Becoming a more eco-conscious person can be difficult with all the myths, complexities and overcomplicated explanations, and with awareness of our effects on the environment and other people it’s important that we knuckle down and get more mindful. We’ve broken codes and busted myths in this article, to help you with your sustainability journey.
What Is Sustainability?
Sustainability isn’t just about the environment, it’s about the maintenance and continuation of existence, so sometimes when you’re researching going green, you’ll end up knee deep in market reports. When you’re looking for information on a cleaner, greener lifestyle, consider the impacts on people too, like researching the worker’s rights and conditions of a business when buying clothes. Being conscious and in control in all aspects where you can is truly how to keep a sustainable lifestyle.
3 Myths About A Sustainable Life
Sustainability Is The Destination
Sustainability is not the destination and working towards sustainability is not a static point. The destination is the continuation of a good environment and existence, sustainability is the process of making it this way. Contributing to a sustainable world or system is a way of life, changing with demands and new understandings, it isn’t a rigid or one time event that will end in efficiency, sustainability is now.
It’s Too Expensive
With society becoming more aware of its impact on the environment, it is much easier than it used to be to live a greener life. It’s more accessible, with lots of alternative products available for all aspects of sustainability, and while it will cost something, it’s worth it for a longer-living world.
Recycling Is Equal To Sustainability
Although we like easy answers and solutions, recycling is just one of many parts of living sustainably. While it’s essential to recycle, it doesn’t solve every environmental issue, and we should expect more for businesses and organisations that only take this step towards sustainability.
Keywords
Some of the terms used when you’re researching sustainability and becoming more involved can make the e-conscious lifestyle feel less accessible. So we’ve busted some of the harder jargon for you, so you can begin a greener lifestyle.
Biodegradable - Something capable of decaying to its most basic components, avoiding pollution.
Biodiesel - renewable fuel made of natural oils, an eco-friendly alternative to diesel.
Byproduct - a secondary product or material that is excess.
Carbon Footprint - the total greenhouse gas emissions caused by an individual person, company, event or service. Calculate your own here: https://www.carbonfootprint.com/
Circular Economy - an economic system aimed at eliminating waste and keeping resources in continual use, by reusing, restoring and recycling.
Carbon Offsets - a reduction of carbon dioxide emissions in one area to counteract the emissions made somewhere else.
Carbon Neutral - no net release of carbon emissions, a balance of released emissions and reduced emissions. Also referred to as net-zero.
Carbon Negative - going further than neutral, more emissions reduced than created.
Ecological Footprint - A measurement of how much nature it takes to support an individual or an economy.
Freecycle - giving away or exchanging items instead of throwing away, continuing their lifecycle and reducing landfill.
Grey Water - fairly clean waste water from kitchen and bathroom appliances.
Green washing - falsely claiming that an organisation’s products and policies are eco-friendly - a popular marketing spin in recent years.
To research more on sustainability and how to be e-conscious, the following websites are a great start:
https://mindfulmomma.com/ - a community to help you on your journey to sustainability, mindful momma helps with all aspects of sustainable living with accessibility and acceptance.
https://www.sustainably-chic.com/ - with reviews and honest articles, this blog will help you make fashion decisions that lean toward a more eco-friendly lifestyle.
https://ecofriend.com/ - like we said earlier, sustainability isn’t static - it changes with new information and new demands, so ecology news organisations such as EcoFriend are a great way to keep track of current information and new ways to live a more sustainable life.
https://www.climaterealityproject.org/blog - this site brings the truth honestly and directly, providing updates, new discoveries and recent events involving the climate crisis, while remaining accessible and easy to read.