How to Lead an Eco-Conscious Lifestyle: Your Guide to Start Making a Difference Now - Part 2

Last week, in How to Lead an Eco-Conscious Lifestyle: Your Guide to Start Making a Difference Now- Part 1, we read about the importance of an eco-friendly lifestyle, how we can make a difference, some ideas so as we can reduce our carbon footprints and so much more. As promised, there is more about how you can alternate your lifestyle to accommodate a small space to let the earth breathe.

Do You Know? Humanity has already consumed more natural resources than the planet can regenerate this year.

Earth Overshoot Day marks the date when humanity’s demand for ecological resources and services in a given year exceeds what Earth can regenerate in that year. In 2021, it fell on July 29.

Go Zero Waste

Going Zero-Waste is a movement to reduce the amount one consumes and consequently throws away. Adopting a Zero Waste lifestyle is one of the most sustainable ways of living. Zero Waste lifestyle choices influence all environmental areas by preventing resource extraction, reducing the volume of materials sent to the landfill or incinerator, and reducing pollution from producing, transporting, or disposing of materials.

We've been told to cut down on all non-essential use of plastic, stop throwing all the packaging we buy into the garbage and then eventually give all of it away. The problem is, recycling isn't enough. The United Nations reported that only 6 percent of plastics were recycled, and the rest ended up in landfills or being burned or lost. It doesn't have to be like this. By recycling just 10 percent of plastic, we can save 175 million tons of carbon dioxide and prevent 33 million tons of CO₂ from entering our atmosphere. There are two ways you can do this: Option 1. Be a consumer who actually looks for products with their end-of-life dates. If you can't remember the end-of-life date, then it's still way too young. Option 2. Be a consumer who looks at the raw material before buying and question where will it end when it is no more suitable for use. Wood, glass, plastic, silicone, etc. are the major contributors of pollution at the end of their lifecycles as they are either burned or become landfills or pollute oceans, rivers, etc. Polythene bags have choked several animals to death and these and other wastes affect marine life as well. Using bamboo, cane, or rattan, etc. are better alternatives as they become manure, thus helping grow more trees. Make sure 80% of your raw material is 100% zero waste that is no emissions or adverse effects are caused by them to the environment. To buy bamboo furniture and other products is a safe bet.

Get involved with activism

Yes, the climate crisis is a global challenge. Yes, it’s big. Too big for any one person to solve on their own. But together with thousands and thousands of other committed activists spread across every time zone? Now that’s a different story.

Environmental activism refers to the coming together of various groups of individuals and organizations, that work in collaboration - in social, scientific, political, and conservational fields, with the main purpose of addressing environmental concerns. These people and organizations are collectively part of the green movement, green living, or environmental sustainability and do have a common agenda on protecting and preserving the environment.

We can become part of any organization or group or start our solo journey and play our part. Here are some tips on how you can start making a difference on a personal level: 1. Take shorter showers If you're anything like most people, you probably take a shower every day, but if you spend an extra five minutes outside your home rather than in it you could save around 300 gallons of water per day. That's the equivalent of a five-minute shower for a family of four. If that's the case, you'll have a bit more water to spend on other things. 2. Install an Eco-Friendly lightbulb an energy-efficient lightbulb uses 60% less energy to produce the same amount of light, so switching to one will help reduce your energy bills.

What can I do?

The environment is where we all meet; where we all have a mutual interest; it is the one thing all of us share.

~ Lady Bird Johnson

Well, there are things you can do to make sure your actions don’t cause any harm to the environment and to make your actions more impactful. Here are 7 ways you can help the planet.

1. Reduce your personal consumption If you don't like how expensive the material things you have been, it might be time to reduce your consumption of them. Instead of buying hundreds of pairs of shoes in a year, and likely having to dispose of them after a year, why not buy a pair of nice shoes every two months?

2. Buy Local. Try to source local products so that you can save their global footprint and save fuel. In case you want to buy something that is not local, make sure that it can be flat packed. Buying flat-packed furniture and other products can make a lot of impact in reducing the fuel consumption for transport.

3. Do your due research before buying. Make sure you are buying sustainably.

4. Make others aware.

Developing in an environmentally friendly way has many benefits, along with being both incredibly rewarding and cost-effective too. Not only are you helping to look after the environment but you’ll also enjoy lower bills, increased energy efficiency, and your home will require less maintenance over time. With a wealth of information and support available, it is now easier than ever before to create a greener and more energy-efficient home. Green living is for every one of us. The planet is dying and it is our obligation to salvage what is left of it. From carpooling to using ‘green’ products, we all have a role or two to play in restoring the planet back to its initial glory. Get on board today. Save yourself and your family. Save planet earth!

“In the end, one thing is for sure, if we give up the goal and do not even try, we will certainly miss it a long way.” - Niklas Hohne