What is Sustainable Living?

There are a limited amount of resources available on our planet, and sustainable living means that we are attempting to decrease the use of the natural resources that are available. Each person can make a difference in the world by following sustainable living practices, and making small changes on a daily basis can really add up in the long run.

Sustainable Living Choices

There are various ways in which a person can change their lifestyle for sustainable living. For example, their carbon footprint can be decreased by using alternate methods for transportation, or changing their use of energy consumption through decreased electricity usage. Minimizing the use of gas and electricity can maintain the natural resources for years to come, however there are many people who are not concerned about decreasing the effect that they have on the environment.

Some options for sustainable living transportation include taking public transportation instead of driving everywhere, or living in a city that is easy to access on foot or by riding a bike. If a car is necessary, you may consider purchasing a fuel-efficient car or a hybrid in order to decrease the amount of gas that is used.

Sustainable Living – Environmentally Friendly Food Choices

Other sustainable living changes may include modifications to a person’s eating habits in order to decrease the environmental impact of the foods that they are eating. Many people don’t think about the impact that food may have on the environment, but there are many ways in which our food choices can negatively affect the planet.

For example, foods that are overly packaged result in extra items being thrown in the garbage, and eventually ending up in the landfill. Additionally, buying foods at the grocery store usually results in those foods being shipped from other States (or other countries) which means that unnecessary amounts of fuel and energy was used to get the food on the grocery store shelves.

Instead of simply purchasing your food without a second thought about how it was produced and delivered, it is better to take a proactive approach to sustainable living and choose to buy your food locally instead. There are often farmers markets available and other sources where you can buy locally grown food that didn’t need to be shipped long distances before it was delivered to the store.

Sustainable Living – Monitoring Water Consumption

Water consumption is another element of sustainable living that should be considered, and many people use too much water in their homes. Water is used in high amounts to run appliances such as the washing machine or dishwasher, toilets, or to water the yard. We only have limited amounts of water available, so it is absolutely essential that water usage is minimized by using high quality appliances and reducing the frequency of use.

Taking a few proactive sustainable living steps can make it easy to change your habits and positively impact the environment. It may take a little bit of time and practice, but slowly making these changes can make a big difference in the long run.