Remember when summers used to be lcooler and winters were long? Yes, climate change is real and it is rapidly affecting our planet as we know it.
World leaders are now encouraging a more sustainable lifestyle to reverse the effects of climate change, but the responsibility falls on our shoulders to make this a reality and make the world a better place.
Here we will introduce 10 simple techniques to help you lead a more sustainable lifestyle.
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Plastic waste is one of the most damaging things to the environment and the world produces a lot of it daily and by a lot, we mean millions of tons.
The problem with plastic waste is that it is non-biodegradable; meaning that bacteria cannot decompose it. So, it accumulates over time to ultimately choke animals, entangle marine life, or cover the surfaces of our oceans.
To minimize your plastic waste, checklist the following items.
It is probably best to bring your cloth/paper bag to carry your stuff home as they are bio-degradable and nature can take care of them after you throw these bags away. This is especially important if you are in nature hiking/ rock climbing or more.
Another creative solution can be repurposing the waste plastic. People in many countries have made this a business and sell different products like decoration pieces made from recycled plastic.
Solar power, wind energy, and biofuel are green energy sources and can help you produce clean electricity without any harmful emissions. They not only save you money but also reduce the carbon footprint you have on the world.
Try transitioning to the following things to become more sustainable in terms of energy utilization,
Fuel Emissions are responsible for nearly half the greenhouse gases in the environment. This is why you should avoid driving fuel-powered cars as it adds more to your carbon footprint.
Psst, Greenhouse Gases trap the heat coming from the sun and trigger an increase in the global temperature!
Go around on a bicycle or perhaps walk and burn some extra fat while you’re at it. Battery-powered cars are also a clean-energy way to travel if you tend to go to faraway places. Or, you can take public transportation.
In short, the less fuel you burn, the more sustainable you live.
Leftover dinner, rotten vegetables, straight to the bin? Well, what if we could tell you that these can be worth a bag of fertilizers for your farm?
You can dry these off and use them in your garden as an organic fertilizer. If you have visited an organic farm, you must have noticed that almost all self-sustained fields make use of these organic fertilizers, and synthetic fertilizer is rarely used.
Many farmers all around the world use organic waste to fertilize the soil. It is mostly animal dung but it includes spoiled vegetables and expired food. If you’re planning a vacation to the Cambodian countryside, you might be able to see this for yourself.
Keep in mind that anything you buy accounts for the production of one more unit to fill its place, thus adding more to your carbon footprint.
“Stop buying useless things and companies will stop producing useless things!”
Try not to stuff your house with unnecessary objects. If possible, try to shop second-hand to not create more demand from the environment, while still fulfilling your needs at the same time.
There are scenarios when purchasing goods becomes inevitable, like buying batteries or clothes. In that case, you should actively look and buy these things from sustainable brands.
Sustainable companies are mostly working on products that do not harm the environment and typically pay a fair wage to their workers.
Sometimes, to cut short the hassle of repairing, you may be tempted to replace whatever it is that is broken, especially if it is a regular item. Let’s say, a chair.
Now keep in mind that another tree would be cut down using fuel-operated chainsaws if you go ahead and buy another chair while you could have easily repaired the first one.
A sustainable lifestyle demands the skill of repair and a little bit of compromise.
Mirroring this, a million other things can simply be fixed instead of replaced and the world will be the one to ultimately benefit from this simple choice.
Unregulated use of freshwater sources is causing them to deplete, exacerbating draughts in all parts of the world. Global temperatures are rising as we speak, which is the main reason why water levels of lakes and rivers are dropping
Perhaps leaving that tap open while brushing is a bad idea after all?
Nature can only provide and it is up to us to either save it or waste it. Limiting water consumption and maximizing fresh water utilization to avoid wastage is one of the key things in a sustainable lifestyle.
Here are some other things you can do to save water,
Run your home on Green Power; power generated through green sources like sunlight. It can be a bio-fuel run generator or a solar farm but with each hour lit up from green power, you can save hours of greenhouse gas emissions from conventional power generation methods like thermal stations.
Proper insulation can significantly help in maintaining temperatures during both summer and winter and reduce the energy requirements for your home.
Another creative way to save energy would be to simply pack up and leave for a vacation in a less demanding climate, such as an RV Adventure on a solar-powered campervan.
Of all the items on your diet, meat may be regarded as the most expensive one in terms of resource consumption.
This is because it claims a large proportion of natural resources since the animal has to be brought up and fed using several supplies of food until a specific time. Those supplies are ‘wasted’ when that animal is slaughtered for meat.
Some people may home grow their own food supplies, which is the best way to ensure quality and control over production and consumption while saving a lot of resources. You can also consider trying a paleo diet from your garden’s produce, and eat less refined food this way.
In all, for a sustainable lifestyle, meat should be a luxury for you and not the first option. And if you are traveling often, you would want to maintain a high food standard.
Now that you have some insight on how to lead a sustainable lifestyle, it’s high time to start practicing it.
Collectively, human efforts have resulted in a significant reduction in harmful Carbon Dioxide, NOx, SOx, and CFC emissions which have contributed to slowing down Global Warming.
A sustainable lifestyle serves more as a responsibility than just a lifestyle. Our future generations are at a high risk of calling a seriously resource-depleted planet their home because of climate change. The best way to prevent it is for everyone to build a sustainable environment around them as much as possible.