7 Examples of Sustainability to Adopt in Our Everyday Life

Sometimes we are conscious of the fact, other times, we don’t even have any idea. However, at any point in time, whatever we do has an effect - directly or indirectly - on our environment.

From actions as simple as cooking and eating to more complex decisions like reproducing or building a house. There are many examples of sustainable practices that we have neglected because they are not convenient for us, so we opt for the ones that make us feel satisfied and end up harming the ecosystem.

All our actions have consequences, and it is quite possible that we will not witness the effect of most of our actions in our lifetime. However, the generations to come may spend more time fighting the consequences of our actions than they would spend trying to create technological advancements for their dispensation without a change.

Thankfully, it is not too late to start doing something to curb the impending danger. We cannot wait for the government to start implementing laws. The change can begin with you, in your home, your office, or anywhere you are or go to.

What does Sustainable Living Mean?

Sustainable living means practicing habits that will help to protect the environment, utilize resources and reduce their wastage making them available for use in the future. There are different examples of sustainability practices that can be imbibed by people to ensure sustainable living.

Sustainability Examples in Everyday Life

To be honest, humans have been unfair to our environment. The same environment that has made it safe for us to live and thrive, the same environment that supplies the air we breathe, the same environment that is responsible for what we eat or drink. Our actions towards the environment have shown nothing but ungratefulness. We have been exploiting natural resources, depleting the ozone layer, amongst other practices that are gradually leading to climate change. The time to start giving back to nature is now. Here are seven examples of sustainability we can all incorporate into our everyday life.

1. Leave your car at home

: Sounds annoying right? Asking you to leave your car at home and go to work. You bought the car to ride it and no one should dictate when to or not ride it. However, if there are too many cars on the road, it will increase the expulsion of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere. It will also pollute the atmosphere and reduce the clean air available for us to breathe. An example of sustainable practice will be to use a carpool with your friends or use public transport like the train. The best way, however, to get to work if you live close to your office is by walking or cycling.

2. Quit the use of plastics

: When you go shopping, you buy packs of bottled water and store them in your house. When you empty the contents of each plastic bottle, you dispose of them and they are dumped at a landfill. This landfill is probably filled to the brim, and you are constantly contributing to disposing of these plastics to an already filled land. The sustainable tips to help you, in this case, would be to get a non-plastic bottle and start refilling it whenever you need water. The bad thing about plastics is that they do not decay. They last for years without breaking down. Some of these plastics are usually offloaded into rivers and seas, and it affects sea life.

3. Reduce your use of paper

: It is common knowledge already that we breathe in oxygen and breathe out carbon dioxide. The carbon dioxide that we breathe out is what plants breathe in and the oxygen that we breathe is what plants breathe out. Essentially, humans thrive by exchanging gases with plants. This means that as the world is becoming populated, more trees should be planted but the case is reversed. Lumbermen are cutting down trees to make furniture and paper. Some of these papers are no longer necessary in today’s world. Many documents and tickets can be digitized such that people no longer have to worry about paper tickets or documents.

4. Reduce your meat consumption

: It is not compulsory to be a vegetarian. That’s a personal decision. However, reducing the amount of meat you consume is an example of a sustainable practice, how? First, consuming meat means killing animals which affect the ecosystem. Also, the meat production industry does more harm than good through water wastage, pollution, and other destructive practices. People should consider reducing their meat consumption and try taking an apple a day.

5. Greener surrounding

: Another example of sustainability in our everyday life is by using energy-efficient products in our houses, to go green at home. You can save energy in your house by using sustainable technological appliances like energy-saving bulbs, indoor plants, geysers, etc. that help us save on electricity costs.

6. Stay local

: A lot of the imported foods and products that you buy need to be transported. The transportation will involve the burning of gases which will in turn affect the ozone layer. If you can, stick to local products and patronize local entrepreneurs.

7. Separate your waste

: If you want to know how to protect your environment in your daily life, one thing that you need to do is to learn how to separate your waste. This will make it easy to dispose of what needs to be disposed of and recycle what needs to be recycled.

Ensuring compliance to a sustainable means of living will help everyone. The ecosystem will be better for it, and we will live healthier and wealthier. Why not commit to it too?