This Article is a Guest Post.
As you go by your daily activities, you may have heard a group of people talking about sustainable living and incorporating it into their lives. In your mind, the only question that keeps coming up is, what is sustainable living? Let me help you. Sustainable living is a lifestyle where an individual or a group of people try to reduce the number of natural resources they use on a day to day basis.
In most cases, such individuals try to ensure that they consume what they can replace. Sometimes this also means that they have to do away with some products manufactured through means that do not promote sustainability. Why is sustainable living important? Sustainable living aims at balancing environmental, social, and economic needs to allow for prosperity for not only the current generation but also for those to come. So how do you achieve it?
Here we will give you tips on how to live sustainably.
1. Reducing your energy Use
One of the first things you can do to live sustainably is to minimize the amount of energy you use. Here are some ways to do so;
- Turn off your appliance when not in use.
One of the biggest consumers of energy in the house is electric devices. Therefore, you need to try as much as possible to reduce the energy consumed through them, and this starts by turning them off when not in use. After that, you will realize the amount of energy consumed altogether reduces significantly.
- Hang Clothes out to dry
Instead of using a dryer every single time you have washed your clothes, you can use a hanging line that will do the job for you just the same way a dryer would. Doing so will get save energy and get your close to an energy-efficient lifestyle.
- Create sustainable living homes
An excellent way of creating a Sustainable living home is embracing energy-efficient devices. Light bulbs that consume low energy like the fluorescent tubes are some of these devices. You can even bring technology into the picture. The use of smart devices like smart thermostats that adjust your home temperature according to weather changes will go a long way in creating an efficient home.
2. Save Water
Management of resources is imperative in this journey of efficient living. When it comes to using resources in the right manner, water should be at the top of your list. Saving water goes a long way in creating a sustainable world.
Use the following tips to save water;
- You can start by using minimal amounts of water to do your errands in the house.
- Turn off all water taps when not in use
- Repair all water leaks as soon as you find them. I know sometimes detecting these leaks is difficult, and it might take a lot of time, but there is a solution, especially if you live in Fort Lauderdale. Leak detection Fort Lauderdale is a renowned company in the field whose experts will sort you out in matters regarding leakage.
- Install water-efficient toilets. Some toilets come with options that let you choose whether you need a full-flush mode or a half-flush. Incorporating such devices is imperative in making sustainability a success.
- Newer versions of washers can detect the least amounts of water required for washing your clothes. You can try purchasing such devices in your attempt to create an ecological world.
3. Walk, Ride or Pool
Vehicles fumes are the most significant contributors to air pollution. So to make the world a sustainable place to live in, you can consider other options to get to your destination. Some of these options are;
- If you live a couple of minutes to your workplace, you can stretch out your legs by walking. Doing so not only reduces air pollution but also helps you stay fit and healthy.
- The other thing you can do is ride a bicycle to your destination. As you ride the bike, you can increase your cardiovascular fitness, your muscle strength, and flexibility. Additionally, riding bikes is said to be a good reliever of stress and can clear your head, making you complete tasks more effectively.
- Let us not forget the sustainability brought about by riding a bike. If you choose to ride a bike to your destination, it means you are saving the environment.
- Car-pooling is also an option. If you meet two or three going in the same direction, you can choose to share the car ride instead of each person using his/her vehicle.
4. Recycling and Reusing
The road to a sustainable ecological environment also needs people to recycle waste and reuse certain items. Let take, for instance, a plastic bottle; many people take water using these bottles. After drinking the water, people throw the bottles away. What if we all try to reuse them? There are very many ways to reuse plastic bottles. For instance, the next time you wish to carry fresh juice to work, you can use the plastic container.
Recycling is also an excellent way of living a green lifestyle. In case you have no idea on how to reuse the waste in your home, you can take it to a recycling plant. The experts there will find a proper way of putting the trash to appropriate use. All of these things are great ways of sustaining our environment.
5. Opt for Renewable Energy
Renewable energy is energy obtained from natural sources, and once the energy is depleted, it can get replenished. Some of the renewable energy used today include; wind power, tides, sunlight, and geothermal power.
For us to have a green society, we should try as much as possible to embrace renewable energy and use it to carry out our daily activities. For instance, instead of using natural gas in cooking, we can use biogas, which is a renewable source of energy.
Another thing we can do as a society is to promote the use of geothermal energy and wind power in industries instead of coal or oil. You can even install solar panels on your roof. The energy from the solar panel can help you in various ways in the home, like lighting the house and heating water for showering.
6. Say no to plastic
If you are trying to promote environmental sustainability, try as much a possible to stay away from items made from plastic. The main reason for this is plastics do not go away. For a simple bottle of water to decay, it takes up to hundreds of years. Some other items made of plastic take millions of years, and some do not decay at all. So what does this mean? The plastic object you just put in a bin is probably going to stay at a landfill forever, and this is a threat to sustainability.
Landfills are not the only place; plastics are dumped. Some people even put plastic objects in the sea. These plastics are then left there, swirling on the surface of the water. Doing so is not eco-friendly because many mammals and sea life tend to ingest such items. When water animals ingest these plastic objects, they get suffocated and die. The best way to solve this is by doing away with plastic bags, containers, bottles, and switch to reusable and biodegradable items.
7. Become a member of a community garden
One of the reasons why you may have found a group of people talking about sustainability is because a group better addresses the issue of sustainability. Together, we can all create an ecological society. One of the ways we can do this is by coming together and planting trees. Working together towards such a project can go a lot smoother and faster as compared to working alone.
With trees and flowers planted all over the garden, all you will have is a sustainable living community. That is not all; any garden waste that you get in the process can be mulched back into the soil. Doing so creates manure for the land, which then enriches the soil.
Other than creating green spaces and enriching the soil, community gardens are also useful to you as a person. They help clear your mind and relieve you from any stress. Furthermore, when people get active in such areas, it improves their physical health and general well-being. Moreover, coming together to do an important project like gardening strengthens bonds between people. Let us not forget that such gardens in urban areas help in reducing carbon emission, and this gets us a step closer to an eco-friendly society.
8. Boycott products that are a threat to wildlife
Going green also entails taking care of the wildlife in any way possible. Boycotting products made from wildlife is one of the most efficient means of safeguarding wild animals and plants. The reason for this is that when we boycott such products, the people who destroy wildlife for profit will no longer have a place to sell the items. Therefore, they will not make any profits. If they are making no profit, it means that there is no need for destroying wildlife, and such ventures end up closing down.
Therefore, we should be careful about the products we buy. In essence, we should shop conscientiously, looking keenly at the products’ details. For instance, we should try as much as possible to go for items made from sustainable materials like bamboos. Furthermore, we should refuse to dine at restaurants that serve endangered species like the Bluefin tuna. Doing so will make the world a better place.
9. Take extinction away from your plate
Before food gets to your table, a lot goes into the retrieval of the food, preparation, and finally delivery to your table. Let us take meat; for instance, the industries that process meat are one of the most destructive facilities in the world. The reason is that they use a lot of energy, water, and other resources. Furthermore, they emit a lot of greenhouse gases, pollute the areas around them and even destroy natural habitats.
If we want to improve our planet, we should put in place amicable ways of reducing the consumption of meat. Another thing is to reduce food wastage. Imagine all of this impact on the environment and resources used to deliver meat on your table, and then it ends up going to waste. To promote sustainable living, we should also come up with creative ways to consume everything we purchase.
10. Have a Small Family
Having a small family is also an effective way of promoting sustainable living. Take, for example, the current population and the needs of every person. The world has over seven billion people, and these numbers are increasing every day. An increasing population translates into growing demand in fossil fuels, food, water, and many other resources. Therefore, an expanding population is slowly pushing other species to extinction.
Having a small family could be an excellent place to start. When there are fewer people, the demand for resources decreases, and we could find a balance in our eco-system. Additionally, with a small family, many people will opt to go for relatively small houses. Having small houses increases sustainability because energy consumption is minimal; thus, we have a greener ecosystem.
Conclusion
Sustainability is a core part of our existence as it creates a balance in the eco-system, therefore, making our existence in the world better. Consequently, we should incorporate sustainability measures into our daily activities. One of these measures is saving water by handling any leaks in the house and ensuring that you turn off all taps when not in use. Using green energy, also known as renewable sources of energy, is also essential in this sector. It prevents pollution and creates a green eco-system. You can achieve this by heating water in your homes using solar panels and cooking food using biogas instead of a kerosene cooker.
Reducing the number of vehicles on the road also plays a vital role in the fight for sustainability. You can ride a bike to work, walk, or even share a ride with friends and family to achieve this. That is not all; critical discussions should also be held to foster sustainability. First and foremost, we should talk about the immense population growth. The issue of extinction for different types of species, especially the endangered ones, should also be on the table of discussion.
This Article is a Guest Post.
