2021 OCTOBER
THINGS YOU CAN DO
TO BE
MORE SUSTAINABLE
Written by Caroline Kopas
Climate change: an undoubtedly frightening phrase. Our only planet is changing to become increasingly inhospitable at alarming rates, and at first glance, there is very little an average person can do about it. However, I’ve found that sustainability is actually best achieved through the collective effort of the average person by doing more or less average things. In other words, tackling climate change within your means actually isn’t that scary. So I’ve compiled a list of changes anyone can make for a brighter future and sustained life on this planet.
FOOD
Food: we all need it. Is it really that surprising that the choices you make regarding it are impactful? Changing what foods you eat, when you eat them, and how you treat them can do an extraordinary amount of work towards a sustainable lifestyle.
THE DAIRY PROBLEM
To start off: milk. A staple in diets around the globe, milk is both tasty and nutritious. However, dairy cows and the production of milk is harming the environment due to the unfortunate production of greenhouse gases. Now, just like anything else, the consumption of cow milk is fine in moderation. You should not be consuming several gallons a week, however.
Now onto dairy alternatives. With the rising rates of lactose intolerance and sensitivity, dairy alternatives have been becoming more and more popular. At coffee shops, the phrases “almond milk” and “oat milk” are being thrown around with more and more frequency. So which dairy alternative is the most sustainable? My response will always be oat milk.
The production of oat milk uses minimal land and water compared to the productions of other alternative milks, such as almond and soy milk. Also, in my opinion, its taste and texture is similarly superior to its alt counterparts.
SORRY MEAT LOVERS
Livestock farming and high rates of meat consumption are only aiding climate change. In fact, the meat industry by percentage is a startlingly sizable cause of greenhouse gas emissions. Red meat in particular is problematic when eaten in large quantities, so to start, you can limit the amount of red meat in your diet.
To take it a step further, you can choose a day of the week or a few meals a week to eat vegetarian. It may not even be that difficult or that big of a change to what you normally eat. It seems like a small thing to do, but if more people implement this, it can make a large and impressive leap in the fight against climate change.
GREEN THUMBS
Another step you can take to live more sustainably through food is to start a garden and grow some of your own produce. And if that is not possible, sourcing your produce locally is an adequate alternative. A lot of produce can be unethically farmed and harvested with environmentally harmful pesticides. Plus, the shipping of produce, especially with planes, produces a large amount of harmful gases. Knowing where your food comes from, whether that’s your own garden or from a farm a few miles away, is not only healthy for you, but also for the world around you.
Also, appreciate ugly produce. The outward appearance of your fruits, legumes, and vegetables will make no difference in the end result of your cooking or baking, so why not grab a misshapen fruit instead of a beautiful one if it will be just as tasty? This limits the amount of food waste.
PLASTIC
Plastic is everywhere, and unfortunately, it will continue to be. The substance takes up to five hundred years to decompose, so the wrapper of the candy you just ate might just have a longer lifespan than you do. Plastic is awful for the environment, but it seems so unavoidable. Here are a few ways you can cut your plastic footprint.
REDUCE SINGLE-USE PLASTICS
There is an insane amount of plastic that exists solely to be used briefly, and then quickly thrown out. Wrappers, bottles, grocery bags: the list goes on. When you stop and think about it, the use of these plastics is minimal, but its environmental effects are severely consequential. So maybe next time you go grocery shopping, bring a reusable bag. Invest in a reusable water bottle, perhaps, which is not only a cheaper alternative in the long run to plastic water bottles, but also reduces all that pesky plastic waste. It also keeps your water a lot colder. If possible in your lifestyle, avoid pre-cut produce that needs its own plastic packaging when a lot of produce has its own natural packaging called skin and peels!
If more people start this fight against unnecessary plastic waste, it would make leaps and bounds in the growing sustainable movement.
ALSO REUSE AND RECYCLE!
If you can, make those single-use plastics several-use plastics! Save your plastic grocery bags and reuse them the next time you shop, and refill those plastic bottles so they don’t go straight into the bin. And if that is not possible, recycle what you can so all these plastics are not left in a landfill until there are colonies on the moon. Make sure you recycle wisely, however, because if you do it wrong, what you throw in the recycling bin still might end up in a landfill.
A DIGITAL WORLD
As technology advances, it is only becoming easier to go paperless, and that’s exactly what you should try to do. Instead of printing things out, just have them on your phone or laptop! Utilize word processing applications and email, among other wonderful things technology has to offer. Deforestation is a serious problem in the climate crisis, and reducing paper use can aid in the efforts against it.
TRANSPORTATION
We all need to get from A to B, and culture has dictated that the faster the better. However, the faster the mode of transportation, the larger the amount of carbon emissions. Since the need for transportation is certainly not slowing down anytime soon, here are a few options to get around sustainably.
CARPOOL
If you and your friend are both going to the same place, why take two cars when you can take one? Not only does carpooling cut the amount of greenhouse gases emitted, but if done with friends or family, it can also be a lot more entertaining than driving by yourself.
PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION
Also known as: leveled-up carpooling. I know that public transportation can be both tedious and pricey, but if you’re lucky enough, it can be a great sustainable transportation opportunity. Especially if you live in a city or an otherwise highly populated area, public transportation can even be advantageous in ways other than slowing the climate crisis.
RIDE, RIDE, RIDE YOUR BIKE!
If the weather is nice, and if your destination is a bikeable distance away, riding your bike is a fun, healthy, and sustainable alternative to driving! Unlike other alternatives like buses and trains, biking releases no greenhouse gases at all. The only better option would be to walk.
AIRPLANES
Airplanes are our biggest transportation problem. So if you’re a frequent flyer and want to cut down on your carbon footprint…. Maybe don’t fly as frequently. If reducing the amount of flights you take is not an option, then try to book direct flights, which are more sustainable than indirect flights with stopovers. And I’m not sure if this demographic is reading this, but private planes are one of the biggest contributors to greenhouse gas emissions in this category, so maybe try to book a public flight with the rest of us.
BIGGER SUSTAINABLE INVESTMENTS
If you have the funds, you can consider making more expensive purchases that are more sustainable than some of their counterparts. Plus, a lot of these investments could turn out to be cheaper in the long run.
BIGGER SUSTAINABLE INVESTMENTS
Electric vehicles do not emit any tailpipe emissions, and therefore typically have a smaller carbon footprint than gasoline-powered vehicles. In the future, when electric cars may become more prevalent, a dip in carbon emissions is going to be seen. It also slows the depletion of Earth’s natural crude oil. Hybrid vehicles are also a sustainable option if going completely electric does not fit with your lifestyle.
SOLAR POWER
The utilization of solar energy decreases greenhouse gas emissions, so if it fits into your lifestyle, consider buying solar panels for either your property or in offsets. Unlike the polar ice caps, the sun isn’t going anywhere anytime soon, so solar power is a great renewable energy choice to lessen your carbon footprint.
USED MERCHANDISE
Not only is buying used goods instead of new goods generally cheaper, but the practice also elongates the good’s lifespan before it ends up in a landfill. It lightens the pressure to rapidly produce goods in environment-harming factories. Also, consider selling or donating your own goods instead of merely throwing them away. There is probably someone out there who wants it. It is overall less wasteful.
LITTER
Bluntly, pick up after yourself. And for others. Litter can be seriously harmful to the environment on both large and small scales .Finding a trash can to throw your garbage in is hardly a difficult task, so just do it. It’s quite simple.
SPREAD AWARENESS AND VOTE
If you do everything listed above, that’s amazing! But do you know what would be even more amazing? If everyone started implementing these green activities in their everyday lives. And to get there, everyone needs to do their part and spread the word. Big change will never occur if sustainable lifestyles are just confined to a small group of people. Even more change will occur then, because large corporations and governments will then take notice and change their ways to become more sustainable. It is an extraordinary domino effect and it all starts with you. So tell your friends and your family how to go more green, and the effect will be exponential.
Also, vote for people who care about sustainability! They, after all, have the most power and influence.
In conclusion, do what you can, because we only have one gorgeous habitable planet. It’s irreplaceable