Sustainability 101

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So…What’s the Deal with Sustainability?

  • black and white graphic of a hand holding a two-leaf plant

    We’ve all heard the term “sustainability” muttered by activists, political figures, friends, and even shoppers. It’s become a buzzword that is often misinterpreted in everyday conversations and news stories. So what is it really? 

    Sustainability is a general practice intended to support the environment and sustain life and resources on Earth for future generations.

Definitions can sound daunting, but sustainability is actually quite simple! To be sustainable is to be more conscious of the planet and your role in it. The biggest way to be sustainable is through an adjustment in habits. From altering consumer tendencies to small changes in your day-to-day routine, you can make a big difference in creating a cleaner planet!

Ever since the Industrial Revolution and booms in industry production and consumption, we’ve seen environmental damage. The production and transportation of wasteful and non-renewable goods is rapidly increasing pollution in the air and waterways across the globe. Additionally, through the ever-growing production people are practicing over-consumption of unneeded and unwanted goods, leading to excessive non-biodegradable products filling landfills. 

Well sheesh, that sounds awful. But that’s not the end of the story. We still have a chance.

  • black and white graphic of a four-leaf plant in dirt
    black and white graphic of a four-leaf plant in dirt

    We have not yet exhausted our resources, but we must protect them from here on out. The earth consists of renewable and nonrenewable resources; we need to start utilizing our renewable ones a lot more than our nonrenewable ones. 

    You’ve likely heard about the upsurge in electric vehicles. Well, this exactly displays our point. Traditional vehicles run on gasoline, aka processed oil and coal, which is drilled out of the earth. This is nonrenewable as the product is not replenishable. Whereas electric vehicles run on a variety of different renewable products. 

    But a full change in car power isn’t realistic nor going to fully solve our problem. 

    But hold on! There are things you can do!

Through becoming more conscious consumers we can alleviate our carbon footprint and decrease the threats against our environment. Let’s push back against consumer culture and fast fashion and be a little kinder to our planet.

Don’t know where to get started? Well, you’ve come to the right place. EcoFind is a guide to living sustainably! We offer tips on sustainable habits and provide direct links to sustainable alternatives and products. Sustainability is at your fingertips, let’s get started! For more detail, check out the Environmental Protection Agency’s report on the specifics of sustainability.