It’s all over the news, but in case you didn’t know, heavy rainstorms, record monsoons, massive floods, wildfires, triple digit heat waves and brutal hurricanes surging around the Atlantic are frequently occurring while sea levels continue to rise.

If this is all not evidence of global warming, then we really don’t know what is.

As citizens of the world, we are obliged to push for drastic changes when it comes to our impact on climate change and most importantly, the policies governing environmental sustainability. Before we embark on any this, we need to go back to the core of sustainability which is essentially human and taking care of the health of our body.

Simply said, how can you expect yourself to take care of the environment when you’re not even mindful of what you put into your body? So to help our environment, let’s make a few changes to ourselves when it comes to being a more sustainable being:

1- Minimize your waste: Or even better aim to be waste-free. Say no to single-use plastic and reduce your waste by using re-usable cutlery, shopping bags and so forth…no excuses, it’s the easiest thing to do. Buy produce from local farmers as much as possible and avoid packaged foods.

2-Move more! This one’s a no brainer. Exercise is key when it comes to maintaining a healthy body. When we exercise, biological changes occur that help stimulate our muscles, remove toxins, increase blood flow and oxygen circulation- basically saving our organs from deteriorating. So whether you squeeze in 10 minute walks in the morning, run around the kids, or even take the stairs during work, don’t neglect or underestimate the power of movement.

3- Want to slow down global warming? Eat less meat…and yes, this also means limiting your dairy intake. A lot of people don’t really see a correlation between the consumption of meat and climate change. What we need to understand is that the production of meat undergoes a process which requires a flabbergasting amount of energy. Animal or livestock agriculture is said to account for nine percent of human caused CO2 emissions. It uses up grazing land, fossil fuels, animal feed, millions of gallons of water- we can go on but we hope you get the picture. Think about all the resources we can save just by limiting meat-eating.

4- Snack healthy. The protection of the environment goes hand in hand with taking care of your own health. For generations, numerous diseases such as diabetes and high blood have prevailed. That is why we need to be mindful of the choices we make when it comes to the food we eat. When you consume foods that are grown with the help of pesticide, for example, you’re harming your body and the environment. What you need to do is choose healthy snacks like pesticide free fruits and vegetables,

To make an impact, we humans need to have personal accountability and understand how our humble contributions can contribute to sustaining out planet. Go ahead, be the change, be a health champion!