Earth Day, originally started in 1970, took place just last week on April 22nd. While this holiday is meant to honor and help our planet, I was disheartened to see people uploading pictures of leaves to Instagram instead of going outside to participate in Earth Day activities.

While many have good intentions, picking just one day to help the planet is pretty much insignificant. There are 364 other days in a year that the earth needs help.

Many people believe in climate change, but don’t take action to help protect the planet. In school, I often see students throwing paper in the trash. According to The Environmental Issues website, recycling one ton of paper can save 17 trees, 7,000 gallons of water, and 4,000 Kilowatts of energy. That’s enough energy to power your home for six months. So instead of honoring the Earth for only one day, here are ways you can help the Earth on a daily basis—after all, we owe our lives to it.

1. Take a Reusable Cup to Starbucks.

There’s no shortage of Starbucks cups during Whitman lunches. Instead of wasting a paper cup each time you take a trip to Starbucks, take a reusable one. According to the Starbucks website, in 2011, when reusable cups were brought in to Starbucks 34 million times, 1.5 million pounds of paper were saved. However, that was only 2% of customers. It’s astounding to think that if all customers used a reusable cup, 147 million pounds of paper would be saved. So next time, think of the forest that was cut down and the demolished habitats of animals living there before satisfying your own temporary needs with a paper cup.

2. Recycle.

There is also no shortage of recycling bins at Whitman. However, lots of trash still ends up in the recycling cans and vice versa. This not only defies the whole purpose of recycling, but it’s also much less efficient. According to the ISF website, recycling one aluminum can is equivalent to the amount of energy used playing one album on your iPhone. Recycling is easy, simple and can save resources from being overexploited.

3. Carpool.

Yes, riding the bus is dreadful. And no, you don’t have to drive a hybrid to feel good about yourself (especially because many of the elements in hybrids are actually harmful to the environment when they are made). But over time, you can save a lot of gas if you carpool, which significantly reduces the amount of greenhouse gases emitted. So don’t drive that SUV around all day. Instead, get in the car with your friends. It won’t be the worst thing in the world, I promise.

4. Compost.

Composting is both easy and environmentally beneficial because food scraps and other biodegradable materials can easily be decomposed in our backyards instead of going into landfills. A compost bin costs around $30—that’s approximately six trips to Starbucks. Composting is important because it can reduce landfill-emitted methane, a powerful greenhouse gas. It also saves space in landfills for actual trash.

Although we can’t see the damaging effects we have on our planet, we must face all environmental problems if we want our grandchildren to live in a world where natural resources are still available and breathing clean air rather than smog is still an option.