Earth Day 2015: 10 easy ways to help save the environment

More than one billion people participate in Earth Day campaigns every year and it is the largest civic event in the world, celebrated simultaneously around the globe by people from all communities.

On Earth Day, celebrated annually on 22 April, here are some tips to help reduce climate change and global warming.

Go veggie

To help the environment and your health, try to go meat free for a few days. Around 18% of greenhouse gases are caused by livestock farming - the production of one beef steak emits more carbon dioxide than driving for one hour while leaving all the lights on in your home.

Boil sparingly

Over 30 million litres of water are boiled in Britain alone every day only to go cold again. You can save electricity and water by only filling up the kettle with the water you need.

Get on your bike

There are so many good reasons to get your bicycle out of the garage. The health benefits are such that if a mere one in 10 UK journeys was made by bike, the NHS would save £250m ($372m) a year, according to Cambridge University research. It save money on bus or train fares and reduces your carbon footprint.

Switch electrical appliances off

Appliances use electricity when they are in standby mode or even when they are switched off. A TV set that's switched on for three hours a day and in standby mode during the remaining 21 hours uses about 40% of its energy in standby mode.

Use a power strip

Electrical appliances continue to use energy even when they are switched off – and the only way to stop this wastage is to unplug your television, computer or mobile phone charger. Power strips are an easy solution, as you eliminate the need to unplug or re-plug your appliances, instead just switching off or unplugging the strip.

LED light bulbs

One hour is all you need to change a couple of light bulbs in the rooms you use most: the kitchen, lounge, bathroom and bedroom. Switching from normal light bulbs to LEDs, found in all DIY shops, is a simple change – LEDs might be slightly more expensive but they will save you money in the long run as they use a fraction of the energy of a regular incandescent bulb and last 10 years or more. This will certainly save on your electricity bill, as well as the cost of replacing a normal light bulb more frequently.

Idle computers

You can fiddle with your computer settling to make sure its brightness settings are not unnecessarily high and so it turns off when you're not using it. Around 65% of energy used by computers is spent when it is running idle.

Reduce your carbon footprint

Locally sourced food can help cut down food miles and therefore reduce your carbon footprint – so try eating seasonal local fruit and vegetables and meat products from your local butcher. It sounds expensive but you will be surprised at the deals you can find.

Shower economically

For every minute you cut down during your shower, you will save around 10 litres of water – savng the planet and saving your water bill.

Recycling

Recycling is an easy way to help the environment. You can keep your recycling bin next to the main bin so you can take out the rubbish and recycling at the same time, or you could make recycling part of your weekly supermarket trip and "drop when you shop" at supermarket recycling points.