How to Live a Sustainable- Life in Modern Times?
By: Sanjna Labroo
Tags: Pollution, Environment, Sustainable Living, Greenhouse Gas Emissions, Carbon Footprint

Photo by Markus Spiske on Pexels

Are our lives slowly losing their sheen?

Crazy weather patterns and environmental disasters come knocking at our doors frequently these days. This threatens our future and the future of our children. A sustainable lifestyle on the other hand can help us heal the earth.

Awareness and cultivating a few habits. That’s all that it takes. And you’re a contributor to sustainable living!

With that said environmental degradation is an issue sitting smack bang at the centre of our lives. It has damning consequences. Burying our heads in the sand shows ignorance.

Thankfully, it’s a doer’s world! We can turn the tide. Know the facts. That’s half the battle won! And that’s exactly what this blog post is about….

Interested?

Let’s take a deep dive.

And here we are now- dealing with this beastly pandemic. It’s held our life in an iron grip. Refusing to let go!

We’re tired. Some of us in a permanent state of funk. Days are a drag. We long for normal and carefree days. Aw, we want our lives back!

That said, this pandemic and the lockdown have shown us:

Human beings are inherently selfish (By that logic, the barring some great souls…). We care about only those things we think will be of some use to us. earth is our home. It shall be home to our future generations as well. So, shan’t we do everything possible to protect it and conserve it?

Without further ado, let’s pull out some facts.

It’s a lifestyle choice in which we reduce/lessen our impact upon the earth. This is achieved by taking appropriate measures to save energy and reduce pollution.

Some of the examples of sustainable living can be: using cloth bags for shopping ( such a simple one…yet very effective), choosing an alternate way of transportation, switching our food habits etc.

Why not get a better picture:

Why is Sustainable living so Important?

“Earth provides enough to satisfy every man’s needs, but not every man’s greed.”

These famous words by Mahatma Gandhi ring so true for our times.

Our modern life makes us consume energy at a blind pace. Connection with nature is zilch.

And the outcome is we:

Holy smoke! We’re destroying the planet?

This reminds me of a story where the person- the protagonist (Kalidas) is believed to have sawn off the branch of the tree he was sitting on.

Sadly, that’s what we are doing to our planet.

Let’s see how:

The trap of greenhouse gases…

The greenhouse gases (GHGs) provide us with the necessary warmth to keep life alive on this planet. They allow the sunlight to pass through the atmosphere. So, nah! the natural greenhouse gases are not the culprits.

But at the same time, they don’t let the heat or the warmth go away.

Now, we constantly burn fossil fuels when we consume energy. Electricity (bulbs, appliances, a/cs, heaters etc) to run our homes and for commuting (cars, planes etc.).

Then un-planned deforestation. And many more such activities enormously increase the amount of greenhouse gases.

Photo by Eelco Bohtlingk on Unsplash

This changes the equation.

And they (GHGs) become killer gases.Amplifying global warming. Resulting in catastrophes: Droughts, heat waves, hurricanes, extinction of wildlife, floods etc.

Our bulging population only adds further stress to the stretched resources.

Read this stat: According to earthday.org, the worst impacts of climate change could be irreversible by 2030[1]. What’re we waiting for? Hell, to freeze over.

Sustainable living is our only salvation. No rocket science. A few simple measures.

Ready to walk through a few of them!

How to lead a Sustainable Life?

Some set-screws we need to turn for our own good.

1. Cut on Transportation- the driver of pollution

Cars, trucks, buses etc. burn fossil fuels. These trap heat in the atmosphere.

This leads to climate change.

What’s the escape route?

Strike a BALANCE. Pivot to environment-friendly options like:

Now that every man and their dog own a car; consider yourself lucky if you haven’t bought one.

It spares you all the worries of maintaining a car. And bingo! your carbon footprint gets slashed.

Less carbon foot-print = Sustainability.

WFH is a boon. Just no pollution. It saves your buck as well.

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Our next challenge: Waste

Some tips to reduce e-waste:

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Who believes it?

Just a quick recap: