The Current Lifestyle and How It Affects Sustainability - Essay Example

Sustainability In a broad definition, sustainability is the conscious of understanding that all what we require to survive and live well relies on, either indirectly or directly on the [natural] environment. With that understanding, it is sufficient to state that sustainability provides the optimum conditions where man and nature can coexist harmoniously in a productive way, thus promoting the economic, social, or all other contexts necessary for the comfortable survival of coming generations. Concisely, it is the assurance that all the resources necessary for support and protection of the environment and human life are available. The new millennium, however subjects sustainability to risks owing to its virility in population and economic growth, in addition to a shrinking supply of natural resources. These have raised an alarm, warning that some changes need to be effected if survival has two guaranteed, and changes which reflect mostly on human behavior. The following study text will develop around the current lifestyle and how it affects sustainability, plus what changes need to be inflicted for it to remain effective and preserved for the future. Contemporary lifestyles are against sustainability. According to “Sustainable Lifestyles” (10), these lifestyles are producing too much of what is unwanted while hurting the environment and impacting negatively on human living in all aspects. The first context affected is the usage of natural resources which is overwhelming in that water consumption, energy consumption, and raw materials for producing human necessities are drawn from it. This translates to decreasing water and vegetation cover volumes, and sustainability is weakening. Again with the improving economic abilities of people, the number of automobiles on the globe’s roads is approximated at 750 million, which together with the industries dump billions of carbon emissions into the atmosphere, causing extensive damage to the ozone layer. The third factor of concern is the eating habits wherein the globe has turned down healthy eating and taken to unhealthy eating habits which are causing harm to their own lives. Unhealthy eating causes health complications such as obesity, which is a leading health disorder today. Worse still, they increase the chances of one contracting Coronary heart diseases, and these affect people who often consume fatty foods or are smokers. In addition to other factors such as lack of exercise and increasing technology, these elements subject sustainability to danger. Whereas the above stated issues are known to many people, there exists the laxity in implementing them, caused by some human factors. According to Middleton, Anton & Perri (n.p.), lack of the knowledge on sustainability is the first reason people do not change their lifestyles to live according to sustainable standards. In short, they do not understand what it takes to have a sustainable or a perishing connection between man and nature. The second reason is that people do not understand between needs and wants, but treat these as the same. This means that things which are not as important end up being done or produced at the expense of the natural environment. Thirdly, products or services which contribute to underscoring of sustainability tend to be far much cheaper than those which are for it, and with constrains of life, people opt for such. A good example is the use of plastic ware. Finally, people fail to commit to change because they lack the know-how to do so, such as how to better manage waste, how to conserve water, or how to quit smoking. The result of these is that they keep doing what they are used to. In as much as the said changes are hard to put into action, it should be noted that they are necessary and crucial determinants for important contexts of human life. The first context that requires change is the individual; and then it will spread to the society. When one initiates change in themselves, they can influence others to change as well, and thus caters to protect natural resources and the person as well (Fitzgerald, & Spaccarotella n.p.). For instance, if people decided to install solar panels and water heaters rather than use electricity, large volumes of wattage would be saved. In a wider context, that is society, we should change because that is the only way to reduce misfortunes such as poverty and pave way for newer generations. If all the resources get depleted, the future generations will have none to survive on, and will succumb to poverty. On the other hand, depleting the environment as is with carbon emissions will expose them to the harshness of nature. In changing behaviors, we have several options to choose from. These are measures which encircle the idea of sustainability as protecting survival for all nature, and the environment. First of all, people should learn to use what they need, but not what they want. For instance, one should eat healthy, when they are hungry but not for pleasure. Again, the culture of recycling should be developed as it will aid in minimizing the exploitation of the environment as raw materials are constantly being sought. This includes paper, plastics, storm water, and sewerage. Finally, people should share their understanding of sustainability with others who have no idea of it as this will help spread the idea of its working. The best way to do this is to change one’s attitude [behavior] towards living and think twice about doing something with regards to how it affects sustainability. This means that the target is individual persons who, when put together form the society. If this culture spreads, sustainability will gain momentum and the earth will be a safe planet (Lin & Svetkey 105). Having understood sustainability and defined the targets, there is the need to establish the actions that need to be taken towards achievement of sustainability. This can be inflicted in two ways; as an individual, or in a group setting. In the individual setting, a person should determine which behavioral changes they need to implement to align with sustainability. This can be done by assuming better personal responsibilities for one’s lifestyle in addition to whatever choices they make. The choices they make should be those that support sensitivity towards rational behavior which seeks to motivate one to alter their ways in support of the sustainability ideology of protecting planet earth. In a group setting, and according to Roseland (31), it is possible for governments to intervene and set standards regarding what is acceptable and what is not, with regards to sustainability. For instance, felling trees should be overly discouraged. In addition, powerful or able groups can come up with initiatives which encourage individuals to embrace the discussed personal responsibilities addressing the planet’s safety and future. Works Cited Fitzgerald, Nurgul & Spaccarotella, Kim. “Barriers to a Healthy Lifestyle: From Individuals to Public Policy-An Ecological Perspective .” Journal of Extension, (1) 47. Web. 20 April, 2014. Lin, Pao-Hwa, & Svetkey, Laura. Nutrirtion, Lifestyle Factors, and Blood Pressure. CRC Press, 2012. Print. Middleton, Kathryn, Anton, Stephen & Perri, Michal. “Long-Term Adherence to Health Behavior Change.” American Journal of Lifestyle Medicine,2013. Web. 20 April, 2014. Roseland, Mark. Toward Sustainable Communities. New Society Publishers, 2005. Print. Sustainable Lifestyles: Today’s Facts & Tomorrow’s Trends. Spread Sustainable Lifestyles 2050,2012. 1-160. Web. 20 April, 2014. Read More