What is sustainability?
Before trying to live a more sustainable lifestyle through different choices you can make, it is important to have an understanding of what it means to be sustainable. In its most basic definition sustainable means something that is able to be maintained at a certain rate. However, it can also represent a more sustainable lifestyle in which a person would try not to use fossil fuels and single-use plastics amongst many other choices.
Sustainability, and those who live by it, aim to stop the use of the Earth's natural resources. There is a lot more to sustainability than meets the eye, it isn't just about the small choices we make in our day to day life, but also about finding ways to supply what is needed by current generations without throwing away the future generations' chances of meeting their needs too. However, today this article will try to focus more on the changes you can make as an individual to help or reduce your carbon footprint.
Why is sustainability important?
Just encase any readers happen to have been living under a rock for a generation or two now, the world is slowly dying before our very eyes and we have certainly been speeding it up. Planet Earth goes through its own natural cycles of cleansing, for example the 'ice age' and the temperatures on Earth have changed over time.
The Greenhouse Effect, is a term that describes how the Earth's atmosphere is getting so thick and dense that the Sun's energy no longer freely bounces off the Earth's surface and back to space, but, instead, is trapped and begins to warm the earths surface, hence the melting of the polar ice caps. Sustainability is quite possibly the biggest issue in our society today, why? Because if it is not addressed, eventually, there won't be any society left to have problems within. Not only is global warming a grave threat to humankind, but we are also slowly seeing different species of animals like polar bears losing their habitats and thus will eventually go extinct.
Five tips to be sustainable
Not every action against climate change is going to be a big sacrifice that one must make, there are so many unconscious choices we make in our day to day lives that can be changed in some ways to make yourself a slightly more sustainable individual. Here are some examples:
1) Grow your own produce - It isn't hard at all growing some small pots of basil, rosemary or thyme (amongst others). It means the plastic used to sell these products in supermarkets doesn't have to enter the many landfills. It is also a very peaceful hobby to pick up.
2) Find yourself a hemp bag - This doesn't just have to be hemp, anything that isn't single use plastic really. Crochet bags are not only another environmentally conscious choice but are also quite popular at the time of writing this article.
3) Buy yourself a reusable water bottle - Buying branded water like Evian and Volvic, even though they have recycling schemes, can contribute to plastics going to landfills. Instead, it is better to own a reusable bottle which you can refill and use as much as you wish.
4) Try to make some vegetarian/vegan choices - The less you contribute to the mass production of animal products from farms, the less animals there will be to releasing methane into the atmosphere.
5) Walk and take public transport - Not every short trip to the shops requires you to drive. Try to aim to walk, cycle or take public transport more and reduce the contribution cars make to pollution.
Go forth and be sustainable
Hopefully this article has taught you a thing or two about sustainability and if not, maybe inspired you to go away and learn more about sustainability. It is truly important in today's world that we as humans gather together now and decide to make a change. As individuals we must make better choices, and as a collective we must work together to change the deep routed mistakes within our society. The time has passed for us to stand around and applaud those who try to fix these mistakes, we all need to gather as one to change the world for the better.