by Aalia Mauro

Environmental science is all about discovering ways to live more sustainably, which means making use of resources today in a way that preserves their availability for the future. Environmental sustainability does not mean living without luxury, but rather being mindful of the resource use and reducing needless waste. But how does this translate into everyday life? There are a lot of real, practical things we can do to live within our means and shift to a greener routine.

Advances in education, science and technology have taught us that protecting the planet in every small way we can go a long way towards keeping the world safe. More and more people are committed to protecting the environment in whatever way they can and going green is easier than ever. It's little improvements like these that might help you reduce the environmental impact. In this post, I discuss what sustainable living means, why it's important and steps you could take to make aspects of your lifestyle more sustainable.

Why is making your life sustainable important?

At the moment, we are producing resources, using energy and creating waste at a rate which isn't sustainable. This leads to environmental issues, such as pollution and climate change, which cause harm to the environment, wildlife and humans. By making some small changes to our lifestyles, we can reduce our carbon footprint and help to tackle these issues.

Reduce household energy use

By using less energy, you can help to reduce carbon emissions. There are a number of ways you can save energy at home, including switching off standby appliances, turning your heating down, hanging clothes to dry instead of using a drier and replacing incandescent light bulbs with compact fluorescent bulbs (CFLs).

Eat Locally

A powerful way to live more sustainably is to eat locally. The convenience of supermarkets has changed how people think about food. You can stroll through aisles stocked with fruits, vegetables, and other products from all over the world any time of year. But these products consume huge amounts of fossil fuel energy to get from those global locations to your corner supermarket. Choosing things that are local and in-season cuts down on a lot of wasteful transportation

Plant seeds

Try growing your own food. Simply plant a few seeds in a corner of your yard or in a container on your porch or windowsill. You don’t need acres; a few square feet on a patio, along the driveway, or in a window box can provide enough space to grow edible herbs, fruits, and vegetables.

Resell and donate items

Items that you no longer need can get an extended life through resale and donation. By extending the life of any product, you help reduce dependence on disposable or cheaply made single-use products that end up in landfills. Try reselling clothing and children’s things through a secondhand or consignment retailer or consider donating them to a nonprofit resale organization (such as Goodwill) or charity organization (such as the Salvation Army or American Cancer Society) that will redistribute them to those in need.

Drink from the tap

Dependence on bottled water has added more than a million tons of plastic to the waste stream every year. One reason people rely on bottled water is because they believe it’s safer and better tasting than tap water. But most municipal water supplies in the U.S. provide safe, clean, fresh water. If you don’t like the flavor of your tap water, consider the one-time investment in a filtration system. If you like the convenience of bottled water, purchase refillable bottles and keep one in your fridge, one in your car, and one at the office. Encourage your employer to install filters and offer glasses or reusable bottles at work, too.

Save water

An easy way to live more sustainably is to conserve household water use. Consider installing water-efficient toilets or dual-flush toilets that let you choose whether to use a full flush (for solid waste) or half-flush (for liquid waste). Newer clothes washers can automatically sense the smallest level of water needed for each load. Smaller changes, such as switching to water-saving shower heads and adding aerators to your sink faucets, are also effective ways to significantly reduce household water use. To conserve water outdoors, use landscaping adapted to your local environment. When buying plants, look for drought-tolerant species and varieties and be sure to plant them in proper soil and sun conditions to reduce their need for excess watering. Set up sprinkler systems so they don’t water the sidewalk, the driveway, and other paved, impermeable surfaces.

Rely less on your car

Using fossil fuels to support one person in each car on the road is clearly no longer sustainable. Investigate mass transit options in your town or city, such as a bus system, a light rail train system, or carpool and vanpool services for commuters. When traveling close to home, walk or ride your bike.

Purchase fair-trade products

When you purchase items that are imported from all over the world — particularly coffee, cocoa, sugar, tea, chocolate, and fruit — look for the fair-trade certification. This designation tells you that these items were grown using sustainable methods of agriculture and that local people are receiving fair prices for the goods they produce. Items that don’t have the fair-trade certification may have been produced unsustainably and may be the product of exploitative labor practices that don’t benefit the local people.

In summary, the more I learn about the issues plaguing our environment, the more infuriated I am by the fact that taking steps to protect the beautiful planet on which we reside is not hard. The sad truth is that most of us aren't necessarily apathetic, but we are misinformed. It's not that we don't care about the environment; we just also think that living sustainably enough to make a difference requires a serious lifestyle overhaul. You may already be doing a few of these things, or perhaps all of it, which is fantastic! But hopefully, you’ll pick up some opportunities to do your part to help mother nature. You can’t do everything, but everyone can certainly do something. Every little bit counts! Objects as seemingly innocuous as bottle caps and straws can disrupt entire ecosystems, so why is it so hard to believe that on the flip side, we can enact positive change in the countless choices we make every day?

Author Bio

Aalia Mauro is a Creative Director, Eco-communicator, and founder of the leading sustainable fashion and zero waste editorial platform, vertemode.com. After working as a fashion model, Mauro started working as a creative director where she witnessed firsthand how wasteful the fashion industry was and the impact of fast fashion on the environment.  Mauro started her slow fashion & zero-waste journey slowly, buying items at the secondhand store and wearing clothes made by sustainable fashion designers. She launched vertemode.com to share her slow fashion and zero waste journey. Today, Mauro works consistently to create campaigns to promote slow fashion, sustainable living, and empowering women. 

Featured Image by @aaliaeh