5 Ways to Save the Planet, According to David Suzuki

From the moment we turn on the kitchen faucet for our morning coffee to when we step out of the shower after an evening hot yoga session, we’re all guilty of not thinking much about water. And we have great access to clean water. “We lost the sense that water is sacred,” says Dr. David Suzuki, environmentalist, scientist and co-founder of the David Suzuki Foundation. Here are five things Dr. Suzuki wants you to know about the individual responsibility every Canadian has to the environment.

1) Know you have the right to a healthy planet

The Blue Dot movement, a project of the David Suzuki Foundation and its partners, wants to enshrine the right to a healthy environment into the constitution. “Our main idea is that we want to enshrine the right to a healthy environment into the constitution,” says Suzuki. “We believe every Canadian should expect that it’s their right to live in a healthy environment with access to clean air, safe food, a stable climate and, of course, clean water.  It should be our right as Canadians to drink water out of the tap and know its safe.”

2) Beware of leaks

“One of the major ways we lose water is from leaky faucets and toilets. In some toilets, especially public toilets, they’re not working properly and water leaks constantly,” says Suzuki.” Think about all the water that’s just draining away. We need to be much more conscious of these things.”

3) Ditch plastic water bottles once and for all

“I think it’s deplorable that people are willing to buy water in bottles,” says Suzuki. He believes that plastic water bottles should be banned by our cities and that everyone can do their part to be more strategic about conserving water. If you’re concerned about drinking tap water, add an inexpensive filter onto your kitchen faucet, like Pur’s AdvancedPlus Faucet Water Filter.

4) Educate yourself about Canada’s water crisis

“Our water is so polluted now that there are over 1,000 boil water alerts in Canada each day,” says Suzuki. “A disproportionate number are on First Nations reserves. It’s scandalous. Often these reserves are in the most remote places in the country. And something has gone wrong with their water? There’s something fundamentally wrong about this.”

5) Don’t give up on mother nature just yet

“We don’t have enough information to think that it’s too late to help the environment. I believe nature has some (good) surprises for us,” says Suzuki. “If we pull back, do our part and give nature a chance, we’ll get more chances that we don’t deserve. But it’s very very late.”