Over recent years, the topic of global warming has become more than just a minor issue or a “possibility”. Few people deny the existence of climate change, other than big oil companies and their investors. The question is: what can we do? It can be frustrating to feel that the government and wealthy business people are doing nothing whilst everyday people are expected to pick up the slack. Obviously, there needs to be more action from the top, but that doesn’t mean everyday people are fighting a losing battle. We can make a difference, and it starts with the little things. The following pieces of advice should help you to live sustainably in the modern world and improve your life as you do so.
Reduce your wastefulness.
For starters, you should focus on reducing your wastefulness. Recycling has been popular for many years, but one of the easiest ways to both save money and save the environment is to simply reduce your consumption. That’s easier said than done in the modern world, of course. You can’t just stop eating food or wearing clothes, but, as will be discussed throughout this article, you can change your lifestyle in ways that allow you to still have your necessities but also to live in a sustainable manner. For example, you could stop consuming single-use plastic. Instead of using plastic bottles, you could buy a water flask for yourself. Instead of using plastic straws, you could buy some metal straws that will last for decades.
Obviously, we can’t live entirely zero-waste lifestyles. Even before the industrial age, humans had an effect on their environment. The difference was their products decomposed over time; this was the pre-plastic age. So, you just need to focus on ways to, firstly, reduce your wastefulness and, secondly, ensure that your waste is as environmentally friendly as possible. You can still have fun in life; you just have to find ways to do so responsibly. It’s about protecting our future. Small things really do make a difference over time. Even using disposable dinnerware for a party, as has been discussed on this blog before, could help to ensure that your waste is more eco-friendly.
Go for green energy.
By green energy, it means energy that’s taken from sources that have little or no impact on the global carbon footprint. If you’re serious about helping the environment, it’s best to consider using this kind of energy to run your home.
Science tells us that the temperature of the Earth’s atmosphere is increasing. While there are many things that contribute to this condition, the production of carbon dioxide is mostly to blame. Thus, if you choose green or renewable energy sources, such as wind, solar, biomass, and hydro, to produce electricity, you’re doing nature a great favor. This is because such energy sources don’t produce (or produce small amounts) carbon dioxide.
If you decide to choose a green energy plan to use at home, this means that you can offset your home’s carbon footprint by using renewable energy.
Many electricity providers rely on natural gas, oil, or coal to provide electricity to their consumers. However, if you’re keen on limiting your carbon footprint, consider getting green energy plans, such as from Stream Energy.
There are multiple energy providers that provide different plans that vary in terms of lengths, rates, supply rates, and other options. If you’re conscious about how your lifestyle is affecting the environment and would like to help, a green energy plan is a great option for you.
When you travel, plan sustainable trips.
The luxury of travel, when not for work or school, is reserved for the privileged people of the world. Some people will never have the opportunity to travel, so it definitely isn’t something that the rest of us should take for granted. Nonetheless, the travel industry definitely has a big effect on the planet. So, when you travel (if you travel), plan sustainable trips. Greta Thunberg is right; we need to cut down on our excessive traveling if we want to reduce carbon emissions, but, failing a complement abandonment of the travel industry, the next best thing is simply reducing our travels and trying to take trips that are as sustainable as possible.
You should do your research before you go on your next vacation. Even if you’re planning on taking a domestic trip and you won’t be journeying by plane, you still need to think about your carbon footprint. This is about more than the transport you use; it’s about the destination you visit and the things you do there. Perhaps you could visit an eco-friendly destination. For example, Germany is known for its umweltzones, as explained at www.duitsemilieusticker.nl. These are environmentally-friendly zones with low emissions in cities, so it’s worth visiting cities such as Berlin and Frankfurt if you want to take a sustainable trip. The capital of Denmark, Copenhagen, is another example of a city that’s known for its sustainability.
Insulate your home.
Another great way to live sustainably in the modern world is to insulate your home. If you keep your household naturally warmer, then you won’t have to consume as much electricity to heat it up. Unless you’re already off the grid and using solar panels (which will be discussed later in this article), this will benefit the planet by reducing your energy consumption which, most likely, comes from a power station that uses fossil fuels to generate power. So, this would be a good way to reduce your carbon footprint but still keep your property just as warm as usual. Living in a more environmentally conscious manner doesn’t mean that you have to reduce your quality of life.
In terms of how you should insulate your home, make sure you get thick glazing for your windows to keep the heat in your house. You should also insulate your attic because heat rises, so you don’t want it to leak out through your roof. Additionally, you might want to get draft excluders for your doors and perhaps even thicker rugs or carpets for your floors. There are plenty of ways to improve your home’s insulation and, as a result, reduce your need to turn up the thermostat so high. This won’t just save energy; it’ll also save money. Benefitting the planet is also a fiscally responsible way to live.
Walk or cycle.
If you want to live sustainably in the modern world, then you should also make it your mission to walk or cycle more often. Perhaps you could do both. It depends on your lifestyle. The point is that you don’t always need to use your car. If your local shop is only a 10-minute walk away, then it would be good for your health to stretch your legs and take a stroll there. If your commute isn’t too long, then you might even want to walk or cycle there, too, as suggested at science.howstuffworks.com. Again, it all depends on your lifestyle and your current situation.
Eat less meat.
You might also want to think about your diet in order to live more sustainably. The meat industry has one of the biggest effects on the environment of any industry on the planet. So, eating less meat or going completely vegan might be a smart move if you want to help the environment. Done properly, eating less meat can be beneficial to your health, too. You just need to ensure your meals are nutritional. Cutting down on red meat, for example, will benefit your heart, but you need to ensure you still have some source of protein in your diet. Maybe you could try lentils; they’re a great plant-based source of protein. You don’t have to completely give up meat to help the environment. Simply reducing your meat consumption can make a big difference. If everybody on the planet did that, we’d be able to significantly reduce annual carbon emissions.
Buy things that’ll last.
On the topic of consumerism, again, you should try to buy things that’ll last. Capitalism has a lot of critics in the environmental community, but, short of dismantling the global economy, the best way to help the environment is to simply consume less, as was suggested in the first point. So, as explained at www.farmdrop.com, avoiding fast fashion is a good place to start. Why not buy clothes that’ll last? Like so many of the suggestions in this list, it’ll help your bank account, as well as the planet. And you should try to adopt that mentality with everything that you consume.
Invest in solar panels.
As was briefly mentioned earlier in this post, powering your home with renewable energy is a great way to reduce your carbon footprint. Obviously, as with all aspects of modern life, there is always some sort of environmental consequence. Solar panels have to be constructed, after all, and that’s an industrial process. Nevertheless, in the long run, generating your own energy through a sustainable power source is a great way to become self-sufficient, save money, and, most importantly, protect the planet.
Get a greener car.
Much like the previous point, this won’t be possible for everybody. After all, market prices are determined by demand. Demand for sustainable products has been increasing over recent years, but you’ll still notice that products such as vegan food items in grocery stores are more expensive than meat-based alternatives. This is the case when it comes to cars, too. There are eco-friendly options on the market, such as electric cars, but they’re still quite expensive. So, many consumers are left out because they simply can’t afford the sustainable car models on the market.
Of course, as demand rises, prices will drop. Until the day you can afford a greener car, you might want to change your life by simply driving in a more environmentally-friendly (and economically-friendly) manner. Driving sensibly, by reducing aggressive accelerating and braking, could reduce your fuel consumption. People focus so much on the fuel economy of a car before they buy it, but many drivers seem to fail to appreciate that simply changing their driving style could save them a lot of money, too. The less fuel you consume, the smaller your carbon footprint. Obviously, walking and cycling, as explained earlier, will help, too. For many people, however, cars are a necessity because they have to travel a long way to work.
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