Happy Earth Day! 🌏 Tips for sustainable living. 😷 And what to know about masks

Plus: Ask Dear Life Kit about your relationships

View this email online Sol Cotti/NPR Friends, Let’s start with a few deep breaths. Breathe iiiiiin, breathe ouuuuuut. Feels good, doesn’t it? Fresh air is on our minds a lot today – for our individual lungs, and the earth’s. For one, a federal judge struck down the CDC’s mask mandate for public transportation earlier this week, and if you, like these travelers, are celebrating breathing some mask-free air on your next flight: sit tight, because masks could be back again soon. The Department of Justice will appeal the ruling and the public health risk of this change is still under debate. If you’re feeling more weary of freeing your face on public transit, you’re not alone. Newsletter continues after sponsor message Maybe you’re immunocompromised, or have little ones at home, or you’re worried about COVID cases rising in your area. Or, maybe, you just plain don’t feel ready to ditch the face covering after two years of protection.  Malaka Gharib/NPR There are countless reasons why you might want to keep your mask on. This is your reminder that you still can. And what’s more, there are still plenty of strategies that can help keep you, and the people around you, protected in public:  Brush up on mask best practices and different types of masks. Learn how one-way masking works. (Spoiler: It's still effective!) This printable zine is full of advice on how to stay flexible as COVID case counts fluctuate. And keep an eye on your Life Kit podcast feed tomorrow (Saturday!) for a special episode with NPR health correspondent Maria Godoy on how to assess the risks of different types of public transit. Angela Hsieh/NPR One place we know we don’t need masks, mandate or not? The great outdoors. And on this Earth Day we’re reminded to inhale the future, exhale the past and do what we can to curb the effects of the climate crisis – especially as green legislation remains complicated, the clouds seem to be getting heavier and pollution-free air gets harder to come by.  The Life Kit team pulled together our favorite sustainable living tips. Check them out, and then maybe find a few of your own! You could start biking to work, or help your local birds, or eat less meat or just get outside and enjoy some nature.   Listen to the episode Being an Earthling isn’t easy these days, and it can be easy to feel hopeless with all the compounding disasters or frustrated by the snail-slow pace of change.  But according to a recent report from the UN, the world can still avoid the most extreme dangers of climate change.  A lot of that work needs to be done by governments and policies, but our personal decisions do matter. Using less energy at home, composting, upcycling – all of these individual choices can add up and help tip the scales towards progress.  And the good news is, there are countless ways to start. The planet will thank you for time and care, and we do, too.  — Andee Tagle, Life Kit producer  🧑‍🤝‍🧑Relationships can be…complicated. Whether you're at odds with your in-laws, missing a friend or stressed out by your boss, Life Kit wants to help!  ❓Send us an anonymous question about a relationship conundrum and you could get an expert answer in an upcoming  📹 Dear Life Kit video 📹 Stream your local NPR station. Visit NPR.org to find your local station stream. What do you think of today's email? We'd love to hear your thoughts, questions and feedback: LifeKit@npr.org Enjoying this newsletter? Forward to a friend! They can sign up here. Looking for more great content? Check out all of our newsletter offerings — including Daily News, Code Switch, Health and more! You received this message because you're subscribed to Life Kit emails. This email was sent by National Public Radio, Inc., 1111 North Capitol Street NE, Washington, DC 20002 Unsubscribe  |  Privacy Policy