Contrary to popular belief, it is possible to be disabled and care about the planet. There are many practices that are harmful and we only have one planet. I am always getting into arguments with other people. “You cannot be an advocate for disabled people and be an advocate for this planet at the same time.”

This is a myth, let me explain.

I am autistic, I am Hard of Hearing, suspected fibromaylgia and poly cystic ovarian syndrome. 

Issue #1 Straws
Not the most important one but it is one that comes up a lot. There are a lot of straws that do find its way into the ocean. Yes disabled individuals do need straws to drink. I respect that. I do have a solution. Biodegradable plastic. It does exist. It biodegrades pretty quickly. The problem is the big companies who give out the straws do not want to do what is right. I am not sure about the expense to make biodegradable straws but it seems to be an easy solution. My other suggestion is to have straws available upon request. Only for people who request them.

Issue #2 Carbon Emitting Vehicles
This is a major issue in the world. There are 1.2 billion cars on the road in the entire world. Only 2.2% of these are electric. As an EV (electric vehicle) driver, it is very practical. They are much more economic. There is no oil, catalytic inverter, spark plugs, etc.There is less maintenance. The maintenance is tires and brakes. That is it. They do have less parts, so less parts and waste will be produced. There are no emission emitted from the vehicle.

Issue #2 harnessing power of the Sun
 This is something I wish I could do. I am a renter. If I was not, our house would have solar panels on it already. This seems like a no brainer. You put solar panels on your roof, they connect to an inverter which connects to a battery that gets charged by the solar panels. When you have a power outage, or if you want to be off the grid, the sun is a powerful tool. This type of energy emits no emissions. It is hard for renters to take advantage of this but small companies are coming out with more solutions. One we were looking at was solar panels in window blinds. Its an innovative idea where we can take our solar panels with us. We live in Florida and there is a lot of sunlight. No, you will not drain the sun by doing this

Issue #3 Recycling
It is very easy to do, I do not know why people find it so difficult. All six of my children help with recycling. Wash out all the cans, cartons, etc and put it in the bin. Then the sanitation company takes your recycling to be recycled. Its very easy. Paper and plastic/metal/glass. We use a divided garbage can for recycling in the house and one of my sons brings it to the garage bins once a week. Once you start, you will see how easy it is.

Issue #4 Ziplock bags and Plastic wrap
These are very unnecessary and cannot be recycled. There is an easy solution for this. There are reusable bags and beeswax wrap. The bags will last for years and the beeswax will last for one year and it starts to biodegrade. To get these, I joined an eco friendly subscription box and I get something once a month to become more eco friendly at home .

Issue #5 aluminum foil
IT CAN BE RECYCLED. Yes it can. All you have to do is wash it and ball it up, then put it in the recycling bin. THAT’S IT. Still use it but please recycle it.

Issue #6 One Time Use shopping bags
These are very dangerous to wildlife.Turtles and other sea creatures think they are jellyfish.  They also fly around the streets and cause auto accidents. There is a solution for this. Reusable shopping bags. They have them in most stores and usually are very inexpensive. We keep them in each car (both electric :-)) and bring them into the store. We wash them in the washer after each use if necessary. Its very easy. Those plastic bags can be really annoying in the house. They go everywhere. Problem solved. If you happen to forget your reusable bags, most stores have recycling bins for these bags. Your curb side recycling does not accept them. Be careful.