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jowritesthingss · 4 years

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A (Demi)Boy and His Demon: Two

Fandom: Sanders Sides

Pairing(s): LoSleep (Logic | Logan + Sleep | Remy)

Rating: Teen

Content Warning(s): lots of swearing, food/drink, death mention (nobody’s dead they just talk about death briefly), suicide mention (again, just alluded to in passing)

Length: 2,858 words

Brief Summary: Sleep-deprived writer Remy accidentally summons a serious-and-seriously-fed-up demon named Logan. Two. In Which Remy Kind of Regrets the Stupid Things He’s Done

Fic Masterlist!

The morning dawned bright and cold, the sun shining its annoyingly cheerful face through the window and directly onto Remy’s face.

“Goddammit” was the first word out of Remy’s mouth as they winced at the bright light. They stretched, scrunching up their nose, stretching out their arms, and arching their back slightly.

Body pleasantly loose and relaxed, Remy rolled over onto his back. Judging from how bright the sun was, they had no doubt slept through their alarm, which most probably meant they were missing class time, but exhausted as they were, they couldn’t seem to find a reason to care in the given moment.

See, Remy with no coffee in his system was a Remy who gave exactly zero shits about anything. Granted, Remy at any given time was a Remy who gave exactly zero shits about anything—it’s just, without their morning coffee, there was no filter to prevent him from releasing this information.

Remy sat up in bed. In glancing across the room at the alarm clock on his dresser, they were made aware of a lump lying under the sheets on the other half of the bed.

“Goddammit,” Remy said again, more vehemently this time.

So the day before hadn’t been a dream, then. Either that, or Remy had gotten absolutely smashed, and his alcohol-ridden brain had concocted the wildest dream about him and a one-night stand. But a cursory glance under the sheets proved them both to be much too clothed for that, and besides, things like that only happened in really bad fanfiction.

Then again, demons actually existing in real life just sounded like a really bad fanfiction trope, too, Remy grumped as they forced themself to swing their legs over the side of their bed. And yet.

Standing, Remy stared down at the body of the person—well, demon—huddled underneath his bedsheets.

“And yet,” they sighed aloud heavily, “here we are.”

“Where are we?”

The covers rolled down to the demon’s—to Logan’s—admittedly attractive slim waist, and xyr eyes flicked open to reveal slightly slitted, surprisingly coherent pupils. “Are we not in your bedroom, in your apartment, in the human realm?”

Remy yelped, jumping slightly. “Wh—you’re awake already?”

“Naturally,” Logan answered, turning away from Remy as xe got out of bed. “As a demon, I do not sleep. My body does not require rest—it merely require the souls of the damned for nourishment.”

Remy gaped. “Then—why did you watch me flounder around trying to find somewhere for you to sleep last night?” His cheeks colored slightly. “And if you don’t sleep, then why the hell’d you think it necessary to, to lie in my bed with me all night? That’s highkey creepy AF.”

Amusement flickered briefly across Logan’s expression before a look of cool indifference once more reappeared. “Again, I am a demon.” Logan stepped over to Remy’s dresser and began investigating the jumble of objects haphazardly shoved onto it. “As such, I do not feel emotions; however, the amusement I find in humans’ dismay is the closest I will get to feeling love.” Xe paused. “What is ‘ay eff’?”

Remy was pretty sure ‘amusement’ technically was an emotion, but he wasn’t about to contradict and potentially anger a demon before they had even had their morning coffee. Nor were they particularly in a mood to explain modern slang to a probably centuries-old demon, so he ignored xyr question and shelved that discussion topic away for another time.

After all, apparently they had an entire lifetime to talk about it now.

But he wasn’t particularly in the mood to think about that, either, so. Moving rapidly on.

“Babe,” Remy said instead, scandalized, as they realized what Logan was—still—wearing. “You’re telling me you slept in that getup?” They looked Logan up and down derisively, taking in the somehow non-rumpled collared shirt and—the hell, was xe still wearing that lameass tie?

Logan raised an eyebrow at Remy before turning to examine xyr surroundings once more. “Why would I not?”

“Don’t tell me demons don’t have pajamas.” Remy walked over to his dresser and lightly pushed Logan aside, opening a drawer and scrabbling around for some dayclothes for him to wear (and for some that might fit Logan, just to make xem look slightly less like a nerd).

“We do not,” Logan confirmed, nodding, “although the concept is not unfamiliar. We simply have no need for sleeping clothes when we do not do any sleeping.”

“Whatever.” Remy rolled their eyes and tossed Logan a wad of clothing. “Just go into the bathroom and put those on already, gurl. I gotta get to class, and I’m assuming you’re coming with since you’re, like, stuck with me or bound or whatever this is.”

“But I am already dressed,” came Logan’s befuddled reply.

“Oh, please. You’re not wearing that on my watch, gurl.” Remy shamelessly unbuttoned and stripped off his pajama shirt, sliding on a soft, casual gray tee. They untied their drawstring pajama pants and began to slide them down their legs.

Logan whirled away, xyr cheeks turning surprisingly red for a demon. Weren’t they supposed to be all over stuff like that?

“Shy, huh?” Remy teased, slipping on jeans and grabbing for their faux-leather jacket from the back of their desk chair. “Whatever happened to the whole sexy demon stereotype thing, hmm? Not that you aren’t sexy in your own dorky nerd way,” he added, enjoying watching the flush gather around the back of Logan’s neck.

“I, ahm,” Logan stammered, hugging Remy’s clothes tightly to xyr chest. “I am afraid that...I am not one of those types of demons.” Xe peeked behind xem at Remy and, seeing them fully dressed once more, turned around, shoulders stiff. “So if that is what you are expecting—”

“Nah, not really.” Remy shrugged, slipping on their shoes, not missing how Logan’s stiff posture relaxed somewhat upon hearing those words. “Although remind me to ask you about, like, demon types and shit like that once I’ve had my coffee,” he said. There was another topic to be noted for later discussion. “I’m not ready to have important convos or existential crises till I’m on my third cup.”

“Duly noted,” Logan honest-to-god (or was it honest-to-satan?) pulled a notebook and a pen out of nowhere and began scrawling something down. “I shall keep this in mind in regard to our future conversations. Additionally, I will endeavor to remember to bring up that particular subject later on.”

“Oh my god,” Remy groaned. They really got stuck with what had to be the only nerd demon in existence, didn’t they. “C’mon, babe. I’m late to class, and I want coffee. Get dressed.” They looked Logan up and down once more. “At least lose the tie, please. I’m a college kid. You’re not one of my professors.”

“What?” Logan said, affronted. Xe grasped xyr midnight blue tie loosely in one hand. “I do not wish to ‘lose’ it. It is a necktie. It is for serious demons. I am a serious demon.”

Remy snickered as they picked up the backpack lying by the bedroom door.. “You’re, like, a total invalid, that’s what you are.”

“I am not!” Logan shrilled behind them, offended. “Serious! Necktie!”

But Remy was already out the door, grinning triumphantly and thoroughly ignoring xem.

Naturally, they had to make a stop at the coffee shop on their way to campus. Remy was already late enough, so it wasn’t like he was going to make it to his first lecture even if they tried. Might as well face the rest of the day with coffee by their side. Caffeine was their only true friend.

Remy had already ordered and paid for his own coffee before it occurred to them that Logan might want some, too.

“Shit, do demons drink coffee?” Remy asked, turning to Logan, who thankfully had lost the necktie after they argued nonstop over it on the walk to the shop. Xe was standing behind Remy, observing as Emile worked the espresso machine. “So, do you? Drink coffee? And d’you want any?”

“Yes, if you do not mind,” Logan answered. “Some coffee would be most welcome.”

“Lit.” Remy turned back to the front counter, ignoring the questioning noise Logan made at his use of slang. “Sorry, Em, but could we get a medium coffee too?” He looked at Logan, appraising. “You look like a dark roast kinda guy.”

“You most certainly may!” Emile smiled cheerfully at the two and popped a lid on Remy’s drink. “It’ll be on the house, Mixter Demon, sir.” He winked over-exaggeratedly in that way that only he could pull off without looking like a total fool. “Do you want any room for cream and sugar?”

“No, thank you. I take my coffee black,” Logan deadpanned. “Like my soul.”

Emile nearly dropped the cup he was trying to hand off to Remy.

“W-wait, really?” Remy asked, wondering if he needed to get worried. Was he going to end up with a black soul or whatever because of this unintentional deal gone wrong? If he was, did he even care?

Logan rolled xyr eyes, and hey! Eyeroll buddies. So the two did have one thing in common after all. “No, of course not. The concept is ridiculous.”

Relaxing slightly, Remy nodded. “Yeah. Kinda is, gurl.” They sipped at their coffee—today he had gone for a mocha, figuring the extra caffeine in the espresso would be very much needed to survive the day with any amount of sanity still remaining.

The two fell silent for a moment, watching quietly as Emile bustled around and poured coffee into a to-go cup for Logan, then:

“Besides, I don’t have a soul,” Logan added.

Remy spit out their iced mocha.

“Okay,” Remy said, voice muffled as he used his teeth to fidget with his reusable straw. They looked both ways before grabbing at Logan’s arm and dragging xem across the street in front of the coffee shop. “So. Tell me about demon-y things.”

Logan paused mid-step, and Remy swore. “Oh my—gurl, wait till we’re done crossing the street. Maybe you can’t die, but I still can.” He hurried the demon across the street. “Walk ’n talk, babe, walk ’n talk. I do technically have someplace to be.”

“Actually.” Out of the corner of their eye, Remy saw Logan push xyr glasses up further on the bridge of xyr nose. Nervous tic, maybe? “About that.”

“About what,” Remy said flatly.

Logan seemed to get smaller, folding in on xemself somewhat as the two of them walked down the sidewalk. Xe fully took xyr glasses off, rubbing firmly at the lenses with the hem of xyr shirt, seeming reluctant to speak. Eventually, though, xe finally opened xyr mouth, and the words that tumbled out baffled Remy and shook him beyond belief.

“You cannot die.”

Remy nearly dropped their coffee.

After a moment of madly scrambling to keep his grip on the slippery, condensated surface of his coffee cup, Remy turned to fully face Logan. “I’m sorry, what?”

“You, erm.” Logan peered through the lenses of xyr glasses, deemed them still dirty, fervently wiped at them with the bottom of xyr shirt again. “Technically you can still die, and you will. Just...you can only perish of natural causes—that is, of old age, or perhaps a particularly nasty illness.”

Remy blinked. Wh...what.

Apparently satisfied with xyr cleaning of xyr glasses, Logan carefully fitted them back onto xyr face. Xe abruptly continued walking, forcing Remy to keep in motion as well to keep Logan from straying off-track on the way to campus.

“Due to the...unfortunate extenuating circumstances of our deal, we did not have the chance to configure the details of it,” Logan elaborated. “As such, our contract with each other has resulted in the...shall we say, the default?” Xe pondered xyr words for a moment. “Yes, ‘default’ suffices, given our context.”

“I—how?” Remy managed to push a word and a half out of his choked throat, his fumbly mouth. Honestly, that was a pretty good number, considering the situation. “What’s the—so what’s the default, then?”

“If you happen to be fatally injured or similarly, our deal mandates that I heal you or, at the very least, provide you with the means of survival,” Logan explained. Xe smiled for the first time—but it was a grim, knowing smile that Remy didn’t find themself liking in the slightest. “Of course, ensuring that you survive does not require anything beyond a bare minimum.”

Logan’s face was weirdly shadowed for someone standing in the middle of the street on a sunny day. “Should I choose to, I could make your life quite miserable.”

Remy swallowed.

“However.” Logan fixed xyr unwavering gaze on Remy. “As you have not given me reason to do as such, we shall hope that it does not come to such measures.”

Unable to do anything other than nod, Remy rapidly shook his head up and down, not unlike a bobblehead. Logan had seemed fairly harmless at first, even for an apparent demon, but now...oh, boy. They were very much not keen to get on xyr bad side.

“The only fatal injuries that I am not required to heal are self-inflicted ones,” Logan said, albeit more quietly than xyr previous words had been. “If it is a human’s wish to take themself out of this world, it is...not my duty to interfere.”

“Oh. Uh.” Remy licked his dry lips nervously. “You won’t have to worry about that here. I don’t think.” Their throat was dry—any lingering wetness from the coffee had disappeared quite quickly when Logan had first begun speaking. But—oh, wait, they were an idiot. There was still more coffee left.

The two of them walked past the front sign of Remy’s university, officially on campus. Remy jerkily lifted his iced coffee to his lips, taking the tiniest of tiny sips. “Is there...any way to, like, break a deal or something?” Remy asked nervously as he guided the two of them towards the art building.

Logan sighed. “If I were an angel, perhaps I would be kind enough to look for a loophole,”—and, what the fuck, angels existed too? which, like, made sense, considering demons were a thing, but still, what the fuck—“however, deals are permanent contracts, and in return for ensuring your survival, our deal promises me your soul upon your death.” Logan sighed again, more heavily this time. “So as...irritating as you may be, and as much of an inconvenience as you no doubt will become, I am not particularly inclined to break a deal that benefits me in such a way.”

“Wh....” Remy didn’t exactly want to know the answer to what he was about to ask; all the same, they felt like they had to ask. “What are you going to do with my soul when I...when you finally get it?”

Logan stared wordlessly at Remy, and Remy did not like the expression on xyr face, no siree, they did not. “Are you sure that you would like to know?” xe asked lowly, and Remy had never been more aware of the fact that his new (unwilling) companion was, in fact, a dangerous, all-powerful demon.

“Nope!” Remy all but shrieked, turning on their gay speed-walking powers and moving ahead of Logan, now all the more anxious to get to class. “No, I do not want to know! I do not want to even think about it! I don’t want to think about any of this, actually, so you know what, we are officially closing this discussion topic for, like, ever! I just want to live my life, holy shit!”

Logan frowned. “How is shit holy?” xe questioned, and this time, Remy really did drop his iced mocha—or, well, the little that was left of it.

“Oh my—actually, no, never mind,” Remy muttered sullenly, picking the cup up from the ground. They extracted their straw from the cup, wiping it off on their jeans before they shoved it into the side pocket on his backpack. “Babe, you are, like, literally hopeless.”

“Naturally,” Logan responded evenly. “I am a demon. We have no need for hopes and other ridiculous goings-on.”

“I—ugh!” Remy threw his used coffee cup into the trash can with more force than was strictly necessary. They all but stomped over to the door of the art building, yanking the door open. “Nope. I am totally not dealing with this right now. I’m going to class for the next ninety or however many minutes, and you”—they jabbed a finger in Logan’s direction—“are being put in time-out. You can sit out in the hallway like a lost puppy or like, like a kid at the principal’s office or...or something!”

Logan blinked owlishly behind his glasses. (Which, why would a demon even need glasses if they have magic? Xe really was trying too hard for a nerd aesthetic, if you asked Remy.) “But I am not—”

“NO!” Remy all but shrieked, practically running into his animation classroom and slamming the door behind him.

Logan stared after them, flummoxed.

Prologue || One || Two || Three || Four || Five || Six

lol this sat finished and edited on my hard drive for a week before I remembered that oh, yeah, I do kinda have to actually post it to share it with y’all, don’t I.

Want to be added onto my taglist? Shoot me an ask or a message here or via my other social media!

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tonysopranosfeverdreams · 4 years

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What is the colour of your hairbrush? black

Name a food you never eat? uhhh meat

Are you typically too warm or too cold? usually too hot! since i was a kid i kicked the blankets off in my sleep

What were you doing 45 minutes ago? watching an episode of it’s always sunny

What is your favourite candy bar? i rly dont eat a lot of candy BUT i love butterfingers

Have you ever been to a professional sports event? ya when i was in am*erciorps we got to go to some free basketball and baseball games in memphis and detroit i think, they were fun

What is the last thing you said out loud? i think i said “hows my girl?” to my cat LOL

What is your favourite ice cream? cookie dough!

What was the last thing you had to drink? diet coke

Do you like your wallet? i do but i’m bad at remembering to put things back in it and not let them float around in my bag for weeks lmao

What was the last thing you ate? pasta w ricotta and broccoli

Did you buy any new clothes last weekend? no

The last sporting event you watched? i think i watched parts of some nba games w my mom before sports were cancelled

What is your favourite flavour of popcorn? just like classic movie theatre popcorn with not too much butter but definitely enough

Who is the last person you sent a text message to? my friend

Ever go camping? yes but not in like maybe 8 years i want to go again soon

Do you take vitamins? if i remember!

Do you go to church every Sunday? no

Do you have a tan? no

Do you prefer Chinese food or pizza? BOTH but chinese maybe a little more

Do you drink your soda with a straw? no i’m impatient and don’t own any reusable straws

What colour socks do you usually wear? i only wear socks if im leaving the house or working out and usually theyre mismatched colors tbh i just grab what i can find

Do you ever drive above the speed limit? only like 10 mph tops if i know there aren’t cops around

What terrifies you? many, many things but mostly something bad happening to my family and friends

Look to your left, what do you see? my phone and a pillow

What chore do you hate? folding/putting away laundry

What do you think of when you hear an Australian accent? koalas

What’s your favourite soda? diet dr pepper

Do you go in a fast food place or just hit the drive-thru? drive thru but i don’t really eat a lot of fast food; usually i just like occasionally eat panera drive thru

Who’s the last person you talked to? in person my mother, but like converesed w a friend

Favourite cut of beef? i am a vegetarian.

Last song you listened to? spotify tells me it was Bobby by Alex G

Last book you read? i reread parts of Crush by Siken on god im gonna start reading properly soon

Favourite day of the week? I’ve always liked Thursdays? No real reason tbh

Can you say the alphabet backwards? I’ve never tried

How do you like your coffee? i like coffee most ways! Iced, black, w flavored sweeteners, lattes, cappacuinos i just dont like decaf anything?

Favourite pair of shoes? i have a pair of black felt-ish boots with heels i thrifted that are my favorite winter shoes for summer i have these black strappy sandles w a tan heel

The time you normally go to bed? sometime between 1 and 3 am

The time you normally get up? if left to my own devices any time between like 10:30 and 12:30

What do you prefer, sunrise or sunsets? sunsets! but i love sunrises when i see them too

How many blankets on your bed? Right now like 3 light comforters but I sleep with more

Describe your kitchen plates: mostly white or lightly patterned but i have some nice ones that have been passed down in the family!

Do you have a favourite alcoholic beverage? i like most dry wines but i also like ipas and lagers and gin and tonics

Do you play cards? sometimes! i like rummy and war and go fish and black jack

What colour is your car? like a shimmery dark blue

Can you change a tire? in theory yes because we had to learn in am*ericorps but rly only like 2 people rly knew and the rest of us just vibed

Your favourite province? i live in the us my favorite state ive been to is prob louisiana bc i love new orleans lol

Favourite job you’ve ever had? i loved teaching summer school for a bunch of little kids in flint michigan, or working in the Peace Garden in North Dakota

How did you get your biggest scar? i had a belly button piercing that rejected like 5 years ago and left scar tissue also i have one on my forearm that i got like last summer when i was ironing a shirt and burned myself accidentally

What did you do today that made someone else happy? idk i was feeling kind of off today bc im pretty sure i forgot to take my medicaiton so probably not a whole lot jasdjksakjdaddsadsa i opened the door so my cat could sunbathe tho

thank u @alloftheabove1957 for tagging me!! 💓 i tag anyone who took the time to read this sdfjk;jadf

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blackcoffeeandblankpagess · 6 years

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Hello! I hope you're having a delightful holiday break! I was wondering if you had any recommendations for being more environmentally friendly. Whenever I Google it it's usually an article that's like, "use a reusable water bottle and recycle!" and other obvious things. I wonder if perhaps there's anything more useful/arcane you fancy environmental studies students know about? I just feel like I'm not doing enough, but I don't really know what else to do! Thanks! :)

This message made my whole freaking day I can’t even begin to tell you how happy it makes me to see someone who actively WANTS to make a difference environmentally. My best friend from school happened to be with me when I read this and she’s also an env studies major so we brainstormed some things over lunch and this is what we came up with:

This one is obvious but USE. REUSABLE. BAGS. FUCK PLASTIC. It is my absolute biggest pet peeve when I see people using plastic bags. Also, I know a lot of people think to bring reusable bags to grocery stores but you can use them anywhere- clothes shopping, the book store, wherever!

On a similar note, I use reusable mesh bags for specific fruit/veg items at the grocery store (i.e. when I get a bunch of apples instead of using the plastic produce bags I use these that I ordered off of amazon) or just don’t use any bag for these items, a lot of the time it isn’t necessary

Don’t use straws! Or use glass straws that can be reused. This is one I struggle with sometimes if I’m getting iced coffee or w/e but a lot of time restaurants bring out straws with water and it is both unnecessary and a waste of plastic

Travel with reusable utensils so you don’t need to use plastic

Bring your own tupperware containers when you go out to eat to use for leftovers, it eliminates the need for styrofoam to-go containers

Get a mug to bring to coffee shops and ask them to fill that instead of using a plastic/styrofoam cup. If you drink a lot of coffee (most people) this little swap can make a huuuuge difference. Some places will even give you a discount for bringing a reusable mug

Compost your leftover food products that can be composted, it’s good for the soil and puts food waste to good use

Use a rain barrel (or a bucket to collect rain water) to collect water to be used later for things such as watering plants. This way you don’t need to use up stored freshwater and you can capitalize on what nature has to offer. My family does this at my house

Buy products in bulk aka less packaging and less food waste

Eat locally and seasonally. This way of eating will reduce your carbon footprint by cutting out goods imported from far away, AND will most likely taste better while costing less.

Grow pollinator plants!! With so many bees being wiped out from pesticides they could use all the help they can get. Planting these flowers is a start

Try to avoid products that contain palm oil, it’s incredibly unsustainable and requires cutting down large tracts of rainforest (aka animal habitat aka biodiversity) in order to grow/harvest

Make sure your tire pressure is good! This is one a lot of people probably don’t think of. If your tire pressure is too low you will get fewer mpg, consequently burning even more fuel than you already would be

Try to avoid supporting fast fashion, thrift clothes when possible. This means that less raw materials have to be gathered for production

I know it’s winter and it’s cold outside but really try not to “heat up your car” for a few minutes before you actually get into it. Driving already releases GHGs so to burn fuel while not even actually using your car is less than ideal. Brave the cold for an extra few minutes, you’ll warm up soon enough.

If you have a keurig coffee maker use a reusable filter and coffee grinds rather than the k-cups. This is both cheaper in the long run and produces waaay less plastic waste. Here is a link.

Reduce your consumption of animal products. This is huuuuge, huge, huge. Animal agriculture is one of (if not the) greatest contributor of atmospheric green house gas emissions. Whether you eliminate animal products entirely or actively seek to reduce your consumption, any step is a step in the right direction. This webpage has some great stats on this topic.

Most importantly, remember that you vote with your dollar. If you don’t support fast fashion, don’t shop at unethical stores. If you don’t support animal agriculture, don’t buy animal products. If you value breathable air, clean water, a planet that is inhabitable by humans, align your actions with these values.

Remember that this is not an all or nothing endeavor. Every little bit helps. You skipped the plastic bag at the grocery store this week? Great! You ordered the veggie burger instead of the hamburger? Awesome. You forgot your reusable bottle and had to buy a plastic water bottle? That’s okay. It’s about intentions and actions over the long run. Try not to feel bogged down by trying to be perfect, I’m definitely not. I don’t do these things 100% of the time but I make an effort. Start with little changes, they’re what cause the big changes. Don’t be afraid to give a shit, even if it seems like nobody else does.

#answered #environment #important

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gogocrazygo · 4 years

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It is human instinct to put out a fire or at least call for help when a house is burning, as we want to save what we can of it.

It is human instinct to help someone, sometimes even a stranger, when they are in desperate need, as we thrive from self-satisfaction of being of help to someone, and being perceived as thoughtful and compassionate.

So what makes us human? It is not just our built and physical capability. What truly make us distinguished from other living creatures on this earth are our minds. The capacity of our brains is greater than of any other species in animal kingdom, therefore our senses and logical reasoning are stronger. Imagination, creativity and being able to analyse situations and problem solve enabled us to build the world we are living in now. We are all so proud of our human achievements throughout history. We are also very compassionate in nature. We feel emotions towards objects like food, situations like falling in love or war, other people and their impact on our lives, and most of us appreciate and cherish animals and the nature surrounding us. So why is it that our so called Home, Planet Earth and natural world is slowly shrinking, sinking, burning and warming before our eyes?

Barack Obama himself said “Climate change is no longer some far-off problem; it is happening here, it is happening now,”, and with the amount of scientific support out there it is just no sensible reason for us as human beings to turn our backs on this crisis. Without our home we cannot thrive and continue to grow as we have been.

Growing up in an average household, global warming was mentioned in many family conversations. We tried recycling and being more aware but it was something that I never thought we would have much impact on at all. It is only now that I have been living on my own for one and a half years, I thought to myself that “yes there is an issue, and I am very aware of it”, but what can I do about it? The government and economy are way out of my control and while some people might be aware of the issue, but life is just too busy so we brush this topic under the rug. My budget is certainly not that great so I’m very cautious of my outgoings, and I’m also busy all the time, so how can I possibly be more environmentally friendly?

“No one will protect what they don’t care about, and no one will care about what they have never experiences” is what my man David Attenborough has said, which is why he is so good at showing us all through various or media how amazing this planet is and why we have to protect it.

I love this planet; I love what it has given me, the surrounding nature, the animals, my family, the people that I meet, and I love the freedom of speech and expression. Reviewing my current personal situation got me thinking, I have to do something or at least try and slowly start making changes as I cannot look away anymore.

If you already know enough about pollution but want to know more about what you can do to reduce waste at your household, skip to the Easy Swaps section. If you want to find some interesting facts continue reading on 🙂

Global Warming and Pollution

UN reports that from 1880 to 2012, the average global temperature increased by 0.85°C. Oceans have warmed and the melting ice is making the sea levels rise. From 1901 to 2010, the global average sea level rose by 19 cm which is quiet alarming.

UN also states that “Given current concentrations and ongoing emissions of greenhouse gases, it is likely that by the end of this century global mean temperature will continue to rise above the pre-industrial level. The world’s oceans will warm and ice melt will continue. Average sea level rise is predicted to be 24–30 cm by 2065 and 40–63 cm by 2100 relative to the reference period of 1986–2005.” Such a high rise in sea levels will make certain Islands such as Atolls, Maldives and Tuvalu hard to visit or live on due to coastal erosion. Other coastal cities like Miami will be affected and so will millions of people in residence.

When we talk about pollution, one of the first things that come to our minds is greenhouse gas emission from combustion of fossil fuels in cars, buildings, factories, power plants and burning fossil fuels in manufacturing processes etc. Here are some less popular facts that have a huge impact as well:

Population growth alongside the standards of living. In most MEDCs we have more money to spend on we don’t even know what as we have sooo many choices. When consumption grows, the waste and plastic pollution grows it’s as simple as that.

Methane released from landfills, natural gas and petroleum industries are a huge factor, but not as big as the methane released from food agriculture/ farming. This is mainly caused by grazing animals releasing gasses (yes this means #farts) on meat and dairy farms. We also have nitrous oxide released from fertilizers and gases used for refrigeration and industrial processes. Other things in agriculture that affect pollution and global warming are logistics, land use, water and food resource use, deforestation and interfering with natural habitats. All our food manufacturing processes result in using more and more natural resources, leaving less and less behind.

Single use plastic is proving to significantly contribute to greenhouse gas emission at every stage of its life, starting from production, going into distribution and then at the end of its life where it takes between 50 and 600 years to biodegrade. Even after that, the small plastic molecules are distributed in the air and the oceans, ending up in out drinking water, fish we catch, even farm foods we consume. I don’t like the idea of slowly being poisoned to death with plastic by just eating veggies and drinking water.

Plastic waste

Pretty city view in Amsterdam this summer surrounded by litter.

So lets’ get a couple of facts and figures out of the way, shall we?

Research shows that annual CO2 emission from plastic waste could grow up to 2.75 million tonnes by 2050. It’s in 30 years’ time guys. I’m going to be 58 and swimming in plastic waste. Lovely thought for future L

Jokes aside, plastic pollution has not only been a concern related to climate change. Recently it has been all over media, after Blue Planet 2 release in 2017, that plastic polluting our seas has an impact on the entire ocean ecosystem, our health and the natural world all over. Microplastic particles are now floating in the air and can be found from top of Mount Everest to Mariana Trench, which is the deepest ocean trench explored.

Millions of animals varying from krill, to fish, whales, birds, seals and turtles are killed from either ingesting plastic, or by simply being stuck in a plastic object unable to get free, suffocating to death. The UKs leading marine charity MCS organises yearly beach clean-ups to make sure we reduce the risk of animals and habitats being affected by the pollution on our coasts. You can get involved in their work by clicking here and help make change.

By simply identifying which plastics are recyclable and which ones are not, we can reduce plastic pollution dramatically. But the main goal is to reduce single use plastic buying. Less plastic in household means less plastic in our lands and in our seas.

BBC has done a brilliant, well researched and eye opening piece on the Plastic Pollution Problem, which I highly recommend on checking out by clicking here.

As consumers we have the ENTIRE power over what goes into our household, so why not take some simple actions right now?

Easy swaps

Here are some of my personal tips and easy swaps that can help you start plastic waste reduction:

No more plastic bottles. Reusable bottles are so much better in so many ways and water should be FREE so why are you paying for it?

Bringing your own food storage pots. In case you are thinking of having a take away or a lunch at a local caff, if you know they will give you a plastic pot to serve your food in, why not give them yours? I have been doing this a lot at work with the local caff, and they were more than happy to put the food in my own food container.

Have a straw with you at all times. I also carry my small cutlery set everywhere I go. Just say no to plastic straws and cutlery. Small stuff but it adds up over the years.

Invest in an eco-friendly coffee travel mug. A lot of coffee shops like Starbucks serve their drinks in fully recyclable cups, but sometimes these are not recycled properly so it’s better to have your own. Some places even offer you money off if you bring your own mug.

Use long life bags for house shopping. This should be a norm now I think.

Using biodegradable everyday items instead of plastic options. These could be cleaning ware, natural fibres in furniture and clothes, swapping clean film for food containers or beeswax wraps and just overall using natural substances where you can. Reusing and recycling is key.

Buy loose fruit and veg as much as you can. You can save money by going to local markets and educate your little ones (if you have any) about the importance of supporting local farmers and businesses.

If meat or dairy is in your diet, go to local butchers or farmers’ market and get fresh food packed in your own containers.

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I also did some blog posts on waste reduced food shopping and some Beauty Product Swaps that might be of use.

Another thing to consider is how you commute. Public transport is a great alternative to commuting privately, whether going around the country or travelling abroad. This is something I’m currently struggling with as I love to travel. Abroad is not much of a problem as I normally depend on public transport and walk or hike, but in the UK I take my car on way too many road trips.

As a personal choice I have also decided to go on a vegan diet and have been following it as best as I can for over 2 years. By going veggie I’m reducing individual impact on:

Agricultural pollution as animal waste pollutes waterways all over the world (which ends up in our oceans).

CO2 and methane emission from land use and livestock production.

Water use e.g.: it takes 13,000l-100,000l of water to produce a kilo of beef and only 1,000l-2,000l to produce kilo of wheat.

Not consuming fish impacts on life cycle of oceans. Oceans help absorb CO2 and they also hold one of the most important organisms on the planet, the phytoplankton. These little guys are responsible of absorption of most CO2 from the atmosphere and producing 2/3rds of the oxygen we breathe in.

There are many other reasons why I believe a plant based diet helps to reduce pollution and impact on the climate change crisis, but I think this is personal choice and this topic has been covered quite well by media already with plenty of evidence supporting it.

If you haven’t already started on being more environmentally aware, I really hope that you get inspired to take small actions and then see for yourself that little changes can have a big impact on pollution, plastic waste and global warming. Just because you are one person making that change, it doesn’t mean you are alone in this. Awareness is growing and more people are trying. With a new year around the corner, this could be a perfect challenged to take on for 2020. We can all be a part of this greater movement if we just try a little.

“There is no planet B. We have to take care of the one we have.”

________ Richard Branson ________