Our National Parks and How to Protect Them

Our National Parks & How to Protect Them

At USA Mart we are passionate about protecting the land that we call home. There are so many ways to do this through daily sustainable practices which we will get into shortly. First, we should note that the US does a great job of protecting its land by dedicating many beautiful areas as protected National Parks. There are more than 400 designated national parks in the USA, here’s a list of some of the most popular national parks just to name a few:

13 Most Popular US National Parks:

1.  Great Smoky Mountains
2. Grand Canyon National Park
3. Yosemite National Park
4. Rocky Mountain National Park
5. Zion National Park
6. Yellowstone National Park
7. Olympic National Park
8. Acadia National Park
9. Grand Teton National Park
10. Glacier National Park
11. Joshua Tree National Park
12. Cuyahoga Valley National Park
13. Bryce Canyon National Park

Supporting and protecting the land that we love is a critical first step in implementing long term sustainable strategies. By protecting the land we call home we are protecting the longevity of our environment and its resources for years and generations to come. There are many other practices we can implement to become more sustainably minded. Let’s get a bit more clear on what sustainability is before we talk strategy:

How to Protect the Land We Love?

It Starts with Understanding Sustainability

Definition of Sustainability

In today’s day and age, sustainability is a term that describes our ability to co-exist as a civilization in conjunction with the earth’s biosphere. You may hear the term used often in discussions about global warming and our increasing need to address environmental issues for the sake of both people and planet.

The Three Pillars of Sustainability

Economic

Under this pillar a company would make profits in a way that it could sustain itself but also in ways that would not deplete natural resources, create harmful social issues or any issue that would harm the success of the company.

Social

A sustainable business or model should have the support of the community that it operates in. It is also important for companies and individuals alike to at their impact on relationships, retention and engagement strategies, learning and development strategies, how people are being treated, and if their home or work environment is safe.

Environment

The environmental pillar seems to get the most attention these days. In discussions about this pillar both companies and individuals can learn how to reduce waste, reduce their carbon footprint, look at their consumption of natural resources and understand how their choices and actions affect the environment and world around them.

So now that we have a basic understanding of sustainability let’s circle back and revisit how we can support our amazing park system and protect our environment.

First…

Get Outside and Go Visit the National Parks

One of the best ways you can support the protection of national parks is to get outside and go visit them. Vote with your dollar and visit our countries’ breathtaking scenery to remind you of how beautiful the world truly is. You may be inspired to be more mindful of protecting the land we live on and feel more connected to nature.

If you can’t make the trip or the journey you can look up your most local national park or wildlife refuge. You don’t always have to go very far to be inspired by the natural world around you. You can also plan a trip in advance by booking your tickets for a time in the future, or you can surprise a loved one with a park ticket! You can also donate to the national park systems.

Here are some more ideas…

Implement Sustainable Practices at Home

12 Easy Sustainable Practices You Can Do at Home

1. Use less plastic- say “no thanks” to a plastic grocery bag at the store and bring your own reusable bags. Several states have already started implementing strategies to reduce the use of plastic bags!
2. Another creative idea is to have tupperware handy in the back of your car when going to your favorite restaurants so you can takeaway any leftovers in your own reusable containers.
3. Support companies that are taking green initiatives. For example, support companies that use eco friendly products. Again, vote with your dollar and you are helping to support the growth of these types of companies in the future.
4. Reduce, Reuse, Recycle!
5. Practice Minimalism. We live in the age of abundance it seems, but how many pairs of shoes do you really need? How many
6. Walk, bike, or carpool to limit the amount of carbon emissions you are putting into the environment.
7. Use daylight as much as possible and avoid using electricity until you absolutely need it.
8. Unplug your technological devices when they are not in use.
9. Be a bit more mindful about water and try taking shorter showers.
10. Eat less meat. It takes a lot of land, water, and other natural resources to produce the meat. By eating less meat you are making an environmentally friendly choice.
11. Eliminate the use of single use plastics like plastic bags and single use water bottles. You can choose to invest in a reusable water bottle instead.

What We Are Doing to Help

We Support Our Local and National Economy

First and foremost we like to support our local businesses. Not only do we support local companies near our home base in Cleveland, OH but we support our nation’s economy as well.  By buying USA made products you are supporting the suppliers, vendors, and small businesses that are here in our own back yard. This means that products will not have to travel too far and this lowers your carbon footprint.

We Support Green Companies

One of the things we are doing as we grow USA MART is to focus on the packaging we are using. Since the beginning we have been committed to building a company from the ground up that makes a minimal impact on the environment.  We have partnered with EcoEnclose out of Colorado to be able to offer sustainable packaging solutions that reduce the impact on the environment. 99% of all products that are shipped from our fulfillment center in Cleveland, Ohio will use this packaging.

We Create and Encourage a Sustainable Culture

We encourage all of our team members to implement sustainable strategies both at work and at home. In addition to this we are working on educating and providing solutions to our vendors in an effort to help them continue to shift to these more sustainable solutions. Small actions every day lead to positive changes and practicing sustainability can easily become a part of everyone’s lifestyle!

“Mother Earth is a source of life, not a resource.” – Chief Arvol Looking Horse #StoryOfGod

When we shift or look at something from a different perspective we go from a position of being selfish to selfless. This shift is what we need to create a sustainable future for generations to come.

Sources:

(1) Image from Wikipedia

(2) Purvis, B., Mao, Y. & Robinson, D. Three pillars of sustainability: in search of conceptual origins. Sustain Sci 14, 681–695 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11625-018-0627-5