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Posted by jlmcgraw 11 hours ago

Ask HN: Ideas for small ways to make the world a better place

I’m looking for some good, specific ideas on small ways to have a positive impact on the world on a daily basis.

What do you consider to be the highest return-on-efforts ways to make the world a better place for as many people as possible?

11 points | 18 comments
beardyw 10 hours ago|
People want to feel loved, safe, respected and happy. To make the world a better place start with yourself and make sure you make those things a priority with whoever you interact with.
galleywest200 8 hours ago||
Pick up trash you see on the ground. Does not need to be a huge “adopt a highway” style thing. Just pick up that bag on the ground near the bin and put it in the bin.

Not only does this make the place cleaner, people watching this may get the warm fuzzies that someone else actually cares.

Another thing is to ask employees at stores how their day is. You don’t need to have a full conversation, sometimes people just have nobody ask them this question and it helps.

mitchbob 10 hours ago||
Recently posted here on HN and well worth a look:

Underrated ways to change the world, part II

https://www.experimental-history.com/p/underrated-ways-to-ch...

https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46873494

Part I is at

https://www.experimental-history.com/p/underrated-ways-to-ch...

apothegm 2 hours ago||
Give at least one person per day — whom you otherwise wouldn’t — a few words of genuine and specific appreciation. Friend, family, coworker, stranger. Doesn’t matter.
valgor 9 hours ago||
Go vegan. You will no longer be apart of horrific animal abuse, the leading cause of biodiversity loss and deforestation, and if done correctly, will likely improve your health. You won't be able to get so much good from doing one thing.
GenericDev 8 hours ago|
Maybe a nice halfway point would to be vegetarian...
shoo 7 hours ago||
incremental steps like reducing or eliminating beef consumption by substituting less water intensive meat (e.g. chicken / turkey) are also helpful
simianwords 5 minutes ago||
This is a fair strategy.
Blackstrat 9 hours ago||
Work and take care of your family.
onlypassingthru 8 hours ago||
The best time to plant a tree was twenty years ago. The second best is now.*

*But also make sure you water, stake and prune it for the first 3-5 years.

tizzzzz 11 hours ago||
This is a great idea!Like I move around a lot in various online communities, I always Encountering all kinds of comments.Please support the comments you think are right, I think this can increase the confidence of the publisher and also makePlease support the comments you think are right, I think this can increase the confidence of the publisher and also make yourself feel happy.When more and more excellent speeches are encouraged, the world will become a little bit better.
yef 9 hours ago||
Be an organ donor. Donate blood on a regular basis. Skeptoid had a podcast today that talks about blood donation with some interesting tidbits about shelf life of platelets and whole blood. (5 days vs 42 days)

(Disclaimer: the site I hacked for myself to help me consume podcasts) https://spokengoods.com/podcasts/385078-skeptoid/mic-d-up-br...

idontwantthis 8 hours ago|
Just talk to strangers and be kind. Compliment people. Let service workers know when they’ve done a good job. Walk around your neighborhood and meet your neighbors.
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