More and more people are interested in going green, buying organic, and ultimately protecting the environment, for several reasons. In honour of Earth Day and World Health Day, we are sharing a few ideas you can try to start making easy yet meaningful changes in your life today.

Leave Your Car at Home

Every time you drive solo in an SUV, you’re adding more than 1.5 pounds of carbon dioxide or other greenhouse gases to the environment with each mile. Change your driving habits and you make an immediate impact on the environment. Consider taking short trips on foot or by bike instead, and you’ll also make an immediate impact on your health. While riding your bike at a leisurely 6 miles per hour, you can burn 240 calories an hour or more. Walking at a normal pace of 2 to 3 miles per hour, you can burn up to 300 calories or more each hour.

Think Reusable When You Drink

Because of recent reports of chemical contaminants in bottled water, many people are becoming concerned about drinking water from disposable plastic bottles, and especially about using plastic bottles to feed infants. A better option: Buy an environmentally-friendly reusable stainless-steel canteen-like bottle for carrying your water around. For hot beverages, use a thermos so you won’t contribute to the “staggering” number of disposable coffee cups and lids that are thrown out each year.

Choose Locally Grown or Organic Food

Fruits and vegetables in our supermarkets are often shipped from overseas, which means they may have been picked weeks before you eat them. However, if you buy locally grown produce from a farmers’ market, for instance, the food is likely to be freshly picked. You’ll also have the chance to ask the farmer if the fruits and vegetables are organic, or if any pesticides or other chemicals that could pose a danger to the earth, or your health, were used on them.

Do Some Old-School Cleaning

When you clean with harsh cleansers, some of these chemical components escape into the environment. Such chemicals have been linked with a variety of health issues, including skin rashes and asthma flare-ups. We can clean quite effectively with products our grandparents used. White vinegar or natural castile soap can be mixed with salt and baking soda to cut through mold or soap scum, and natural products like washing soda and borax can be used to clean floors and remove grease stains. One part vinegar and one part water in a spray bottle makes a glass cleaner, shower cleaner, floor cleaner, and toilet cleaner.

Make the World a Greener Place

Plant a tree (or a few!) in your yard as a family project. The long list of health- and environment-improving benefits of having trees around include reducing your air-conditioning costs by providing shade; possibly raising the property value and resale appeal of your home; pulling carbon dioxide out of the environment and creating oxygen; improved water quality; and providing you with calming surroundings.

Help Yourself to Less Meat, Help the Environment

Meat production has a big impact on the environment. Livestock industries generate 18 percent of greenhouse gas emissions reported from the five major sectors that participate in reporting. Research has found that vegetarians are less likely to be obese, have lower cholesterol, and are less likely to have heart disease caused by blocked arteries. If you’re considering the vegetarian route, or just want to cut back on meat, just be sure to get enough protein through other sources like nuts and beans.