels contributes a lot to recent changes in our climate. That is why finding alternatives is critical. There are many options; one of them is using coconut waste. Here I explain how this works: https://www.erlijn.nl/link/scicomm.php?l=0ee5cd7756 Coconut waste can be used to replace fossil fuels (credit:  KPad  on  Shutterstock )

Lets use knowledge and skills for the good! Everyone of us has a huge set of knowledge and skills, gathered over many years of life experience. This also means that each of us can decide whether we use these knowledge and skills for the good or not. Just like we decide to use knowledge about friends to invite them to an activity they will enjoy. I'm using lots of knowledge and skills for the good, for example by: - using my scientific background and writing and language skills to make science understandable for all of us - using my knowledge about cyber-security and educational skills to train people without a job to become an expert in this field too - using my knowledge about how to care well for our planet and personal development skills to inspire others to live more environmentally too - using my knowledge about proper communication and digital skills to deeply connect with people from all over the world - using my knowledge about environmental sustainability and IT and my pre...

🌿 Let's focus on a greener future! 🌍 Setting positive goals is key to a healthier planet. Instead of thinking about what we don't want, let's envision where we want to go and how a more sustainable future looks like. Just like a driver focuses on staying on the road and where he/she wants to go rather than on avoiding obstacles at the off the road. I'm doing this for example by: - helping scientists in the field of #nature and #sustainability to share their results with us in a way we all understand - going litter-picking every week to keep the neighborhood clean - traveling by train and bike instead of car and plane - eating very little meat Just to name a few. Let's put our energy toward these goals and watch our actions drive positive change! PS: The image is generated by AI and shows my mental image of me steering toward a healthier planet.  

Important: The key element of your happiness is the quality of your relationships. So, even when advertisements makes you feel that you that you need XYZ to become happier, think about it: Do you really need it? Here are ideas how you can improve the relationships with people around you to increase your happiness: 1. giving sincere compliments to brighten someone’s day (a sincere compliment is when you are truly impressed, not meant to flatter, preferably about personality traits or accomplishments) 2. expressing your appreciation in a way they understand (this can be words of affirmation, spending time together, giving a gift, doing something for this person, touching them if the type of relationship is appropriate to do so) 3. listening (engaging with the other, without judging and using both verbal and nonverbal cues to show that you understand what they are saying) 4. showing genuine interest in the other person (for example by asking open-ended questions, listening more than you t...

When thinking about climate change and its consequences, many first think of rising sea levels and higher temperatures. While these can indeed be consequences, there is a much more wide range of consequences. For example, it affects our bodies in many ways as well. In this article, I explain how climate change affects our skin, eyes, and mouth and what we can do against it: https://app.wedonthavetime.org/posts/41c79956-9f37-400b-9f56-b25ce5dc04a2?utm_source=url-copy&utm_medium=wdht-web-app-share&utm_campaign=erlijng Climate change impacts different body parts, including skin, eyes, and mouth (credit:  Kitthanes  on  Shutterstock )

As climate change is progressing, extreme weather events are occurring more frequently. As I explained in Chapter 3 of my book “A Guide to a Healthier Planet”, extreme weather events include heat waves, tornadoes, wildfires, floods, and droughts. Not every country is affected by these events in the same way, meaning that some places will experience tornadoes more frequently while other places will be facing droughts more often and longer. Continue reading here to find out about how climate change impacts droughts and our health: https://app.wedonthavetime.org/posts/771288e3-2e9f-4d07-962e-d35c68f79575?utm_source=url-copy&utm_medium=wdht-web-app-share&utm_campaign=erlijng Have a peek inside my book "A Guide to a Healthier Planet" here: https://www.sustainabledecisions.eu/guide-to-a-healthier-planet Droughts can severely impact our lives and are becoming more frequent and worse due to climate change (credit:  Alohaflaminggo  on  Shutterstock )

I'm excited to share that I've been nominated as a Voice of a New Era of Leaders as part of the #LeadershipRedefined movement by @femalefactor.global. This journey is about more than recognition—it's about changing the narrative of leadership to reflect empathy, innovation, and resilience. Better leadership creates a better world for us all! Let's celebrate a new era of leaders @ global leaders summit hosted by the City of Vienna 🇦🇹 - September 19th.

The impact of climate change is often discussed in the context of agriculture. While this is important as agriculture provides us with food, plants in urban environments should not be overlooked. This is because they also have important health benefits! In this article, I explain these benefits and how climate change impacts plants in urban areas. And what we can do to keep our place nice, green, and good for our health: https://www.erlijn.nl/link/scicomm.php?l=d17baad9b1  

Visit the calmness of the beautiful Wohkudu Beach in Indonesia after a gorgeous (guided) nature walk! No need to travel, no expenses, and you can set off straight away here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=geLl0RDCqw8

Today, an earthquake with severity over 7 on Richter's scale has hit Taiwan. Such strong earthquakes happen only 10-15 times a year, and hit Taiwan last in 1999. Already several buildings collapsed and a tsunami warning is sent out. This means that Taiwan soon has to deal with the debris that this event is causing. In this article, I explain how important it is to deal with this debris cautiously and how to do so in an environmentally friendly way: https://www.erlijn.nl/link/scicomm.php?l=ee697348f5

  🐸 Did you know that amphibians are facing a tough time, with a shocking 41% being at risk of extinction? That is why scientists are coming up with ways to protect them. One way is by storing their genetic material and promoting artificial fertilization to boost their populations and ensure their survival. Learn more about how this work in my latest article: https://www.erlijn.nl/link/scicomm.php?l=e818f1cb95 And what can you and I do to protect them? Here are some simple yet powerful actions: 🌱 Saying no to chemical fertilizers and pesticides to keep our waterways clean. 🗑️ Disposing of waste properly to prevent pollution. 🏞️ Protecting natural habitats where amphibians thrive. 🚫 Avoiding splitting up habitats when constructing roads and buildings. 🌉 Advocating for ecoducts, which are like nature-friendly bridges, to help amphibians cross busy roads safely. 🤝 Supporting organizations dedicated to amphibian conservation. Amphibian sperm can be stored to conserve thre...

Recent armed conflicts around the world not only affect humans, they also impact the natural environment, sometimes making an area unlivable. This is for many reasons critical, including that this can trigger further armed conflicts. In this article, I explain the vicious cycle between armed conflicts and environmental destruction in more detail: https://www.erlijn.nl/link/scicomm.php?l=79f933814f (German version of the article: https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/der-teufelskreis-zwischen-krieg-und-umweltprobleme-van-genuchten-95owe )

A current environmental concern is that we are using earthen materials more quickly than they can be replenished. One of these materials is sand; beaches are vanishing because we use between 32 and 50 billion tonnes of sand and gravel globally every year! As it is unsustainable to continue at the current rate, alternatives are being developed. One alternative is using crushed glass waste instead of sand. This is great as it not only limits sand use, it also contributes to resolving excessive waste on landfills! Learn more about why glass waste is a great alternative to sand in construction: https://www.erlijn.nl/link/scicomm.php?l=966cd8f36f Glass waste can be a great sustainable alternative building material to natural sands in various construction applications (credit:  noomcpk  on  Shutterstock )