Eco Friendly Living
Eco friendly living, sometimes called green living, is not just fashionable but a necessity. At the time I started to write this article on the 3rd of October, the world’s population was 8,002,530,420 – that is over 8 billion – and rising. Check out The World Counts and see for yourself how quickly the Earth’s population is growing – you might be as surprised as I was.
There is no Planet B
Back in 2013, studies showed that we would need 1.7 Earths to support its demands on renewable natural resources, according to the Global Footprint Network. Although there are ongoing efforts to find other habitable planets, right now, there is no Planet B. Only planet Earth.
So, to ensure that we as well as future generations can live a better and healthier life, we must choose a green lifestyle.
Some people also refer to green living as eco-friendly living. Eco comes from the word ecology – the natural environment. Friendly obviously means to be nice or not to cause harm. So, eco-friendly living should make you think of the impact caused to the environment, so you need to make choices that will be beneficial to it or reduce harm.
Green living is a lifestyle that has the least impact on the environment. It encourages you to start at home and on a broader level to decrease your ecological footprint. At the same time, it helps you to live a healthier life through your healthier choices. Additionally, you support local economies and encourage social development in your community.
Why is it important to live a green lifestyle?
Humans have always been closely tied to nature and the natural world since the day they walked on this Earth. Nature provided them with food, water, fresh air, shelter and protection and peace. Nature was and still is essential to the survival of all living creatures.
Humans started living in small tribes and used what was available in their immediate surroundings. They understood enough that they had to give nature time to replenish once resources started to deplete.
The world has changed so much since then. There are now over 8 billion people on Earth. Humans have made huge strides in technology. Transportation is fast and effective (in most areas). Life expectancies have increased thanks to improvements in medicine.
Natural Law remains the same
In spite of all the advancements, Natural Law remains the same. The Earth has limited capacity, and can only provide enough food, space and support for a limited amount of people.
There is a limit in which the amount of waste can be broken down. Sadly, a lot of the waste that is being generated contains chemicals and are potentially toxic – and cannot be broken down naturally.
Negative effect on the natural environment
Part of the natural cycle is like a boomerang effect. Whatever we throw into the environment, it comes back to us in forms of pollution – both indoor and outdoor – which affects our health.
Chemicals are being used to produce large quantities of food which are introduced as toxins into our bodies. This leads to health issues including hormonal disruption and reproductive abnormalities and cancer.
Another toxic issue is cutting down trees for construction or agriculture projects. This leads to the accumulation of toxic gasses in the atmosphere and is a visible representation of today’s climate change (which scientists claim is due to human activities).
Thankfully I found a wellness company based in Austria who’s corporate philosophy from the day they started over 26 years ago is: Environmental protection, resource conservation, reducing CO2 and Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR*) , RINGANA makes sustainability and conservation the guiding principles behind all of their activities and decisions.
To do my part, I don’t have to give up high quality skin and body care products. I simply switched to RINGANA, a company who is truly vested in making planet Earth a better place. Click here to learn more about their ongoing efforts and commitment to sustainability.
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Ways to start living an eco-friendly lifestyle:
1. Support local businesses
Technological advancements have made the world a smaller palce. . You can buy products from China directly from your home in Canada, then through the magic of express delivery, you items are delivered within a short time.
That all sounds good, right? But hang on, long-distance transportation means the release of a lot carbon dioxide along the way. What’s more, the products are heavily packed for protection in a package much bigger than necessary.
By supporting local suppliers and manufacturers you decrease the environmental stress associated with these activities. You can also inquire about the manufacture of products locally such as organic foods and local permaculture farms – like Tapas Eco Farm in Málaga, Spain run by Sonja Breuer, one of LYP90 Conscious Mentors.
You encourage local businesses to go green with artesenal hand-made products instead of cheap, environmentally destructive ones.
2. Support businesses who have great environmental initiatives
Businesses are finally waking up to the fact that their environmental initiatives can create brand recognition and loyalty among their customers.
With the continuing depletion of natural resources, corporations that have large energy requirements have become more environmentally aware than ever. This is because green initiatives save on costs, reuse resources and meet compliance requirements.
3. Use public transportation
Use public transit such as trains, buses, metro or even consider carpooling when possible.
Though your car is much more comfortable and readily accessible, a car typically releases some 4.6 metric tons of carbon dioxide per year.
RINGANA’S CO2 footprint in 2019 was 4,658 tons. Does that sound like a lot? Their emissions correspond to the annual CO2 footprint of 555 European citizens or the annual CO2 carbon capture of 234,374 oak trees.
To start with, you can choose public transit when you can – going to work or when possible use the train to travel during your next vacation.
4. Reduce the use of fossil fuels
Climate change is one of the world’s most pressing issues. According to scientists, it is largely due to a rapid increase in carbon dioxide levels associated with burning fossil fuels. Since industrial times, the amount of carbon dioxide rose dangerously. In the 1960s, the level was 0.6 ppm per year, today it is 2.3 ppm per year.
Most of the energy that you use today comes from burning fossil fuels. Whether it is driving a car or the electricity that runs your gadgets.
Consequently, you must choose alternatives to decrease your dependence on fossil fuels. You can switch to alternatives like renewable energy sources such as solar energy. You can also choose vehicles that are energy-efficient or use alternative fuels. And switch off lights, gadgets when you are not using them.
5. Travel to places closer to home – for longer periods of time
Traveling is a normal way of life for many people, especially in developed countries. With better working conditions, benefits and salaries, you can spend some time off on vacation. Yet, the aviation industry alone produces 2.4% of global human-induced carbon dioxide.
You can choose to travel to destinations closer to where you live and for longer periods of time. You can also choose eco-friendly airlines like WIZZ Air that offset the carbon traveled by investing in green projects.
6. Plant trees and support reforestation
Another reason why the amount of carbon dioxide has been increasing in the last decades is because of mass deforestation. Since the 1960s, more than half of the tropical forests in the world have been destroyed. Every year, people clear millions of acres of forest for agriculture and illegal logging.
Yet trees typically take up carbon dioxide and release fresh oxygen. So it is important that you plant trees, support reforestation campaigns and hold back deforestation projects. These trees also provide food and habitats to a number of creatures, stabilize our soils thus reducing floods and provide cool areas.
7. Reduce your amount of waste
People consume a tremendous amount of resources whether it’s food, clothes, water and space. Actually, the richest 20% of the world’s population consume 80% of the resources and goods from the Earth.
As a result, a lot of trash ends up in the environment from food to plastic to toxic electronic waste. Right now, we generate some 2.01 billion tons of municipal waste every year and 33% is unsafely disposed of.
You must do what you can to decrease the amount of waste that you produce. Buy less-packaged products and only when you need them. You can also compost organic materials at home like kitchen scraps and encourage recycling of plastic, paper and glass.
8. Stop using single-use plastics
Plastic pollution is another alarming problem today. Plastic debris is in almost all natural environments and especially in oceans. Of the 300 million tons of plastics that we produce each year, 8 million tons end up in the oceans. The main culprit is single-use plastics like bags, straws and packaging.
Animals often confuse them with food and eat them, choking, getting entangled and eventually dying. So, you must stop using single-use plastics. They not only affect wildlife but can take hundreds to thousands of years to decompose. And throughout the process, they break down into micro-plastics that are far more dangerous as they are toxic.
9. Make repairs and upcycle
Avoid throwing away old things like clothes. Donate them to charity thrift stores or host a clothing exchange party – something I know Conscious Mentor, Ditte Wendt has done.
To make just one cotton shirt takes some 2,700 litres of water. And clothes can take more than 200 years to decompose.
There is so much more that you can do with broken and damaged things. You can upcycle old items into new ones – reusing empty containers into flower pots. You can use broken pots as art in your garden. The list just goes on depending on your creativity.
10. Eat less meat, eat more vegetables
Another important way to live a green life is to cut down on your meat consumption. As a matter of fact, livestock releases 7.1 gigatons of carbon dioxide per year or 14.5% of all greenhouse gas emissions. Two-thirds of these emissions come mainly from cattle. They release it as part of their digestive processes and when farmers grow feed and clear land to raise them.
So, instead of eating meat four to five times a week, reduce it to two times a week. Add more vegetables and greens to your diet which also improves your health. Meat alternatives like soya, jackfruits and beans are specially packed with proteins and nutrients. You can consume more of these thus varying your meals day-to-day.
“One kilo of beef escalope leaves the same ecological footprint as around 50 kilos of potatoes. That is the equivalent of flying in an aircraft for around eight minutes, driving a good 200 kilometres in a mid-range car, or traveling roughly 2,000 kilometres by train. Alternatively, instead of this one kilo of beef escalope, you could use your smartphone for six months. This is just one example of the resources required to manufacture a single product.” – sustainability expert Wolfgang Pekny
11. Harvest rainwater and use more grey water
Likewise, you must seriously reduce your water use. Water is a precious resource that will become even more scarce in the years to come due to climate change.
The drought last July 2022 – lack of precipitation – meant soil water content has reduced significantly. This has made it harder for plants to extract water from the soil, leading to widespread stress on vegetation — namely in the Italian lowlands, in southern, central and western France, in central Germany and eastern Hungary, Portugal and in northern Spain.
So, harvest rainwater and use greywater for purposes like lawn irrigation, car-washing and other processes that do not require potable water. You can easily capture rainwater through roof gutters and tanks or install professional equipment. Or you can re-use greywater – example running the shower into a bucket while you wait for the water to heat up. Use that water for your plants, etc.
What is grey water? All relatively clean waste water from baths, sinks, washing machines, and other kitchen appliances. All streams except for the wastewater from toilets.
To a healthier and happier YOU!
Celine
Meet the Founder of LOVE Yourself Project
Celine
Founder of LOVE Yourself Project
I created this platform as a way to share transformative ideas that inspire change through cross-cultural learning, purposeful gatherings, and shared products and services.
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