I read a lot of depressing articles about the state of the environment on the weekend. These stories were juxtaposed with articles about personal shoppers tracking down Celine handbags, destinations worth Instagramming, and the fact that Round Up most likely causes cancer. It kills living things. Is anyone that surprised?

This, combined with a raging sinus infection, left me feeling bleak.

Like, Bernard Black bleak.

When I get like this, I just want to go and live in a yurt FOREVER.

But today I woke up and thought, no, f*ck that. Surely there’s something I can do about this.

And yes, in fact, there’s something we can all do. It doesn’t have to be anything major but here’s some stuff I am committed to doing to help save our precious, fragile, dying planet and redeem myself a bit:

Stop buying new stuff: I love eBay as much as the next person but the awesome thing about it is that you can filter for condition. Do the earth a favour and buy second-hand stuff wherever possible. I bought a beautiful Ralph Lauren 100% cashmere jumper for $30 (plus postage) last night. That is a BARGAIN.

Buy less harmful stuff: I shop at Coles, Aldi and the weekend farmer’s market. I like to stock up on pantry items at Aldi because it’s so much cheaper. The good news is that Aldi sells things like organic tinned tomatoes, chick peas, yoghurt and flour, as well as some eco-friendly cleaning products.

Eat less meat and dairy: My grandma ate chicken once a year at Christmas. We eat chicken once or twice a week. How did it come to this? Slowly and surely our eating habits have crept from ‘treat’ to ‘everyday item’, and the planet is paying the price.

Stay home: Yep, just stay home. Don’t drive anywhere. Don’t travel overseas. Just stay home and enjoy the veritable luxury of modern homes (Refrigeration! Foxtel! Airconditioning!). Read a book, or binge on Netflix. Relax, unwind and save money while you’re doing it. And please never go somewhere just to Instagram it because that is the very definition of obnoxious.

Stop absorbing social media craziness: According to more depressing articles I read on the weekend, there’s a huge rise in eating disorders and feelings of social isolation and loneliness. In fact, there’s a new business called SocialTable where you can buy a ticket to a dinner in order to make friends. This is a great idea, but my god, this makes me sad.

HERE’S A THOUGHT. If you know someone who is new in town, or who seems a little lonely, INVITE THEM OVER. Reach out to them. Be kind.

And when you do talk to them, don’t talk about your diet or your weight. I have been whining about my weight since I could TALK. I promise to stop if you do.

The world has gone totally mad when people who are perfectly healthy are starving themselves to look like a contrived Instagram post, and people have to buy tickets to try and make friends because no-one else will talk to them.

Have you ever seen Instagrammers in the wild? I once sat and watched (in horror) as a young woman posed and primped on a beach in Hawaii while her long-suffering boyfriend took a million photos, each requiring her approval. Please do not aspire to this because this makes humans look even stupider than usual.

We’re the only ones who can make our home – this world – a better place. What would you like to see change?