A key to a better future
Earth is a home to approximately 8 billion people and we cannot allow it to be ruined, simply because it’s our only hope and humans are dependent on its resources. As one of the species living on this planet our good health is entwined with the health of our planet and one way we can start with is reducing the use of fossil fuels as source of energy. One of the way to do so is lessen the use of vehicles. This will allow us to walk or cycle which is more environment friendly way of commuting. A large population also means lot of waste that needs to be disposed somewhere. Landfills has its limitations and only good as a short term solution. Look at it this way, each year approximately 145 to 152 million tons of waste makes its way into the marine environment. Anything compostable only will be biodegraded but how much percentage of that consists of the waste we generate. Of course we need to increase the use of bio degradable material to the maximum possible limits. While it’s true that sustainable living is a challenge and comes with a bundle of geo political factors, it has its own merits as well. Have you ever given a thought what it takes to stay sustainable? Let’s try to get under the skin of it and look how sustainable dwelling would affect our lifestyles.
One of the primary objectives of sustainable living is to greatly reduce carbon footprint and make better use of mother nature’s assets so that minimum harm can be caused to the environment.
Increasing sustainability could be as simple as buying in-season foods that are locally farmed and processed naturally. Ingredients that aren’t in season frequently require certain chemicals to be grown and might not be necessary for our meals, or wanted to be shipped from someplace else that brings transportation which then leads to carbon emission, therefore its best avoided. Sustainable farming discourages taking unseasonal crops, and encourages low-impact, seasonal diets. One of the aim is also to consume less meat (or no meat at all). That’s also the other way to live sustainably.
Some other instance of sustainable living is buying goods manufactured with recycled materials or designed to be zero waste. Many cosmetics companies produce items in bottles and jars crafted from recycled merchandise. You could also discover apparel, bedding, and furnishings made from recycled substances.
It’s worth noting that industrial meat production is one of the major factors of pollution. It aids in greenhouse fuel production and deforestation to an extent. Also from the health perspective, regular consumption of red meat could lead to some serious heart conditions as it is known to increase bad cholesterol. Therefore, beef and lamb lovers should minimize their meats consumption for sake of their health & environment.
The main pillars of sustainability are economic viability, environmental preservation and social equity.
It represents the ways to push organizations and individuals for using socio-economic resources to their advantage, economic sustainability is effective when businesses continue to generate wealth without leaving any negative social or environmental impact.
The environmental pillar of sustainability occurs when there is an environmental impact on corporations. It can be witnessed in their products, facilities, and operations. The goal is on zero-waste production, managing energy consumption, and moving to green energy in work places, warehouses, and factories.
Social Equity Pillar
It refers to community structures and society that has an important role in shaping generations and their ability to live healthily without compromising on comforts. Socially sustainable communities are diverse, democratic, well connected, and provide people with a pretty good standard of living with equality.
How to live sustainably?
Reusable plastic: Bottles of plastic that we use, much of it find their way into the seas and oceans. They are hard to decompose and outlive generations and generations of human life. This in effect causes great pollution and harm to nature that cannot be easily undone in one’s lifetime. To put it simply, we should stop using plastic products and find its nature friendly substitute. We should not buy new plastic products and keep reusing old ones so the demand for these polluting material will ultimately decrease.
Reusable carry bags: Put your money in sturdy reusable bags made from environment friendly material like jute, cotton, bamboo, recycled paper or coconut coir to name a few. These are biodegradable and would cause very less harm to nature as compared to plastic!
Reusable tea/ coffee cups: Next time try carrying a flask filled with tea or coffee with you to get your daily dose of these hot beverages and say no to plastic cups. You can use paper cups as well.
Make environmentally friendly choices for commuting around or travelling to distances. Electric vehicles are the future and would soon be the major mode of transport around the world. Thanks to government policies in all major economies of the world, battery operated electric vehicles will hold the future. New technologies will emerge and EV will shape the way we travel.
10 ways to stay more sustainable.
- Use less water: Water is life and therefore needs to be wisely used. United Nations report says, only about 2.5% of the Earth’s water is freshwater, and of that, less than 1% is readily accessible for human consumption.
- Make a compost bin: Your leftover vegetables & fruits can be composted as it also helps the soil to retain moisture, reduce water runoff and conserve landfill space for things that we cannot recycle.
- Consume fewer products overall: Consume only what you need and avoid plenty of junk food. Remember when we consume in access of our wants, we contribute towards greater transportation, more use of packaged material, more factory output and all these factors ultimately lead to increased pollution.
- Recycle as much as possible: Not using recyclable goods means these things are going to end up in landfills, contributing to the toxic gases that affect our physical and mental health. It also a factor for increasing global warming.
- Buy eco-friendly products. It’s a shocking fact that many of our daily use items are a hazardous for our surroundings. Right from the toothbrushes to shampoos and sanitary products, much of these are hard to decompose. Thankfully, there are many eco-friendly alternatives available that we need to search and start using them.
- Use less energy: Energy is precious and is generated using large power plants. Use it wisely and keep all those switches off if not needed. Try using lesser appliances and limit yourself to necessity rather than luxury.
- Use public transportation: With increasing urbanization our cities are getting congested. Using cars although increases comfort, sometimes may not be necessary. For travelling short distance we can use public transport. Many younger people are a privileged lot and have luxury at their doorstep but they should try moving out of their cozy space also give more preference to public transport. This way we can reduce a large amount of carbon monoxide and other harmful pollutants from the environment and give ourselves to breathe nice clean air.