Why sustainability is so important?
Adopting sustainable practices is crucial to the health of our planet. Right now it’s the only one we have and it’s likely to stay that way for the foreseeable future.
What’s more, it’s probably reasonable to suppose that being able to manage our resources in a sustainable manner here on planet earth will almost certainly be a prerequisite to any future life amongst the stars or on a distant planet.
Humanity needs to make big changes to survive over the long term
Very few people are seriously disputing that humanity needs to make some very big changes very quickly in order to survive. The problem is that it can be hard for people to visualize big changes, precisely because they are so very different from the current status quo. It can also be hard for them to appreciate the difference it can make if lots and lots of people make lots and lots of small changes in their lives. With that in mind, here are some sustainability goals and the actual, practical impact they will have on people’s lives.
Reducing carbon emissions
Out of all the sustainability targets currently identified, this one is probably the most pressing in order to avoid human extinction (and the potential extinction of many other species). Fortunately, there is a wide range of actions we can take in order to do so and these often come with a variety of add-on benefits.
Moving to low-carbon electricity
There are basically two ways electricity can be produced. One is by burning carbon-based fuels and the other is by harnessing renewable sources and clean energy sources such as nuclear power. The latter is clearly better from a sustainability perspective, but it also has the benefit of improving the quality of the air. The most obvious benefit of this is that it literally makes it easier to breathe and not just for us but for other species too. This, in turn, can improve the overall quality of the environment and encourage biodiversity.
Reducing the amount of energy we use
If there is one area of the environment where we can all make some kind of difference, it’s probably here. There are all kinds of changes we can make, big and small, and they all have various benefits in addition to reducing the amount of carbon-based fuels we use.
Switching to electric transport
Electric transport doesn’t just make it possible to use renewable and/or clean energy sources and thus improve the quality of the air, it is also massively quieter than traditional forms of transport. This can be a huge benefit in cities where noise pollution can be a very serious issue which can actually impact people’s mental health.
Recycling
Recycling is often thought of as a way to reduce the amount of landfill waste we produce, which it is, but from a sustainability perspective, this is arguably the added benefit. The main benefit is that it is also a way to save massive amounts of energy as the effort required to recycle waste is generally much less than the effort required to create the materials from scratch (plus it may also reduce the use of chemicals, paper is a good example of this). We do our bit here by recycling commercial waste and we also do our best to reduce, reuse and recycle in our private lives.
Using smart appliances
Smart appliances are a case in point of how lots and lots of small changes can add up to a huge difference and anyone who doubts this can try installing a few and then looking at the “before and after” on their own energy bills!
