Individual Sustainability Paper

Holly Talkington

ESR 171

Professor Kevin Lien

Winter 2015

Individual Sustainability

            What is your impact on this planet? How can you reduce your impact? Everything we do impacts ourselves and the world around us; whether it’s driving, what we buy, what throw away, and so forth. By becoming more sustainable as an individual it will help lower the ecological footprint. This is crucial if we are to have a healthy planet.

            What’s the issue you may ask? According to data from footprintnetwork.org in order for earth to supply us with our resources and absorb our waste we need one and a half earths. Wait, one and a half earths to continue living the way we do?! We only have one planet! Where are we going to obtain another half of a planet? On top of that, if we continue at the rate we are going by 2030 that will increase to two earths!

            What is contributing to the need for so many earths? It is the use of fossil fuels to power our cars, to make our goods, and so forth. Deforestation is another contributor to build our homes, have fires, make household goods, and more. Our growing landfills of all our waste are another contributor. These are just a couple examples of what is causing us to need extra earths than we have.

            These actions can lead to a loss of natural resources and the collapse of ecosystems, the economy, and even societies. All of our dumping and use of fossil fuels is polluting our water, air and soil. This creates an unhealthy environment for us and all the other species that inhabit the planet. With an unhealthy environment we create health issues and are losing biodiversity.

            This is where you come in. By living a more sustainable life we can start reducing our footprint and avoid these catastrophic events from happening. By adjusting simple life choices that you do will produce a difference in our ecological footprint. Use energy efficient bulbs and turn off the lights when you’re not in the room. Unplug vampire electronics such as your TV, chargers, stereo and other similar items. Buying local to support your local economy and to reduce the miles your product has to travel. Eating organic and little to no meat. Using reusable products such as shopping bags, to-go containers, coffee mugs, straws, and water bottles will divert waste from landfills. Try to reduce your amount of driving, carpool, public transit, and/or bike to reduce emissions going into the air. These are just a few simple and painless changes; there are numerous other ways we can start reducing our ecological footprint.

            Adjusting our lifestyle is necessary for all of us to start creating a difference in our impact on the planet. It also influences others around us to do the same as well. We all need to take the initiative and do our part. I fancy living on a healthy planet rich in biodiversity and I know I am not the only one. Remember, every little bit counts.

Bibliography

Web Site: Schueler, John. Are Energy Vampires Sucking You Dry?.

<http://energy.gov/articles/are-energy-vampires-sucking-you-dry>. Accessed 2015 February 5.

Web Site: Global Footprint Network. World Footprint, Do We Fit on the Planet?.

<http://footprintnetwork.org/en/index.php/GFN/page/world_footprint/> Accessed 2015 February 10.

Web Site: Boston University. Ten Sustainable Actions.

<http://www.bu.edu/sustainability/what-you-can-do/ten-sustainable-actions/> Accessed 2015 March 2.