The following contribution is from another author.
With over 2 billion people expected to inhabit Earth by the year 2100, it’s clear that we need to make changes if we want to stay here. Many experts are saying that in order to ensure our survival on this planet, we need to adopt eco-friendly habits and lifestyles.
In fact, there’s a growing body of research showing how adopting greener habits can improve the quality of our lives. From lower stress levels and higher self-esteem, to reduced risk of depression and much lower rates of heart disease and other ailments, there are plenty of benefits if we change our habits accordingly.
That being said, leading an eco-friendly life doesn’t have to be as hard as you think; with a little bit of self-awareness and awareness from your friends and family, you can take responsible actions towards protecting the environment while still enjoying all the benefits it has to offer.
Eat Food You Can Grow Yourself
Most people eat at least half of their daily calories from processed foods. Yet, there are many natural foods that can provide the same nutrients and are a lot more eco-friendly to grow at home. By growing your own vegetables and fruits at home, you’re reducing the amount of food that’s shipped from far away.
Additionally, you’re reducing the amount of pesticides and herbicides used in conventional agriculture, since organic produce doesn’t require these chemicals. Growing your own food also helps you eat healthier. Instead of eating a sandwich filled with bread and dairy products, you can have a healthier snack of fresh fruit.
Alternatively, you can eat a bowl of fresh fruit instead of a bowl of cereal. While you’re at it, you can even make your own fruit smoothies, which are just as nutritious and eco-friendly as store-bought varieties.
Cycle or Walk to Work
The average car emits about eight tonnes of carbon dioxide every year, which is about the same as a middle-income country such as Singapore. This is why it’s important to reduce the number of trips you make in cars, as well as take public transportation or even walk to work.
Walking or riding your bike to work will not only reduce your carbon footprint, but it’ll help you to be healthier, too. Cars aren’t just a source of pollution. They also contribute to traffic problems that cause air pollution as well as increase the risk of injury for pedestrians. In addition, they require a lot of fuel, which is a resource that’s increasingly difficult to come by thanks to climate change.
Install Energy Efficient Lighting and Appliances
An energy-efficient light bulb can reduce the electricity consumption of a household by up to 80%. This means you can use less energy overall, and potentially reduce your electricity bill. There are many things you can do to make your home more energy efficient.
For example, installing energy-efficient lighting, turning off the water while you’re in the shower, unplugging appliances when they’re not in use, and avoiding keeping your house too warm all help to reduce your energy consumption.
Additionally, when you buy new appliances, select those with low energy ratings so you can further reduce your energy consumption. Energy-efficient appliances include refrigerators, air conditioners, dishwashers, and others.
Recycle Your Waste Responsibly
Swapping out your old batteries, lamps, televisions and other electronics for newer, environmentally-friendly models is a great way to help protect our land and water resources.
Additionally, you can use recycled and waste materials to create eco-friendly cleaning products that your family can use. However, avoid littering and unloading your waste off in the nearest drain. Doing so can cause flooding, soil depletion, and infection of water sources. Instead, find a recycling and waste disposal company that can take care of your recyclable and non-recyclable materials responsibly. Reduce, reuse, recycle!
Always Turn Off Your Water Sources
This may sound obvious, but it’s easy to forget when you’re in a hurry. Even if you don’t live alone, it’s important to remember to turn off the water while you’re brushing your teeth and washing your clothes. Otherwise, you’ll just end up running your water through the pipes and wasting water.
Similarly, if you’re using a swimming pool, make sure you’re done with the water before you close the lid. Otherwise, you’ll just keep the water running through the pipes. This is especially important if you live in an apartment block where all the water pipes are located in one building.
Educate Yourself about the Environment
One of the best ways to help protect the environment is to educate yourself about its problems and potential solutions. For example, you can learn about reforestation and the benefits of planting trees. This is because planting trees can help to slow down the rate of climate change, as well as absorb carbon dioxide from the air.
You can also learn about water conservation and how you can help save water. This is because you can turn off the water while you’re in the shower and avoid letting the faucet run while you’re brushing your teeth.
Using eco-friendly products is another excellent way to protect the environment. For one, you can use eco-friendly dental floss made from natural fibers, which is not only good for oral hygiene but also less harmful to the environment. This dentist in Irvine CA also recommends using biodegradable bamboo toothbrushes instead of plastic ones.
Protect Animals Through Ethical Consumption Practices
One of the ways to protect the environment is to adopt ethical consumption practices. This means that while you want to enjoy the benefits of living in the modern world, you want to do so in a responsible way.
This can mean avoiding eating meat and seafood, while still eating tofu, grains and vegetables that are grown without using pesticides and herbicides. This way, you can ensure that the animals that were killed to provide you with these foods weren’t killed for the sake of convenience.
Conclusion
As you can see, leading an eco-friendly life doesn’t have to be complicated. In fact, it can be fun and adventurous. All you need to do is make sure you’re adopting eco-friendly habits and paying attention to the ways you consume resources in order to help the environment for generations to come!
Energy-efficient appliances like air conditioners and furnaces can drastically decrease your energy consumption — no doubt. But installing a new HVAC system is only half of the battle. Keeping your HVAC system well-maintained is something that will make it run efficiently for its entire life, and save you money on heating and cooling bills.