Would you give up development if it meant that the world would be a better place? Would you live in trees or caves if it meant that we can have a safer environment?
I think we all know the answer to that one.… No!
We don’t want to give up what we’re accustomed to, even if it means that we can save the world. The environment. The planet that we live on.
What’s our plan B if the planet becomes uninhabitable? Or inhospitable? What will we do then, when it’s too late.
We have to be mindful of everything we do.
The billions of years that nature has taken to create balance in the ecosystem has been usurped by a species that has only been around for about 200,000 years. Just a fraction of the time it took to create that balance.
It’s strange that we would destroy the only home that we’ve got. But have no doubt that nature will regain balance. The question is, would we be part of it. COVID-19 is only just one of the consequences of encroaching too much into the wilderness.
We have made tremendous advances in technology, but looking at the cost of it all, is it worth it?
Would we in the next 100 years look at the status of the world and wonder if it was all worth it. Whether we could have done something to change it all.
Well, we have the opportunity now. It’s certainly not too late.
We don’t have to live in trees or go back to the dark ages. Instead, we can start by doing different things to live more sustainably.
- Reduce and reuse. Aim to cut back on consumption of goods that are not required. Do you really need to upgrade that smartphone or TV? Do you need to buy disposable cups and plates? Stick with your old tech for a while; you won’t die. Wash those plates and cups. Buy reusable grocery bags and save on plastic handbags.
- Then, when you can’t reuse anymore, recycle the garbage. It means to look out for recyclable goods. Buy plastic items that can be recycled. Aim for packaging using corrugated cardboard over plastic fillers. Aim to use items in glass or aluminium as those two items are 100% recyclable.
- Aim to eat meats with no hormones or antibiotics in them. Try local farms that treat their chickens more humanely than any commercial farms that fatten chickens in a short amount of time by pumping them full of steroids.
- Reduce meat intake altogether and eat more plants. Animal farms use more energy, take up more land, use more water, and produce more greenhouse gasses than any plant farms would.
- Buy from the farmer’s market and cut back on foods grown with pesticides.
- Aim to reduce your energy consumption by turning off lights whenever you don’t need them. When you leave a room, for example. Install motion detection lights outside so that the lights come on when it detects motion and not stay on consistently.
- Turn off taps when you brush your teeth. Use a bucket to wash your car. Ensure that all leaky faucets are fixed.
- Take walks or bicycle to nearby locations. Use public transport if you could. Mass transit is more efficient at transporting large amounts of people than just a single car. Carpool. Try to locate shopping close by that you can get all your shopping done without much travelling. Map out your errands so you can cover the shortest distance and use the least energy doing so.
If each of us does a little, it can go a long way.