New Year’s Resolutions – For The Planet
We’re more than half-way through January and perhaps some of those promises you made to yourself are beginning to lose traction in your life? New Year’s resolutions are most often personal – read more books, get in better shape, meditate to reduce stress, stick to a budget etc. Sadly, data shows that only a small number of individuals (8-9%) are successfully adhering to their resolutions a year after making them. The reasons for failure include setting unrealistic goals, lacking a clear plan, having no accountability, and forgetting the ‘why?’.
I encourage you also to consider making resolutions that go beyond the personal and into the realm of planetary health.
This past spring, in our Earth Day message, we shared a ‘planetary pledge’ that individuals can adopt at any time. These are small actions we can commit to which, collectively, can have a huge impact on the health of the planet. Even choosing one or two, and sticking with them, can make a difference:
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Walk, bike or take public transit to work at least twice a week
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Plan a local holiday rather than one requiring extensive transportation
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Practice mindful consumption. Factor in the carbon footprint of the food and products you choose to buy
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Make three dinners each week that are entirely plant-based
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Reduce the amount of single-use plastics at home and work
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Work towards a greening your healthcare workplace (Green Office Toolkit)
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Adopt planetary health strategies in your clinical practice by, for example, reducing unnecessary tests and prescriptions (Climate Action in Healthcare) (Choosing Wisely Canada)
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Get involved and learn from doctor organizations that view planetary health as being inextricably linked to human health (Canadian Association of Physicians for the Environment)
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Author your own individual commitments, aimed at reducing your carbon emissions
Happy (belated) New Year, and good luck making those resolutions stick!