by Luke Liu
The Earth is home to 8 billion people. For these 8 billion people, Earth is the only place that they can survive.Since the Industrial revolution, we have used unsustainable energies and harmed the Earth. Recently, the Earth’s health has been noted and action is being taken. However, progress is not going fast enough to heal the earth in time. The main reason for this is because some countries simply refuse to cooperate due to a minor inconvenience. But, we all know that the Earth’s health is more important than the little inconvenience saving the world causes. However, in most countries around the world, the state does not control people, and you have free reign over yourself to make your own choices. If you try adjusting your lifestyle to be more sustainable, that is already a difference. Together, we can work together for a better tomorrow.
Sustainability can be a hard thing for many people to consider, with the growing threat of a recession and already stressful financial times. However, if you want to make a difference and be sustainable, you’re going to have to be more aware of your daily environmental impact. For example, when you are brushing your teeth, turn off the water unless absolutely necessary. Faucets use 1 gallon of water per minute. Your dentist probably tells you to brush for 2 minutes every time and to brush twice a day. That means you will waste 4 gallons of water in a day. That same 4 gallons could be used to water plants, it could hydrate you for the whole day, you could donate it to a charity. So next time you use your faucet, you really should think about your impact on the environment. It doesn’t matter if you are poor or rich, you can all shut off a faucet and you can all be aware and think with your mind. As long as you are mindful to shut off the faucet when you don’t need it, that is already a job well done.
Humanity has become accustomed to our seemingly endless supply of energy, and we use it at will. That however, is costing the earth’s wellbeing. Although we do have an endless supply of energy, it is how we harness it that harms the environment. These days, we usually get our heat from electric heaters, but remember, some of the electricity is being harnessed in an unsustainable way. Sustainable energy is one that doesn’t run out and doesn’t harm the environment. Getting energy from biomass and coal burning is unsustainable because they both harm the environment. It doesn’t mean you are prohibited to use electric heaters, but just limit the use to the absolute minimum. In the summer, open your windows, get fresh air, or even better, just go outside. This is one of the best ways to heat anything. Now, not everyday is hot and warm and sunny, which is why we have heaters. During the colder days, instead of running the heater really hot and then switching it off, use only 25% of the heater’s power. This is not only better for the environment, it is better for you as well! The gradual increase of temperature lets your body adjust better so you do not feel burning hot. Also, at night, use a blanket! You can limit use of the heater at night, use a blanket and still get the same warm feeling. Us humans love to be comfortable, and these lifestyle changes let you retain the comfort and also save the environment.
“A whole society can collapse if it is not supplied with electricity”. Everyone talks about this general belief these days, and it may surprise you that it is actually true! Almost every aspect of human life has some connection with electricity. Electricity, as you may know, is not always harnessed in sustainable ways, mostly generated with coal burning. There are also some ways you can help be more sustainable through using less electricity. Firstly, change your lightbulbs. Long-lasting and LED light bulbs are a great choice as they take up less space, are brighter, are more long-lasting, use less electricity and much much more. Changing your lightbulbs lights your house better and helps the environment. If having better lightbulbs wasn’t enough to be sustainable, don’t use them! By using the environment to your advantage, you can use the sunlight to light your home, limiting lightbulb usage to the minimum. Finally, for those that are richer than some others, install solar panels. Solar panels are the most compact and efficient way to generate electricity at home. Also, they aren’t too expensive and the installers will have it up and running in a few hours. To those money hogging adults, solar panels mean you won’t have to pay your electric bill. Humans need electricity, and we need it for as long as we exist. So why don’t we put in some effort to insure that electricity will be available forever.
With all these changes noted above, you probably think that most of the carbon footprint would be reduced. Sadly, everyday individuals only create 29% of the carbon footprint. 71% of the carbon footprint is produced by large companies. So even if all the everyday people become carbon neutral, it will still not be enough to be sustainable. So, what can we do? We actually can do something about this 71% of carbon footprint. If we can use our energy sustainably, large corporations will not be able to market as much oil, natural gas, and coal. This limits our carbon footprint and the large corporations. That is because oil, natural gas, and coal are harvested in environmentally damaging ways, and limiting their use can lessen the destruction of the Earth. You could also not use single use plastics and try to not buy things that are being created unsustainably. Instead of getting a plastic bag from the grocery store every day, you can bring your own shopping bag. Or instead of buying bottled water, you could buy yourself a mammoth mug and get all the water you want. The list goes on and on. Finally, you can protest these big corporations by writing angry letters or telling others how much carbon footprint the big companies are creating. If enough people stand up to the big carbon footprint makers, they’ll be forced to become sustainable. Just like how people stand up to unfair rulers, we must stand up to the big corporations and tell them that money’s not everything.
It can be overwhelming to try to change the world by yourself, but remember that these are steps that each person can take to do their party.. First of all, you don’t have to do all of them. You can pick a few changes you would like, and adjust your lifestyle. Then, you can be stress-free and do your very important part in being sustainable. But please, just try to just apply one change to your lifestyle. No one ever said saving the planet would be easy, so you are going to have to go through some hardships.You will have the satisfaction of having helped future generations have a healthy planet to live on.
The Blue and White 